Reported pedagogical practices of faculty in higher education in the UAE

Abstract

Higher education in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a relatively modern phenomenon, but it is a sector which has experienced immense growth since the first national university opened in 1976. A wide diversity of faculty, in terms of experience, nationalities, and qualifications, is employed to teach in the country’s higher education institutions. In this article, the faculty’s reported pedagogical practices taking place in universities across the country are reported. A well-established, pre-developed survey tool was used to gather quantitative data which ultimately classifies responses as employing more student-centric or teacher-centric approaches. A total of 130 participants, drawn from multiple institutions, were surveyed. The findings indicated that overall, faculty tended to adopt a student-centric approach to teaching significantly more frequently than a teacher-centric approach. However, there were significant variations in the adoption of student- or teacher-centric approaches by faculty gender, subject specialism, and presence of a vocational teaching qualification. Female faculty adopted a student-centric approach to teaching significantly more frequently than did their male counterparts. However, STEM faculty adopted a teacher-centric approach to teaching significantly more frequently than did their non-STEM peers. Further, faculty who did not hold vocational teaching qualifications also adopted a teacher-centric approach to teaching significantly more frequently than did their peers who held vocational teaching qualifications.