Understanding Emirati teachers’ challenges in fostering problem-solving skills development in early years – A preliminary study

Abstract

Emirati teachers, particularly those teaching in early years classrooms, encounter significant obstacles with 21st century pedagogy in support of the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) goal of moving towards a more knowledge-based economy. As improving students' problem solving-skills development takes precedence, policy makers' need to understand how best to support teachers becomes a priority. Through survey responses and interviews, this exploratory study aims to better understand Emirati teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge, teacher self-efficacy beliefs, and to gain insight on how to best support teachers in acquiring the kind of child-centered instructional practices needed to foster problem-solving skills development in their students. Results showed low teacher self-efficacy and teachers lack of proper exposure to pre-service training as well as professional training on problem-solving skills development pedagogy. Participants indicated their willingness to learn about how to best foster problem-solving abilities of their students to support the aspirations of the UAE education reform policy. A focused social cognitive-oriented professional development model for instruction grounded in the educationally relevant research from the cognitive sciences is recommended.