Teach Middle East Magazine Apr - Jun 2020 Issue 3 Volume 7 | Page 30

Sharing Good Practice
BRING BACK HOME ECONOMICS
TO THE CURRICULUM IN THE UAE
BY: DENISE BUTTIGIEG
UAE if we are committed to optimising
the wellbeing of individuals and
families in our society. Smart money
management, healthy eating, efficient
use of energy and water, responsible
child-rearing,
active
aging…these
are just some of the skills which
can be gained from studying home
economics in school.
T
he education system in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE),
is governed by the Ministry of
Education (MoE). Education is
compulsory at both the primary and
secondary levels, from age 4 to 17. The
means of instruction in state schools
are mainly in Arabic with English
in some schools as an additional
language.
Why Home Economics
should be taught in all
Secondary Schools across
the UAE
It is argued here that Home Economics
must be included in the curriculum in
Aldar Academies is one of the largest
organisations that offer education
to the community in the UAE. The
majority of their academies offer
additional subjects that are typically
not delivered in state schools.
Home Economics is one such
discipline offered in mainly private
British schools in the United Arab
Emirates (UAE). His Highness Shaikh
Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
the Vice President of the UAE and
Ruler of Dubai, has announced that
the new generation schools set to
be built, will include laboratories
for health sciences, manufacturing,
robotics, home economics, artificial
intelligence, and the environment,
as well as service facilities including;
restaurants, libraries and indoor and
outdoor sports venues.
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Term 3 Apr - Jun 2020
Class Time
This is an issue for all of humanity, not
just the UAE, more recently framed
by the United Nations into a global
agenda for sustainability. The United
Nations Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) sets out seventeen
aspirational global goals with 169
targets that serve as a blueprint for
developing a sustainable future for
humankind, incorporating education
and learning as a central pillar. The
agenda resolves to undertake a
‘deliberative approach’ with targets
set for a 2030 timeline, commencing
in 2015.
Given the significance and all-
encompassing nature of the SDGs, this
serves as an overarching, contemporary