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The importance of early childhood education and its impact on development and attainment latter in a child’s life
Abstract
The study investigated the importance of early childhood education and the impact that it has on the development and attainment of a child’s life in later years. The study was informed by the impact that early childhood education has on the development of the child. However, in the UAE, the government does not offer education in the preschool years unlike other countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and France. Children begin their education at the age of six years by attending primary schools. Early education in these systems is seen as helpful in building a strong foundation. The main objective of this study was thus to identify potential influences of early childhood education in the UAE. The project also aims to assess role of early childhood education programs on the ability of the Emirati children to succeed in primary school. Finally, the project has established a goal of identifying current barriers and challenges that exist in relation to implementing early education programs. In conducting the study, the researchers utilized a mixed method approach where both quantitative and qualitative data was collected and analyzed. The study targeted early childhood education schools where two schools, eight teachers, and fifty five parents were chosen for the study. Data was collected through survey and focus group questions. The collected data was then analyzed through coding and thematic analysis and descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The ANOVA tests were conducted on the data sets collected. The findings of the study indicated that children who attend early childhood education did not have problems in mathematics, socializing, and working as a team. Therefore, early childhood education has significant impact in the development of a child.
Contents
1.3. Research goals and questions. 8
1.4. Dissertation overview.. 9
Chapter 2. Literature review.. 10
2.2. Theoretical framework…………………………………………………………………………………………………………10
2.3. Early childhood education. 12
2.3.2. Effects of early childhood education on intelligence. 13
2.3.3. Effects of early childhood education on children`s academic performance. 13
2.3.4. Importance of other factors for child`s development 15
2.3.5. Early childhood education and students with special needs. 16
2.4. Early childhood education in the UAE. 18
2.4.1. Overview of the UAE educational system.. 18
2.4.2. Early childhood education: the UAE. 21
3.3.1. Mixed-method approach. 27
3.3.3. Study participants and sampling. 30
3.4.1. In-depth semi structured interviews. 31
3.4.2. Surveys as a data collection technique. 33
3.4.3. Data collection procedures. 34
3.4.4. Study validity and reliability. 34
3.5.1. Coding and thematic analysis. 35
3.5.2. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. 36
3.6. Ethical issues and study limitations. 37
Chapter 4. Findings and discussion. 39
4.2. Quantitative findings. 39
4.3.1. Descriptive statistical analysis of the data. 40
4.3.2. Normality and skewness analysis and t-test 47
4.3.3. Inferential statistical analysis. 48
4.3.1. Relevance and impact of early childhood education in the UAE. 53
4.3.2. Challenges associated with early childhood education in the UAE. 59
2.3.3. Strengthening early childhood education in the UAE. 65
5.2.1. Impact of early childhood education on Emirati children. 72
5.2.2. Obstacles on the way of adopting early childhood education on Emirati children. 74
5.2.3. Policy Implication Recommendations-Reflection. 74
5.3. Study limitations and opportunities for future research. 76
5.4. Relevance and novelty of the work. 77
Appendix 1. Interview questions. 83
Appendix 3. ANOVA test results analysis. 86
List of Tables
Table 1: Levels of Education in UAE ……………………………………………………….. 21
Table 2: Dynamics of the number of nurseries registered in Dubai …………………….. 22
Table 3: Nursery Staff ………………………………………………………………………… 23
Table 4: Proportion of Parents……………………………………………………………..…. 42
Table 5: No of hours spent by the Emirati parents teaching their children at home……….. 43
Table 6: Descriptive statistical analysis of the obtained data ……………………………… 45
Table 7: Skewness and kurtosis of data of the obtained dataset …………………………… 47
Table 8: Composition of time allocation for children learning among two groups ………… 48
Table 9: Mean composition between two groups (Part 1)…………………………………… 50
Table 10: Mean composition between two groups (Part 2) ………………………………… 50
Table 11: Results of ANOVA analysis testing ……………………………………………….. 51
Table 12: Demographic characteristics of the interviewed teachers ………………………… 53
Table 13: Impact of attending kindergarten on child’s performance ………………………. 73
List of Figures
Figure 1: Rate of return on investment when developing human capital ………………………. 15
Figure 2: Proportion of males versus females ………………………………………………… 41
Figure 3: Percentage of children attending private or public kindergarten ………………. 43
Figure 4: Amount of time the Emirati parents and extended family spend on educating ….. 45
Figure 5: Comparison of how much time two groups of surveyed parents allocate ……… 50
Glossary
Early Childhood Education – refers to the education given to young children from the age of 3 years to 5 years.
Expatriate staff – The non-Emirati people working in United Arab Emirates
Emirati – The United Arab Emirates nationals of Arabic origin
Madras – religious school of Islamic education
Preschool education – Education gain in kindergarten and nurseries between 3 and 5 years.
Elementary – Education that begin from the age of six years, between preschool education and high school education.
Abbreviations
KHDA – Knowledge and Human Development Authority
UAE – United Arab Emirates
UNESCO – United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization
ECEC – Early Childhood Education and Care
IQ – Intelligence Quotient
ROI – Rate of Return on Investment
MoE – Ministry of Education
UNICEF – United Nations Children’s Education Fund
DE – Directorate of EDUCATION
SD – Standard Deviation
Chapter 1. Introduction
1.1. Study background
Early childhood education has been discussed as a foundation that stimulates and enhances development of children, as well as determines their future personal and professional aspirations (Al-Momani, Ihmeideh & Momani, 2008). In line with such consideration, different countries around the globe aim to develop educational systems and programs that integrate the element of early childhood education into their curriculum as it allows them to build a strong and healthy foundation for children (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2003; Al Sumaiti et al., 2012).
According to Hamaidi, Homidi and Reyes (2012), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has unique educational system since the government sponsored schools do not offer early childhood programs unlike the United States, the United Kingdom or the European Union countries. The UAE public educational system currently lacks an early childhood program, and thus children as soon as they reach age of six years, start attending primary school (Sowa & De La Vega, 2008). Importantly, the UAE also has a private educational sector which in line with the existing demand offers early childhood educational programs for children as young as three years of age. Moreover, Emirati parents willing to access early childhood provisions have to enrol their children in private nurseries (KHDA, 2018).
1.2. Research rationale
Early childhood education can be regarded as a foundation for child`s development impacting future achievements and life (Mayer, 2017; Tibi & McLeod, 2014; Elango et al., 2015; Sowa & De La Vega, 2008). Therefore, it is pivotal that the issue of early childhood education is set as a top priority in the UAE public education system. In the context of the UAE education is regarded as one of the top priorities on the agenda of local government (Baker, 2015). An aim has been developed as a part of the Economic Vision 2030 to enhance academic outcomes for children and young adults in the UAE in order to ensure that they can compete with their peers from other countries. In line with such consideration a number of efforts have been made (e.g. by Abu Dhabi Education Council) to develop various educational programs as a part of the New School Model (Al-Momani et al., 2008). The discussed model is heavily influenced by existing Western standards of education and in the context of the UAE it translates into the so-called hybrid educational model (Kirk & Napier, 2009).
Despite creating opportunities for the Emirati children to attend kindergartens and nurseries from age of 3 – 3,5 (Mayer, 2017), there has been an overall limited progress in engaging more parents and children into early childhood education in public education (Al-Momani et al., 2008). In fact, according to Baker (2015), the UAE government can further strengthen its current effort to understand importance of early childhood education on academic performance and professional outcomes of the Emirati children and develop and implement necessary policies that would allow transitioning towards Western model of education. The private sector in the UAE, on the other hand offers multiple opportunities for early educational programs for Emirati nationals and expats (Mayer, 2017; Baker, 2014; Tibi & McLeod, 2014). This situation creates imbalance within the country, when public education fails to address developmental needs of Emirati children. One possible issue underlying such lack of prioritisation of early childhood education may be due to need for more evidence regarding its role within national context (Baker, 2015).
In line with such arguments, the rationale for the current research is to gain in-depth understanding of possible impacts early childhood education may have on the UAE children, as well as identify current limitations and challenges surrounding the problem, as perceived by the parents and pre-school teachers. The information obtained will allow me to develop evidence-based support early childhood education in the UAE and thus create incentive for the policy makers to make adequate steps towards implementation of necessary steps facilitating development of kindergartens in the region.
1.3. Research goals and questions
The goal of the current project is to identify potential influences of early childhood education in the UAE. The project also aims to assess role of early childhood education programs on the ability of the Emirati children to succeed in primary school. Finally, the project has established a goal of identifying current barriers and challenges that exist in relation to implementing early education programs.
In line with the developed research goals, the following research questions have been developed:
- How is the academic performance of Emirati children influenced by early childhood education?
- Does early childhood education affect the Emirati children in terms of socialization and communication with peers?
- What is the current situation concerning early childhood education in the UAE?
- Which challenges exist in relation to further integration of early childhood education into the UAE public education system?
- How can current UAE efforts related to early childhood education be strengthened?
Answering the research questions develop earlier will help achieve the goals discussed within this sub- section.
1.4. Dissertation overview
The current dissertation is structured as follows. First of all, the Literature Review chapter conducts a thorough overview of educational system in the UAE, particularly focusing on issues and activities related to early childhood education. The chapter also provides a detailed critical analysis of literature dedicated to the problem of early childhood education and its impact on development. The following section, Research Methodology is concerned with presenting a justification of the research methods adopted to answer the established research questions, as well as discussion of the encountered ethical issues and limitations. The Findings and Discussion chapter presents the key findings and puts them into perspective of the analysed body of literature. Finally, the chapter Conclusions presents the essential findings of the research, along with discussion of its novelty of the study and covers opportunities for future research.
1.5. Chapter summary
The chapter concludes that early childhood education is a highly important and relevant concept, which has been majorly overlooked within the context of the UAE due to cultural and historical reasons. The Arabic culture requires women to take care of their children during infancy and up to around six years so that they can influence them positively. Early childhood systems are seen as programs for women who are engaged in employment and have not time to take care of their children.While efforts are made to address the issue, the current research argues that they are not sufficient and that deeper understanding of early childhood education and its role in the Emirati children development is needed to stir and initiative necessary reforms. A mixed-method study based on survey and in-depth semi structured interviews will be conducted to answer the established research questions and address the identified research gap.
Chapter 2. Literature review
2.1. Chapter overview
The current chapter conducts a critical overview of the available scholarly literature dedicated to the problem of early childhood education. Much attention will be given to the aspects related to the impact of early childhood education, and current policies, issues and practices in the UAE. The chapter is concluded by identifying a research gap.
2.2. Theoretical Framework
The dissertation is based on Erik Erikson Psychosocial Theory. Erikson provides the stages of human development from the time they are born up to the time that they die. The stages are very important in determining the developmental programs that the children need to be exposed to so that they attain full development. Erikson provides eight psychosocial stages on the development of human beings. The stages are considered important because they led to the development of abilities that can be useful in the latter stages of life. The point of focus for this dissertation is mainly the third stage that is referred to as the stage of initiative versus guilt. The stage is experienced at around the fourth and fifth year (Newman & Newman, 2017). Children mainly begin attending preschool education at the age of four years. The preschool education prepares them for the compulsory elementary education in the UAE.
Most of the Emirati children do not attend kindergartens or nurseries prior to the compulsory elementary education. This can be attributed to the cultural and historical background of the Emirati people. The culture of the Emirati provides that the duty of women is mainly to take care of the family (Sylva et al., 2010). The women take care of the family by remaining at home and engaging in household duties that include taking care of children. Therefore, they feel that there is no compelling need to take their children to kindergartens and nurseries unlike the European women who engage in occupational jobs, hence have little time to be with their children. The history of education in UAE before the westernized form of education mainly involved attending the madras. The children attended the madras system from the age of six and seven years (Sowa, & De La Vega, 2008). Early childhood education thus remains an unpopular system of education as it is viewed as conflicting with the role of the Emirati women.
Early childhood education, when viewed from Erikson’s psychosocial theory, is very important. At the age of four and five years, the children at the play age because they have the ability to move freely; they can use language; and have expanded imaginations (Cherry, 2017). The children at this stage have the ability to make visualization about future possibilities. It is at this stage that children can be moulded effectively to become better people in future. By attending the preschool education system, the children are able to socialize with other children as well as be shaped by the teachers so that they develop appropriate visualizations about their lives. According to Vygotsky (1986), the teacher’s role in the discussed learning process is to be able to actively engage by sharing thoughts and ideas, as well as strategies of communication and interaction with the students during the truth seeking journey.
The stage of initiative versus guilt constitutes the base of morality. An overemphasis on guilt can lead to a damaged morality. An overemphasis on conflict during this stage can also lead to self-restriction thus preventing the children from achieving their full inner capacities (Newman & Newman, 2017). The teacher in early childhood education systems have been professionally trained to help the children focus more on initiative as opposed to guilt. Therefore, children who attend preschool education have the potential to develop into morally upright individuals due to the positive shaping of their visualizations. The UAE views early childhood education as an arena where interests and needs of children, educators, parents and policy makers come together to develop high quality and efficient public schools (Wotherspoon, 2004; Hamaidi et al., 2012). By understanding the role of early childhood education in the development of the children, more Emirati people will embrace the system to allow their children to benefit from the aspects of development provided in the institutions. They will stop viewing kindergartens and nurseries as institutions for taking care of children whose parents are engaged in occupational jobs. Instead, they will consider them as institutions of childhood development.
2.3. Early childhood education
Early childhood has been discussed as a critical period in human life, which according to Shonkoff and Philips (2000) corresponds to the period when a child is from 0 to 8 years of age. During this period of time, some key foundations of future physical, intellectual, emotional and social development are laid (Sylva et al., 2010). According to the definition provided by UNESCO, Early Childhood Education and Care (or ECEC) refer to “… all arrangements that provide care and education for young children under compulsory school age, outside home” (2006, p. 34). ECEC services enhance and ensure child`s development and satisfy various needs (e.g., physical, emotional, cognitive, nutritional) (Karaman, 2011).
Early childhood education may exist in multiple forms, depending on the specific national context (Tibi & McLeod, 2014; Heckman, 2011; Al-Momani et al., 2008). For example, it can be exercised via parenting programs or community- based childcare (Sowa & De La Vega, 2008). It can be implemented via home-based childcare supervised by the designated professional (Karaman, 2011). It is important to highlight that early childhood education and policies also commonly focus on offering a range of interventions that help support and educate parents (Elango et al., 2015).
2.3.2. Effects of early childhood education on intelligence
According to Gorey (2001), there is an ongoing debate concerning relevant importance of nature versus nurture on child`s cognitive abilities. While some researchers advocate for the dominant role of genetic make-up (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2003), others point out towards high relevance of environment and external stimulation in developing a child`s intellect (Al-Momani et al., 2008). According to Gorey (2001), both factors and more specifically – their interplay – contribute to development of complex cognitive skills in children. According to the meta- analytical study, children who had at least some experience attending institutions offering early childhood education on average had higher IQ scores when tested for it (approximately between 76% and 78%). Interestingly, intensity of a given educational intervention and duration of it positively correlated with child`s performance on an IQ test (Gorey, 2001).
2.3.3. Effects of early childhood education on children`s academic performance
A number of theories and specific mechanisms have been suggested to explain how early child education can help enhance academic performance (Sowa & De La Vega, 2008; Elango et al., 2015; Campbell et al., 2002).For instance, works by Vygotsky have led to development of the term “emergent literacy” (Clay, 2001, p. 32). The term refers to a specific period of life of a child (from birth until five years), during which children become highly susceptible to learning rules, function of print and attitude of their native language (Sowa & De La Vega, 2008). Some researchers describe how young children often take books and demonstrate behaviour imitating reading or writing when in fact they are not capable of neither. Introducing children to the basics of language during this period of time can significantly improve language literacy outcomes of young children (Elango et al., 2015; Sowa & De La Vega, 2008; Bradshaw et al., 2004).
Campbell et al. (2002) have conducted an empirical study to test the role of early childhood education on consequent academic performance and other relevant outcomes of young adults. A total of 111 infants were screened, out of which 104 took part in the follow up study as they reached the age of 21.However, such a study would be difficult in the UAE since most schools do not maintain progressive data for a long period. According to the obtained results, attending early childhood education program had a significant positive effect on academic performance in high school, intellectual scores and likelihood to be admitted in the college (Campbell et al., 2002).
Arend, Gove and Sroufe (1979) conducted a seminal work on importance of early education, particularly kindergarten on overall independence and curiosity of children in later years. A number of researchers argue that a child’s adaptation continues throughout their early life – 12 months and later (Matas et al., 1978). This adaptation occurs throughout a prolonged period and is linked to and determined by a number of different factors including and not limited to attachment to mother, individual behavioural characteristics, external environment (Arend et al., 1970). Arend et al. (1970) argue that attending a kindergarten has a strong effect on overall level of curiosity and tendency for exploratory behaviour among infants and children. The behaviour was noted in the children’s ability to interact with play materials creatively. Such behaviours are highly relevant to the consequent academic performance of children in high school and therefore by attending a kindergarten, children can become better prepared for various challenges and tasks they will experience in the elementary school and during later stages of their academic career (Redmond & Rice, 1998).
In addition, Heckman (2011, p. 32) argued that “Adverse impacts of genetic, parental, and environmental resources can be overturned through investment in quality early childhood education that provide children and their parents the resources they need to properly develop the cognitive and personality skills that create productivity”.
Heckman and Masterov (2007) furthermore develop an argument according to which different countries can significantly benefit from investing into early childhood education (Figure 1). More specifically, investing into child/ human development at earlier stages (kindergarten, pre- school) results in significantly higher return of investment (ROI)(Heckman & Masterov, 2007; Mayer, 2017).
Figure 1. Rate of return of investment (ROI) when developing human capital (source: Heckman & Masterov, 2007, p. 34)
2.3.4. Importance of other factors for child`s development
While the discussed scholarly evidence suggests for a pivotal role of early childhood education in fostering and enhancing child`s development, academic performance, effective socialising with peers (Al-Momani et al., 2008; Tibi & McLeod, 2014: Mayer, 2017), it is important to point out that other factors play a role as well, and therefore have to be accounted for in the course of the present study. First of all, as demonstrated by Sowa and De La Vega (2008), parental involvement early on during child`s development is a crucial factor enhancing short- and long-term outcomes of a child. For instance, parental involvement in helping children study and learn in pre-kindergarten activities was statistically significantly associated with enhanced academic achievement in elementary school (Elango et al., 2015). However, collecting such data can be hampered by the respondent bias. In conducting research, such data will be collected using indirect questioning to reduce the level of bias. Numberof years during which parents actively helped their children to increase duration and intensity of academic achievement of the latter throughout school and college (Sowa & De La Vega, 2008).
Pianta, Nimetz and Bennett (1997) conducted an empirical research trying to understand relative impacts and importance of mother- child and teacher – child relationships among kindergarten and pre-school children. Interestingly, the nature and quality of mother – child relationship had a significantly stronger predictive outcome on children behaviour, performance and relationships with teachers both in kindergarten and elementary school. Moreover, various issues related to control in child – mother relationships to some extent predicted dependency, security and conflict in relation to child – teacher interactions and relationship (Pianta et al., 1997). Therefore, the discussed evidence suggests that although early childhood education plays a key role in child`s development, it cannot substitute forother necessary prerequisites of healthy and happy childhood, a key factor being the relationship and involvement of parents (Pianta et al., 1997; Tibi & McLeod, 2014: Mayer, 2017).
2.3.5. Early childhood education and students with special needs
According to Bradshaw et al. (2004), similarly to other countries, people with special needs can be found among the general population of the UAE. Although it is difficult to estimate an overall percentage of people with various types of disabilities among adult and child population due to centralised medical collection data approach. It is estimated that the number of people with disabilities in the UAE is comparable with that of general global population and is around 8 – 10% (Alahbabi, 2006).According to Government.ae (2018, n. p.) “…there has been barely any federally regulated policies which concerned the rights of persons with disabilities in the country, until 2006, when the government of the UAE has signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Optional Protocol“. The first law in the UAE to protect rights of people with disabilities is Federal Law No. 29 of 2009. According to the law`s article number 12, the UAE guarantees all of its citizens with disabilities equal access and opportunities to different stages of education. According to the UAE`s government: “MoE`s strategy is to adapt public schools to facilitate education for people of determination. Accordingly, people of determination are entitled to enrol in any school, without exception” (Government.ae, 2018, n. p.).
There is empirical evidence which suggests that kindergartens are pivotal and essential for integrating children with special needs and help parents find more effective ways of communication with their children (Almekhalfi & Tibi, 2012; Bradshaw & Tennant, 2004). However, children that require specialized learning are separated from other normal children or children who are less severely affected so that they can be accorded the special education. According to Almekhalfi and Tibi (2012) although the UAE is making first effort to integrate technology into the process of educating adults and children with special needs, significantly more effort should be made to assist the needs of children with such needs in kindergartens. For example the government is providing adaptive switches to help learners with impaired motor skills play with toys and games. Children without the ability to use their hands are also trained on how to use the mouth stick.
2.4. Early childhood education in the UAE
2.4.1. Overview of the UAE educational system
The UAE recognizes the importance of early education to the development of children. According to the Knowledge and Human development Authority, early childhood education incorporates the services that are offered by both kindergartens and nurseries. The education is offered before the age of six, which is the compulsory age for commencing primary education (Bradshaw, Tennant & Lydiatt, 2004). Early childhood education begins at around the age of four years. Early childhood education is non-compulsory according to the UAE federal law. However, the schools offering the education are provided with professional teachers as well as health and safety officers. Under the current system, young children mostly learn through play, which helps in the facilitation of social education adjustment.
Early childhood education has been less acceptable in UAE due to challenges of identity. Most of the qualified teachers in early childhood schools are expatriates, hence non-Arab speaking (Tibi & McLeod, 2014). Most parents fear taking their children to the schools since they feel that Arabic language is overlooked. They feel that bringing up their children at home greatly exposes them to Arabic language. This notion has affected the number of young children that are enrolled in early childhood schools. Besides, the government has also invested relatively less compared to the private sector in the early childhood education system since it is a non-compulsory form of education.
It is important to point out that the major religion of the UAE – Islam has an important impact on educational system of the country. The key religious premisesare also related to general human rights, that have an impact on education are (Bradshaw, Tennant & Lydiatt, 2004):
- The right for individuals to equality;
- The rightthat has been provided to residentsfor various basic life necessities as well as high quality social welfare;
- The right of the population not to be ridiculed or/ and abused, and the basic right to human dignity;
- The right of all individuals for education.
Also it is important to point out that Islam also has a premise according to which more wealthy and fortunate people should be support those less fortunate (Bradshaw et al., 2004). According to Islam, one can only become a true believer when he or she starts to wishing for their brothers what they would wish for themselves (Bradshaw et al., 2004; Mayer, 2017; Al‐Hosani & Rugg‐Gunn, 1998). Overall, it can be said that religion has a very important (central) role in educational system of the UAE and therefore is an important aspect to consider when investigate the problem of early education in the country, and challenges and pitfalls associated with it.
According to the statistical reports conducted by UNICEF (2009), developments of such areas as healthcare and education provide an impression that the UAE is steadily moving forward and progressing towards the sustainable development goals. For example, during the period of 2000 – 2006, the literacy rate among youth (ages 15 – 24) has increased to 98% (males) and 96% (females). The enrolment into primary school has reached 85% for the male residents, and 82% for female ones (UNICEF, Badry et al., 2017). Within the UAE formal school education was implemented only in 1953, with the first public school opening in Sharjah. Since that year, the number of schools as well as the quality of provided tutoring and education has significantly improved throughout the UAE (Al Momani et al., 2011). As pointed out by Al Momani et al. (2011), during the beginning of the 20th century within the context of the UAE, schooling was rather unsystematic in nature and did not receive centralised management. Most of the schools were restricted to bigger cities, and had individual decision-makers who decided the structure and nature of the curriculum. Interestingly, schools back then were commonly focused on teaching children the basics of religion and intricacies of pearl business – a venue that was highly popular and relevant in the early day Gulf Region (Al Momani et al., 2011).
Education in the UAE can be manifested via different forms: religious, general and technical. Additionally, the researchers distinguish between formal education and non-formal learning (e.g., adult education) (Tibi & McLeod, 2014). All of the Emirati children have a right and access to education offered by the UAE government, which has traditionally been under strong influence of Shari`ah law and Islam and Arabic influence (Gaad et al., 2006; Tibi & McLeod, 2014). According to Sowa and De La Vega (2008), all of the students of the Emirati nationality are entitled to free education.According to UAE’s constitution under Article 17 and Article 1 of Federal Law No. 11, all Emirati children are entitled to free education in public schools, colleges, and universities (Government.ae, 2018). It implies that all school that are funded by government provide free education to all Emirati children.
Within the UAE, it is common for Emirati mothers to stay at home caring for their younger children as local workforce is represented by women only by 13% (Al Sumaiti et al., 2012). In addition to that, extended family and relatives also may provide help raising the younger children. Therefore, in the country kindergartens for children from 4 to 5 are considered to be part of the so-called primary tier education (Mayer, 2017).
Primary education in the UAE lasts for six years, and is divided into two stages each lasting for three years. The first stage is also known as “junior primary”, where one teacher usually conducts lessons for one class of students during the entire day. The second stage “senior primary” has different teachers which familiarise the students with different subjects (Al Sumaiti et al., 2012). Primary education in the UAE is followed by preparatory education (for students 13 – 15 years of age), and later – secondary education (students 15 – 17 years of age). Thus overall, the total length of the Emirati children attending school is 12 years (Al-Momani et al., 2008).
Table 1: Levels of Education in UAE
| Category of Education | Description | No. of Years | |
| Primary | Junior Primary | 6 – 9 Years of age | 6 Years |
| Senior Primary | 11 – 12 Years of age | ||
| Preparatory Education | 13 -15 Years of age | 3 Years | |
| Secondary Education | 15 – 17 Years of age | 3 Years |
2.4.2. Early childhood education: the UAE
2.4.2.1. System overview: the local context
According to the entity responsible for education in Dubai– the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), within the context of the Emirates, early childhood education includes a range of services that are offered by nurseries and kindergartens before children enrol into the mandatory school (Al-Momani et al., 2008; Badry et al., 2017). Depending on the choice of their parents, children age 4 to 6 may attend kindergartens however it is important to point out that this stage is not mandatory in the UAE.Although there are some early childhood education schools that are funded by the UAE government, most of them are privately owned. With the increased number of Emirati women who are taking up employment, the number of children enrolled in early childhood education schools is rising. In most cases, the rich take their children to privately funded institutions while the lower class attend government funded ones. The average fee for pre-school education in UAE ranges between Dh 1,725 and Dh 98649 (Graves, 2016). Despite the non-compulsory nature, kindergartens are referred to as “schools” by the local Federal Law No. 9 (Karaman, 2011). Nurseries are allowed to offer services to young children (less than 4 years of age). According to Karaman (2011), in Dubai the KHDA refers to nurseries as “… educational institutes providing non-compulsory pre-school education for children through qualified teachers, health and safety professionals with the primary objective of promoting structured educational experiences” (p. 1).
Historically, the first kindergarten in the UAE was created in 1972, in Abu Dhabi (Karaman, 2011). The first establishment was quickly followed by opening three more, and since 1980 the development and functioning of early childhood education in the UAE was managed by the Directorate of Education (DE) in Kuwait. The Ministry of Education (MoE), as discussed by Al Sumaiti et al. (2012), was established in 1987, and within the organisation a special department was created to become responsible for primary education in general and functioning of the local kindergartens. In 1997 a specially designated structure was designed, which was responsible for developing standards, monitoring performance, developing curriculum and preparing staff of the UAE kindergartens (Al Sumaiti et al., 2012; Karaman, 2011; Tibi & McLeod, 2014; Badry et al., 2017). As pointed out by Sowa and De La Vega (2008), the sector of early childhood education in the UAE experiences slows but steady growth. Between 1972 – 1973 only 2,000 children enrolled in kindergartens; however this number had increased to reach 165,000 by 2016 (Graves, 2016). The first nursery licensed by the MoE was created in 1984, also in Dubai. Since then the number of nurseries in the UAE, and particularly in Dubai, has continued to grow (Mayer, 2017). One of the key reasons for that is booming economy of the region and a large number of expatriates moving to the country (Badry et al., 2017; Al-Momani et al., 2008: Karaman, 2011).
Table 2. Dynamics of the number of nurseries registered in Dubai (KHDA, 2018)
| Year | Number of nurseries in Dubai | Number of children enrolled |
| 2013 | 117 | 9253 |
| 2014 | 131 | 10345 |
| 2015 | 153 | 11957 |
| 2016 | 164 | 12236 |
| 2017 | 179 | 14003 |
According to the comprehensive report compiled by the KHDA (2018), a nursery one important link that helps strengthen and develop early educational system in Dubai and the UAE in general. As of 2015, only a total of 11% of the Emirati children in Dubai attended nurseries. Moreover, only 8.7% of the nursery professionals in Dubai spoke Arabic, which makes the nurseries mainly a target of interest for expats working in Dubai (KHDA, 2018). In 2014, there were only five non-private nurseries in Dubai which served only 112 children (KHDA, 2018). This statistics generally highlights the fact that early childhood education particularly in regards to nurseries lacks availability to local residents due to language issues and is generally perceived as a service for the foreign expatriates in the country.
Table 3. Nursery staff (source: Karaman, 2011)
According to Karaman (2011), such discrepancies and differences in local/ expatriate staff ratios are not relevant to the context of the UAE kindergartens (Table 2). Only 3% of staff within public kindergartens is of Gulf Region and Arabic origin, while 97% are expatriates (Table 3) (Karaman, 2011).
It is important to point out that empirical evidence concerning importance, quality or challenges within the UAE early childhood education is very scarce due to lack of interest in the area by most scholars. The study by Al-Momani et al. (2008) is one of a few works which aimed to explore kindergarten curriculum in the UAE via interviewing teachers. The researchers provide evidence according to which kindergarten teachers perceive the existing system and curriculum as inappropriate for local children and advocate for major improvements and changes.
2.4.2.2. Challenges and issues surrounding early childhood education in the UAE
According to Bennet and Coram (2009) an overall low enrolment rate of the Emirati children can be explained by a multitude of diverse and complex reasons. First of all, the Emirati families are known to value traditional customs and beliefs, and in line with such beliefs most families prefer to raise their children and educate them in-home. Traditional views also discourage mothers from placing their children in nurseries (Al‐Hosani & Rugg‐Gunn, 1998). Overall, according to Bennet and Coram (2009) the local system of convictions, values and beliefs creates an environment where parents give strong preferences to practices and techniques that allow them to educate their children at home as opposed to sending them to nurseries or kindergartens. However, according to the evidence gathered by Badry et al. (2017), the traditional values and beliefs, although highly important may not be the sole cause of overall parents` resistance to seeking external early childhood educational services. Instead, the quality of services offered by nurseries and kindergartens may create negative attitudes and perceptions that stop the parents from seeking their services for their children (Al‐Hosani & Rugg‐Gunn, 1998). As discussed before, underrepresentation of local staff in the nurseries can be one key reason (Baker, 2014). Overall dissatisfaction with the current curriculum, as pointed out by Badry et al. (2017), can be another serious concern among parents who are choosing between private and public early educational options for their children.Some other of the identified problems include overall lack of knowledge about the types of services provided by the nurseries and their potential important effect on the child`s development (Karaman, 2011). Baker (2014) raises an interesting point according to which one particular type of service is in great demand in the UAE among those women who choose to pursue career or their education after having a child. Such working/ studying mothers need nurseries that are integrated into the organizations they work for or have to be at least within close vicinity. However, this specific type of nurseries is highly scarce in Abu Dhabi and everywhere else in the UAE (practically non-existent).
According to Al‐Hosani and Rugg‐Gunn (1998) and Baker (0, the educational system in the UAE can be currently characterised as following the mixed model: combining both private and public sector childhood educational facilities (e.g., nurseries and kindergartens). Such mixed framework, although highly innovative and widely accepted by a number of developed countries (the United States, the United Kingdom) also poses some significant challenges and limitations. One such major issue concerns licensing of the early childhood educational facilities (KHDA, 2009). Ensuring proper licensing rules and regulations are in place helps ensure that children receive services from qualified and trained professionals, as well as determine that all safety and other important requirements are met by various nurseries and kindergartens.
2.5. Research gap
The current dissertation has identified a major research gap existing in current body of scholarly literature. More specifically it concerns the problem of early childhood education and its relevance specifically in the context of the UAE. As demonstrated by Baker (2015) although continuous effort is made to westernise the current educational model of the Emirates the progress is somewhat slow, and insufficient attention is given to the problem of early childhood education as majority of the Emirati children do not attend kindergartens or nurseries prior to enrolling in elementary schools.
Chapter 3. Methodology
3.1. Chapter overview
The current section of the thesis is dedicated to providing a detailed overview of the research methodology adopted within the course of the present Dissertation. More specifically, description and justification of approaches related to philosophical stance and research framework, research design, data collection tools and data analysis will be provided. The chapter will be concluded by a thorough discussion of issues related to study limitations and ethical concerns that have emerged during the course of the data collection.
3.3. Research design
3.3.1. Mixed-method approach
Mixed- method approach, as opposed to more straightforward, mono-method is concerned with combining quantitative and qualitative research tools to answer the established research questions (Easterby-Smith et al., 2012; Saunders et al., 2009). The approach is associated with a rather complex design, however can benefit a given study in a number of ways. First of all, the phenomenon of data triangulation becomes relevant as using multiple tools to obtain data allows to verify findings (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2013). For example, within the scope of the present study the data obtained via the use of surveys will be triangulated using information obtained via in—depth semi-structured interviews. This approach will also allow studying multiple perspectives on a single issue under investigation.
Bryman (2003) points out that many researchers choose to conduct a mixed-method study to be able to collect maximum amount of data. Easterby-Smithe et al. (2012), however warns against using such rationale as adopting mixed-method approach introduces disadvantages of both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Instead, facilitation and complementarity were suggested as valid reasoning (Saunders et al., 2009). Facilitation, as pointed out by Easterby-Smith et al. (2012) can be described as a phenomenon when the researcher utilizes at least two different data collection approaches in order to be able to address all of the established research questions. Such rationale was also relevant within the present research, as using surveys allowed to address (quantify) importance and potential outcomes of the UAE kindergartens while in-depth interviews helped understand the challenges associated with early childhood education in the country.
It is important to point out that mixed -method design is a relatively new notion in regards to educational studies (Al‐Hosani & Rugg‐Gunn, 1998), however this type of study is gradually gaining popularity because it equips the researchers with multiple complex tools allowing to simultaneously address numerous diverse questions (Easterby- Smith et al., 2012). Although the type of study such as mixed-method research can be regarded merely as a combination of two approaches – quantitative and qualitative, Creswell (2009) points out the existence of multiple characteristics that make this approach quite unique and different from its compounds: (1) systematic adoption (throughout the course of study) and integration of qualitative and quantitative data collection tools and analysis techniques; (2) giving priority to qualitative or quantitative types (during different stages of research) of data depending on the developed research questions; (3) performing steps such as quantitative and qualitative data collection simultaneously within a frame of one research project; (4) ensuring to embed the developed design into theoretical framework that has been chosen.
Creswell (2009) highlights that when adopting mixed-method research, it is pivotal to make some decisions related to timing, weighting relevance and mixing of the two distinct data sets – qualitative and quantitative. Within the scope of the current study, the researcher due to some pivotal practical considerations, have first distributed questionnaires among parents of children, and then while reminding respondents to complete them and return, started conducting in-person interviews with the kindergarten teachers. This allowed to address the problem of the limited time frame of the study. Another key procedure the researcher had to perform as per guidance by Östlund et al. (2011), concerned weighting of the obtained findings based on two distinct methods – surveys and interviews. The process of weighting involves critical assessment of which (if any) part of the collected data should be given priority when deriving knowledge from the obtained data (Creswell & Clark, 2007). Moreover, the researcher can choose from one of the three available options: (1) equal priority; (2) giving priority to quantitative findings; (3) giving priority to qualitative findings. A number of factors (sample size, specific data collection tools used and their validity) can guide the researcher in this complex decision (Creswell, 2009). Within the context of the present study, the researcher has chosen to give both types of data collected equal priority, due to the fact that surveys and in-depth interviews represent two different but relevant standpoints: point of view of teachers and children (recorded via their parents` observations and perceptions).
The study will also engage in the analysis of existing data that will include collecting and analyzing data on early childhood education enrolment, the number of Emirati children attending the pre-school education, number of institutions, and model of institutions among others. Existing data is crucial to the study as it will provide objective data about the current situation of early childhood education.
The final decision made by the researcher in regards to the mixed-method approach concerned mixing process (Creswell, 2009). According to Östlund et al. (2011), the stage such as mixing is concerned with the stage of the study when the results obtained via use of quantitative and qualitative data collection tools are combined to produce knowledge. Within the context of the current Thesis, the mixing process was conducted during data analysis stage: the researcher has first analysed quantitative data, the results of which were compared and contrasted with qualitative findings. In addition to that, both of the obtained datasets were critically evaluated against the body of existing literature to conduct data triangulation step as discussed by Saunders et al. (2009).
3.3.2. Time horizon
Easterby-Smith et al. (2012) distinguish between two types of scientific studies – cross- sectional and longitudinal – concerning chosen timeframe. The present Dissertation is cross- sectional in nature as it focuses on a specific point of time when analysing the impact of early childhood education in the UAE. The key limitation of such approach is that it does not allow capturingof any dynamic processes or trends (Saunders et al., 2009). The chosen approach, however, was the only one practically feasible and is suitable to answer the established research questions.
3.3.3. Study participants and sampling
Sampling is of critical importance because it helps in the determination of the number of adequate respondents from a target population. My target population was the early childhood education public schools in UAE. By use of effective sampling, a researcher will be able to generalize the results of the study to the target population thus making it very practical. Proper sampling techniques also make the research process more economical while it produces a comprehensive result.
A good sampling technique should meet the following criteria. It should be measurable, goal oriented, practical, and economical. As such, the sample chosen for the research was based on the objectives of the study that include establishing the efficacy of early childhood education in UAE and establishing the effect that it has on the development of the children. Purposive sampling technique was used to collect field data that culminated into primary data (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2009). The sampling technique allowed the researcher to obtain results that are a representative of the general state of the population that was under study. As pointed out by Easterby-Smith et al. (2012) this type of sampling technique will help in providing greater precision. Besides, the sampling method will only require a convenient size of the population thus helping to save resources. The sampling method will also help in guarding against unrepresentative sample.
Two kindergarten schools were selected in Dubai for the study. The two schools were selected due to their proximity to one another. They also represent a paradigmatic example of early childhood schools. The two schools were all public schools. The schools that were chosen had pupils that had been drawn from various socio-cultural and economic backgrounds. From the schools, the researcher interviewed a total of eight teachers that were chosen through the help of the school coordinator. A total of fifty-five parents were drafted for the survey and fifty-one results were used. Four results of the survey had irregularities and were thus omitted. All the parents were chosen from Dubai. All their children attended public early childhood education schools.
3.4. Data collection
3.4.1. In-depth semi structured interviews
In-depth interviews are a commonly applied data collection tool which is utilised in qualitative research. The advantage of conducting interviews is that they allow to conduct in-depth investigation of complex personal experiences of the study participants and collect diverse data that cannot be quantified or transferred into numerical values (thus excluding a possibility of quantitative approach) (Easterby-Smith et al., 2012; Cohen et al., 2013). Semi-structured interviews are commonly adopted within studies exploring the role of education and its role in child`s life (Elango et al., 2015; Sowa & De La Vega, 2008). Semi-structured interviews can be best characterised as an interviewing process, during which an interviewer asks an interviewee a series of pre-designed questions related to the topic of interest (Easterby-Smith et al., 2012). The key aspect (or merit) of semi-structured interviews is that they allow the interviewer to change or alter the course of the conversation in case an interesting theme or topic emerges. Thus the discussed tool effectively combines some degree of rigor (e.g., based on the list of questions) and flexibility (allows to ask follow-up questions), which is considered highly beneficial when exploring topics that are poorly researched or understood (Easterby-Smith et al., 2012; Cohen et al., 2013). Although a number of studies have been dedicated to the problem of education in the UAE, relatively few have focused on early childhood education and its role (Sowa & De La Vega, 2008).
However, apart from merits the discussed approach is known to have some limitations. First of all in-depth interviews are highly complex and time consuming and require from the interviewer a great deal of preparation (Easterby- Smith et al., 2012) as well as knowledge of the subject (Cohen et al., 2013). During the course of the interview with the UAE elementary school teachers, the researcher had to be prepared to control the course of the conversation and ensure that the interviewee answers the questions, as opposed to initiating discussion of an irrelevant topic.
A total of eight teachers were interviewed in-person. The researcher tried to conduct all of the interviews in quiet places (e.g., offices) where the conversation would not be interrupted. On average each interview lasted 30 minutes (minimum time 18 min and maximum – 49 min). In order to maximise validity of the chosen data collection instrument, the researcher has taken the following steps:
- Carefully listening to the interviewees and making sufficient pauses after they have answered a question to provide them with an opportunity to reflect on their response or add to it;
- Demonstrating interest in what interviewees are saying without expressing personal opinion, position on the matter;
- Ensure that the respondents are from diverse teaching backgrounds, yet all have sufficient experience to reflect on the matter.
The knowledge obtained via interviewing respondents was supported by data obtained via use of surveys – a tool discussed within the next section.
3.4.2. Surveys as a data collection technique
Surveys along with questionnaires are some of the most common data collection techniques adopted to obtain quantitative data (Saunders et al., 2009). One of the key advantages of using surveys (or questionnaires) as a data collection tool is the fact that it allows to collect significant amounts of data in relatively short period of time (Easterby-Smith et al., 2012). In addition to that, surveys are considered an approach that has some rigor and thus helps obtain results that can be replicated by other scholars (Cohen et al., 2013). The current study adopted surveys to eliminate possible bias when assessing impact of early childhood education on the Emirati children outcomes.
At the same time, using surveys is associated with some limitations. First of all, surveys are highly rigid as the researcher cannot change the course of the study in case an interesting topic or issue have been identified (Easterby-Smith et al., 2012). The approach is also not suitable for studying some complex phenomena particularly if their social context is relevant to the established research questions. Although surveys allow us to collect vast volumes of data, this data is of quantitative nature and thus lacks depth (Cohen et al., 2013).
A survey was designed for the purpose of the current study, consisting of two parts: (1) demographic data of the study participants; (2) questions related to possible impact of early childhood education (or lack of it) on child`s outcomes (Appendix 1).
3.4.3. Data collection procedures
The researcher, prior to collecting data, has first approached representatives of the two chosen kindergartens in Dubai to obtain formal permission to conduct the study. The emails explaining the purpose of the study and requesting access to the facility`s staff were followed by in-person meeting. Once the permission was obtained, the researcher has recruited the selected eight kindergarten teachers using help of the Kindergarten Coordinator.
All of the teachers were asked to fill in the consent form (see section 3.6.1) and the researcher tried to schedule interviews at the time that was most convenient for the interviewees. The interviews were audio recorded and were conducted in Arabic language, and later translated into English for further analysis as per recommendation (Cohen et al., 2013). Prior to using an audio recorder, the researcher had ensured whether the respondents were comfortable with it and all eight responded in consent.
3.4.4. Study validity and reliability
Saunders et al. (2009) draws attention to the fact that researchers have to consider issues related to validity and reliability when planning and conducting empirical studies. Reliability is concerned with consistency of measure (Cohen et al., 2013). In order to ensure high reliability, the researcher sent all the surveys to the participants at the same time. A test for internal consistency was conducted that established that the responses made by the participants had a high internal consistency. Study validity, on the other hand is concerned with ensuring that appropriate data collection and analysis techniques were used to answer the established research questions (Cohen et al., 2013). In case of the present study the researcher has used surveys similarly to Baker (2015) and Sowa and De La Vega (2008), and conducted in-depth interviews similarly to Haimaidi et al. (2012) who also focused on the problem of kindergartens in the UAE.
3.5. Data analysis
3.5.1. Coding and thematic analysis
The data collected were organized for analysis through coding and thematic analysis. Thematic analysis, as discussed by Cohen et al. (2013), concerns computerised or manual examination of text with an aim of identifying re-occurring and relevant patterns. The identified themes can then be grouped depending on their meaning and relevance to the chosen topic (Cohen et al., 2013; Easterby-Smith et al., 2012).In the case of the present research, manual coding has been performed.
Coding can either be done by using program software or manually. In this case, the coding for the qualitative data was done manually. The process involved highlighting the notes that were being analyzed by the researcher. The data was then systematically coded to identify the themes that emerged in the data collected. After all the data had been coded, all data that had the same code were placed together. The coding helped in the identification of seven themes that included, difficulties with English at school, difficulties with mathematics at school, difficulties learning to write, feeling isolated in school, difficulties with socializing, struggles to work in a team, and attend schools regularly. According to Saldana (2013), thematic analysis and coding allow the researcher to develop his/her own data analysis framework which is tailored specifically to the chosen topic as opposed to using pre-established tools and topics. Theming and categorising qualitative results in such a manner allows to obtain findings that can be compared and contrasted with quantitative data findings (Saldana, 2013) which is particularly important and relevant within the context of the current study. The themes were then subjected to ANOVA test.
3.5.2. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis
The study employed both descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Descriptive analysis is mainly concerned with the quantitative description of the important datasets in the study. The descriptive measures mainly involve the use of measures of central tendency as well as measures of dispersion. In the present study, descriptive statistics has been applied within the context of the study to evaluate possible outcomes of early childhood education on the Emirati children. More specifically, each variable was presented using mean value and standard deviation as per recommendation by Creswell (2009). The researcher has organized and analyzed the collected data in a meaningful and presentable way through the use of graphs, charts, and tables. As such, the analysis presents a comprehensive description of the situation.
The researcher also utilized inferential statistics to help in creating conclusions about the population. In order to identify and test for significance of the relationships between studied variables, the researcher has conducted a number of ANOVA tests. According to Saunders et al. (2009) ANOVA test analysis is a reliable tool that allows not only understanding relationships between different types of variables but also developing complex models. Within the context of the present study, ANOVA testing was used to understand how parental decision to allow their child to attend a kindergarten or not impacts performance of their children at school, attitude towards team work and school in general. Through the inferential statistics, the researcher was able to explain the chances of occurrence in future of the themes that were identified in the study.
3.6. Ethical issues and study limitations
3.6.1. Ethical concerns
The study adhered to all the requirements of conducting an ethical study. Before conducting the study, the researcher got an approval from the institution’s review board. Approval from the board confirmed that the research had fulfilled the criteria for conducting ethical research. Besides, the participants were recruited voluntarily into the study. No participant was coerced to participate in the study. They were informed of the objectives of the study, their role as subjects, and the benefits and risks of participating in the research. The participants were then allowed to make a choice on whether to participate in the study or not. The researcher also respected the wish of the participants to remain anonymous. The data collected from the participants were kept confidential to respect their right to dignity and fidelity as well as to protect them from harm. The researcher has also respected the privacy of the participants by not sharing any confidential information in the study report.
3.6.2. Study limitations
The study had various limitations. However, there were measures that were taken to prevent the limitations from having a significant effect on the results of the study. One of the limitations of the study was the sample size. The study utilized a small sample size that may not reflect all the characteristics of early childhood education in the UAE. However, the sample size did not majorly affect the results of the study since it mainly utilized a qualitative design. The study is cross sectional in nature, and thus cannot reflect any processes or dynamics that may change and affect early childhood education in the UAE.Another important issue is that although the goal of the research was to explore and understand impact of elementary education on the UAE children, the latter were not surveyed or interviewed. Instead, the researcher has sampled opinions and perceptions of teachers and parents, to reconstruct experiences of children. This approach is indirect and thus is prone to potential bias.
The study was limited by its over-reliance on self reported data. Reliance on self- reporting is another common concern within quantitative research (Easterby- Smith et al., 2012; Saunders et al., 2009). Within the context of the present study, a total of two parents out of 51 surveyed have shared that they on average spend over 20 hours a week teaching and schooling their children. Although theoretically possible, such high value is highly suspicious. However, the researcher had to work with the information that was provided by the participants.
The study was also limited by longitudinal effects. For an effective analysis of the impact of early childhood education on development and attainment of latter life, the study needs to be conducted over an extended period of time. However, the time available for the research was limited hence there was no sufficient time to measure change or stability. Therefore, the researcher had to rely on already existing literature to predict the impact that early childhood education may have on the child in their future life.
3.7. Chapter summary
The chapter presents the research framework and approach that will be utilized in the study. The research identified Erikson’s psychosocial theory as the most appropriate theory that can provide a theoretical framework for the study. Erikson identifies the various stages of development in human life. The study was particularly concerned with the third stage that occurs from four to five years. The study utilized a mixed methods approach where both qualitative and quantitative designs were used for the study. The data collection instruments used for the study included interviews and surveys. The collected data was analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistical analysis methods.
Chapter 4. Findings and discussion
4.1. Chapter overview
The chapter presents the findings and discussions of the study as was observed from the analysis of the data sets that were collected from the participants. The researcher identified the key findings in the study and presented them in the form of narratives. The narratives were also accompanied with tables, charts, and figures to help in providing a summarized view of the results. The chapter is structured to present the finding in the form of quantitative findings, qualitative findings and analysis, and finally discussions.
4.2. Quantitative findings
According to Saunders et al. (2009) and Cohen et al. (2013) credibility of the study and its generalisability depend on the recruited sample population of respondents. More specifically, it is often advantageous to recruit respondents of diverse backgrounds – heterogamous samples – to ensure that views and opinions of different cohorts (e.g., gender, age) are represented. In order to determine, whether a heterogeneous sample was obtained, demographic data of the respondents was analysed using descriptive statistical approach.
Some of the key demographic characteristics that were scored and accounted for within the context of the present research are: respondents` age, gender, number of children, time spent educating children (in hours per week). According to the obtained results, majority of the surveyed respondents (49 out of 52) – or 98% were represented by females (mothers of the children) (Figure 2). Such predominance of females in the sample can be explained by cultural traditions according to which mothers are more involved in attending their children in the UAE.
Figure 2. Proportion of males versus females within the sample of respondents
Concerning age of the sampled participants, majority of the sample was represented by two age groups: 18 – 25 and 26 – 35 (98% of the sample). This finding reflects cultural norms dominating in the UAE. It is important to point out that the youngest respondent was 22 years of age, while the oldest – 45 years of age.
4.3.1. Descriptive statistical analysis of the data
According to Saunders et al. (2009) prior to conducting statistical analysis of the data it is important to ensure that the obtained data is of high quality and can be used to answer the established research questions or test the hypotheses. In accordance with the guidance and argument by Saunders et al. (2009) and Easterby- Smith et al. (2012), prior to conducting descriptive and inferential statistical analyses, the data obtained via adopting survey- based approach has been first manually inspected for any sort of inconsistencies or errors. Among the 55 obtained completed surveys, a total of 4 contained different errors such as missing data and incorrect value (22 instead of 2 on a Likert scale). Instead of fixing these errors and inconsistencies manually and introducing possible subjective error, the researcher has made a decision to remove surveys with issue from the further analysis. The rationale for choosing such approach was the following. According to Saunders et al. (2009), to date none of the available statistical tests allow for accounting for the issues concerned with missing data, and therefore such issues can introduce unwanted bias and false results into the study.
The obtained 51 complete surveys were therefore used for the further analysis in the context of the present study. In order to understand and quantify the possible effects of attending a public kindergarten on various students` outcomes, the parents of children were asked a series of questions (see Appendix 1) concerning problems and issues experienced by their children at elementary school. The parents were asked to use Likert scale to assess magnitude of the issues or lack of those in relation to their children: 1= “I completely disagree”, 2 = “I somewhat disagree”, 3= “I am not sure”, 4=”I somewhat agree” and 5= “I fully agree”). The present study aligned with the argument and advice by Barde (2012) has resorted to reporting mean values of the 8 measured variables (experiences of children at school). In addition to that, standard deviation (SD) values were calculated for each of the variables and reported alongside the mean values. The present research has chosen to report SD values because the latter allow demonstrating the degree to which the obtained data is dispersed from its respective mean (Saunders et al., 2012). Therefore, reporting mean and SD values allowed the researcher to demonstrate a general idea about a certain aspect of student`s outcome (e.g., communication problems extent) and variability of the obtained data.
It is important to highlight that the key focus of the present research was understanding the role and contribution of early childhood education towards child development and its role within the UAE context. In order to achieve the established goal and answer the developed research questions, a number of items on the adopted survey (Appendix 2) were focused on whether parents allowed their child to attend a kindergarten and if so, what kind of kindergarten it was. Table 4 demonstrates distribution of parents surveyed within the context of the present study, who allowed and did not allow to attend a kindergarten. According to the conducted analysis, 25 or 49% of the surveyed parents have allowed their child to attend a kindergarten, while 51% did not. It is important to highlight that this statistics do not reflect actual situation in the country as the non- probabilistic type of sampling method has been recruited within the context of the research to allow comparison of child`s development and performance in the UAE schools. As discussed earlier, in reality majority of parents (over 90%) decide not to allow their children to attend a kindergarten in the UAE for various reasons (Bradshaw et al., 2004;Hamaidi et al., 2012).
Table 4. Proportion of parents who allowed or did not allow their child to attend a kindergarten in the UAE
| Survey variable item | Frequency | Percent |
| Yes, my child attended a kindergarten | 25 | 49.0 |
| No, my child did not attend a kindergarten | 26 | 51.0 |
| Total | 51 | 100.0 |
Out of these 25 parents who allowed their children to attend a kindergarten, majority (20 individuals or 80%) have shared that they have chosen private kindergartens, while only 20% were using services of a public facility (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Percentage of children attending private or public kindergarten
Such finding reflects what is currently known from the literature, as public kindergartens indeed are currently attracting less parents when compared to private facilities (XX; XX). This can be regarded as a major problem within the context of the UAE.
Another important point of concern was the amount of time the surveyed parents spent educating or engaging into learning activities with their children in the UAE. According to Al-Momani et al. (2008), engagement of parents into playing and learning activities is one of the key determinants of healthy development and subsequent academic success at school. Children, that are on the other hand deprived of parental attention and involvement into studying process, later in life experience lack of commitment to the process of learning and other issues that may delay or slowdown their academic performance (Hamaidi et al., 2012). In order to investigate how committed the UAE parents are into the process of their children`s learning, one of the survey questions (Appendix 2) has asked them to provide an estimate how many hours per week they spend engaging into studying/ learning activities with their child (or children). The obtained results are presented within the Table 5.
Table 5. Number of hours spent by the Emirati parents teaching their children at home per week
| Amount of hours spent with a child educating him/ her per week | Frequency | Percent | Valid Percent |
| 1- 5 hours per week | 23 | 45.1 | 45.1 |
| 6 – 10 hours per week | 10 | 19.6 | 19.6 |
| 11- 15 hours per week | 12 | 23.5 | 23.5 |
| 16 – 20 hours per week | 4 | 7.8 | 7.8 |
| 21- 25 hours per week | 2 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
| Total | 51 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
As demonstrated by the Table 5, majority of the surveyed parents (45.1%) only spent between 1 – 5 hours per week teaching their young children. A total of 10 (or 19.6%) of the parents reported dedicating 6 – 10 hours per week to teach their child. A clarification was made to the study participants that the time estimate could have included involvement of both parents as well as the extended family as opposed only scoring the time the responder her/himself engaged teaching their child. Almost one quarter of the surveyed parents (12 or 23.5%) reported spending between 11 and 15 hours per week teaching their child. A total of 4 (or 7.8%) of parents spent over 16 hours per week engaged into learning activities with their children. And finally, two parents (3.9%) have shared that they and their extended family educate their children at home for over 21 hours (Table 5).
Figure 4. Amount of time the Emirati parents and extended family spend educating their children
The Figure 4 provides an illustration of how actively Emirati parents are engaged with their children in terms of learning activities and early childhood education. The present research suggests that the obtained results are representative of the global trends as Al-Momani et al. (2008) report that in the United States, parents spend on average around 4 – 6 hours a day engaged into learning with their children ages 3 through 5. However, it is important to point out that although the Emirati parents may spend comparable amount of time engaged into learning with their children, the time spent may not be sufficient to compensate for the fact that majority of the Emirati children are deprived of the benefits of early childhood education. In line with such consideration, it can be suggested that the Emirati parents who choose not to allow their children to attend a kindergarten should be able to compensate for such decision by spending more time reading books, playing and studying together.
The obtained descriptive data is presented within the Table 6. As seen from the Table 4, the surveyed parents of the Emirati children have reported some issues and struggle their children are currently experiencing in elementary school. First of all, according to the obtained results, a number of parents have reported their children having difficulties when learning or speaking English at school (M= 2.37, SD= 1.22). Even more so, according to the surveyed parents, Emirati children often have difficulties studying and understanding mathematics at school (M=3.06, SD= 1.48) (Table 6). Importantly, a number of researchers have demonstrated that children across the globe experience problems learning mathematics and technology- related subjects in general (Al-Momani et al., 2008; Hamaidi et al., 2012). Therefore, the situation in the UAE is aligned with global trends and educational environment in that sense.
Table 6. Descriptive statistical analysis of the obtained data
| Variable studied | N | Minimum | Maximum | Mean | Std. Deviation |
| Statistic | Statistic | Statistic | Statistic | Statistic | |
| Difficulties with English at school | 51 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 2.37 | 1.22 |
| Difficulties with mathematics at school | 51 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 3.06 | 1.48 |
| Difficulties learning to write | 51 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 2.78 | 1.27 |
| Difficulties socialising | 51 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 2.80 | 1.33 |
| Struggles to work in a team | 51 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 2.57 | 1.04 |
| Feels isolated at school | 51 | 1.00 | 4.00 | 2.37 | 0.96 |
| Attends school happily | 51 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 3.43 | 1.12 |
| Difficulties speaking Arabic | 51 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 2.61 | 1.21 |
| Acquires life skills in School | 51 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 3.34 | 1.16 |
| Valid N (listwise) | 51 |
As shown within Table 6, quite a number of parents believe that their children experience difficulties writing or learning to write in Arabic at school (M=2. 78, SD= 1.27). Importantly, a number of parents have shared that their children experience various issues when socializing with their peers at school (M= 2.80, SD= 1.33). Struggling to work in a team of students was another commonly reported problem closely aligned to children`s ability to socialise and interact with peers within the school environment (M=2.57, SD= 1.04) (Table 6). Quite some parents also perceived as if their child (to a varying degree) may experience feeling isolated at school (M= 2.37, SD= 0.96) (Table 6). A majority of the parents felt that their children did not have difficulties speaking in Arabic (M=2.61, SD=1.21). Most of the parents agreed that the students acquired life skills while attending the kindergarten schools (M=3.34, SD=1.16).Overall, however, majority of parents surveyed within the context of the present study has shared that they feel as if their children attend school happily (M= 3.43, SD= 1.12) (Table 6). This is a highly important finding of the present research, because apart from the quality of developed educational curriculum it is also highly important that students enjoy the process of learning, readily and happily engage in various school activities and experience different positive emotions when going to school (Al-Momani et al., 2008; Baker, 2014; Baker, 2015). The present research suggests that descriptive statistical analysis conducted on the obtained dataset reveals that although some parents report that their children experience different types of issues at elementary school, overall the reported struggles are similar to those reported across the globe.
4.3.2. Normality and skewness analysis and t-test
Inferential statistical analysis has been performed on the obtained dataset in order to determine whether attending a kindergarten in the UAE has a statistically significant impact on students` academic performance, communicational skills and ability to socialise with their peers. Therefore, attending a kindergarten was considered an independent variable, and the others – (see Table 7) dependent ones. According to Saunders et al. (2009) choosing for the most appropriate type of statistical analysis is often a highly challenging and demanding task. In order to choose the most appropriate inferential statistical analysis method, the data in line with the guidance by Saunders et al. (2009) was first tested for normality and skewedness. The researcher has adopted the normality testing procedure known as Kurtosis distribution test (Cramer and Howitt, 2004). According to Cramer and Howitt (2004) conducting the abovementioned procedure allows determine whether the obtained data follows normal distribution pattern, and whether it is skewed towards maximum or minimum values. The Kurtosis value (K) equal or greater than the suggested value of 1.96 indicates that the obtained data easily falls within normal distribution pattern. K values under 1.96 value, on the other hand, indicate that the data is not normally distributed and therefore the researcher has to adopt special testing procedures (Cramer & Howitt, 2004).
Table 7. Skewness and Kurtosis data of the obtained dataset
| Variable studied | Skewness | Kurtosis | K value | ||
| Statistic | Std. Error | Statistic | Std. Error | ||
| Difficulties with English at school | 0.62 | 0.33 | 3.24 | 0.66 | 4.94 |
| Difficulties with mathematics at school | -0.07 | 0.33 | 4.35 | 0.66 | 6.63 |
| Difficulties learning to write | 0.30 | 0.33 | 2.10 | 0.66 | 3.20 |
| Difficulties socialising | 0.38 | 0.33 | 1.78 | 0.66 | 2.71 |
| Struggles to work in a team | 0.30 | 0.33 | 1.30 | 0.66 | 1.98 |
| Feels isolated at school | 0.31 | 0.33 | 1.44 | 0.66 | 2.20 |
| Attends school happily | -0.67 | 0.33 | 1.87 | 0.66 | 2.85 |
| Valid N (listwise) | 51 |
As demonstrated within Table 7, overall, all of the tested variables show patterns consistent with normal pattern of distribution (based on the calculated value). In line with such considerations, no special procedures were adopted (Saunders et al., 2009) to account for abnormally distributed data.
4.3.3. Inferential statistical analysis
Inferential statistical analysis has been conducted to answer the established research questions. As pointed out by Saunders et al. (2009), inferential statistical analysis allows accounting for and identifying possible relationships between different types of variables. Moreover, adoption of different inferential analysis tools allows testing these relationships for their significance.
First of all, in order to understand whether parents who decide not to allow their children to attend kindergartens compensate such decision for allocating more time available to teach, engage with their children at home, the obtained data was split into two parts and the means of two groups were compared (Table 8).
Table 8. Comparison of time allocation for children learning among two groups of parents
| My child has attended a kindergarten | Frequency | Percent | |
| No | 1- 5 hours per week | 11 | 44.0 |
| 6 – 10 hours per week | 5 | 20.0 | |
| 11- 15 hours per week | 6 | 24.0 | |
| 16 – 20 hours per week | 2 | 8.0 | |
| 21- 25 hours per week | 1 | 4.0 | |
| Total | 25 | 100.0 | |
| Yes | 1- 5 hours per week | 12 | 46.2 |
| 6 – 10 hours per week | 5 | 19.2 | |
| 11- 15 hours per week | 6 | 23.1 | |
| 16 – 20 hours per week | 2 | 7.7 | |
| 21- 25 hours per week | 1 | 3.8 | |
| Total | 26 | 100.0 |
The comparison has demonstrated that no significant difference was observed in how two groups of parents have allocated their free time in regards to educating their children at home (significance level of 0.05). This finding is very important as it suggests that despite initial expectations, parents who make a decision not to allow their child to attend a kindergarten, in fact do not seem to compensate it by spending more time preparing him/ her for school. Figure 5 illustrates the specific differences between two surveyed groups of parents.
Figure 5. Comparison of how much time two groups of surveyed parents allocate for education and teaching their children at home
The finding is very important and it should be considered by policy makers during decision- making process concerning importance, role and promotion of early childhood education in the UAE. The obtained results suggest that the parents of the UAE children are not aware that by opting out of kindergarten facilities, they should consider engage into learning activities with their children to compensate for the differences in academic and social preparedness level between their child and children who do attend a kindergarten. Such differences may become rather pronounced once two groups of children attend elementary school (XX), and can lead to significant differences in children academic performance and social adaptation (Hamaidi et al., 2012).
Secondly, to understand the impact of early childhood education on child development, academic performance and socialising skills, a series of tests were conducted to test for the existing relationships. The present study expected that children attending a kindergarten will experience fewer difficulties in relation to their academic performance and communicating with peers when compared to children who have not attended a kindergarten. First of all, the mean values for all of the key tested variables (Appendix 2) were scored (Table 8 and 9).
Table 9. Mean comparison between two groups: children attending kindergartens versus children not attending kindergartens (part 1)
| My child has attending a kindergarten | Difficulties with English at school | Difficulties with mathematics at school | Difficulties learning to write | |
| No | Mean | 2.12 | 2.68 | 2.40 |
| Std. Deviation | 1.01 | 1.35 | 1.04 | |
| Yes | Mean | 2.62 | 3.42 | 3.15 |
| Std. Deviation | 1.36 | 1.53 | 1.38 | |
| Total | Mean | 2.37 | 3.06 | 2.78 |
| Std. Deviation | 1.22 | 1.48 | 1.27 |
The presented tables indicate that some differences were observed in relation to academic performance experienced by children who have and have not attended the kindergarten in the UAE (Table 8 and 9).
Table 10. Mean comparison between two groups: children attending kindergartens versus children not attending kindergartens (part 2)
| My child has attending a kindergarten | Difficulties socialising | Struggles to work in a team | Feels isolated at school | Attends school happily | |
| Yes | Mean | 2.16 | 2.04 | 2.12 | 3.72 |
| Std. Deviation | 0.99 | 0.79 | 0.88 | 0.94 | |
| No | Mean | 3.42 | 3.08 | 2.62 | 3.15 |
| Std. Deviation | 1.33 | 1.02 | 0.98 | 1.22 | |
| Total | Mean | 2.80 | 2.57 | 2.37 | 3.43 |
| Std. Deviation | 1.33 | 1.04 | 0.96 | 1.12 |
Despite the observed differences in mean values of the two compared groups (Table 9 and 10), an ANOVA test has been conducted (Saunders et al.,2009) to understand whether the observed differences between two groups of students are indeed significant. Within three out of seven tested variables related to children academic and social performance, significant relationship between attending a kindergarten and performance were identified. For example, it has been demonstrated that children attending a kindergarten experience less problems studying and understanding mathematics at school (F= 3.39, p= 0.05), writing (F=4.84, p=0.03), difficulties socializing (F=14.02, p=0.00), do not struggle as much when working in a team (F= 16.04, p=0.00). At the same time, although there is definitely a trend, no significant relationship has been identified in relation to kindergarten children feeling lessl isolated when going to school (F= 3.58, p=0.06), or feeling less or more happy when attending school (F= 3.43, p= 0.07) (Table 11). The obtained results are aligned with the existing empirical evidence concerning which attending kindergartens indeed has a pronounced positive impact on child`s performance both in terms of socialisation and ability to demonstrate high results in relation to academic performance.
Table 11. Results of ANOVA analysis testing (only significant or close to significant results presented)
| Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | ||
| Difficulties with mathematics at school * My child has attending a kindergarten | Between Groups | 7.04 | 1.00 | 7.04 | 3.39 | 0.05 |
| Within Groups | 101.79 | 49.00 | 2.08 | |||
| Difficulties learning to write * My child has attending a kindergarten | Between Groups | 7.24 | 1.00 | 7.24 | 4.84 | 0.03 |
| Within Groups | 73.38 | 49.00 | 1.50 | |||
| Difficulties socialising * My child has attending a kindergarten | Between Groups | 20.33 | 1.00 | 20.33 | 14.72 | 0.00 |
| Within Groups | 67.71 | 49.00 | 1.38 | |||
| Struggles to work in a team * My child has attending a kindergarten | Between Groups | 13.70 | 1.00 | 13.70 | 16.46 | 0.00 |
| Within Groups | 40.81 | 49.00 | 0.83 | |||
| Feels isolated at school * My child has attending a kindergarten | Between Groups | 3.13 | 1.00 | 3.13 | 3.58 | 0.06 |
| Within Groups | 42.79 | 49.00 | 0.87 | |||
| Attends school happily * My child has attending a kindergarten | Between Groups | 4.09 | 1.00 | 4.09 | 3.43 | 0.07 |
| Within Groups | 58.42 | 49.00 | 1.19 |
However, it also has to be mentioned that some of the obtained results are quite surprising. First of all the identified higher performance of students who have attended a kindergarten when compared to those who have not, in relation to mathematics is rather surprising. To the present knowledge, the curriculum of the UAE kindergartens does not contain any materials or processes related to teaching children mathematics at such early age (Hamaidi et al., 2012). Therefore it is not completely clear why students may advance in mathematics (during attending elementary school) after they have been enrolled in kindergartens. According to Hamaidi et al. (2012), early childhood education, as opposed to teaching specific disciplines or rules, provides children with engaging learning materials that aim to foster and stimulate curiosity driven mind and attitude. Therefore, the present work hypothesises that attending a kindergarten in the UAE can help children in their further pursuit of mathematics and exact sciences by helping develop curiosity- and learning- oriented mindset.
Another important finding concerns the fact that both groups of children studied generally perceive themselves as happy when going to the UAE schools. It is a very crucial finding as it suggests that the Emirati children are actively engaged in social and academic activities they enjoy while attending elementary schools of the UAE. It is important to know that whether parents decide to enrol their child in the kindergarten in the UAE, the child will most likely enjoy the experience.
4.3. Qualitative findings
4.3.1. Relevance and impact of early childhood education in the UAE
As per recommendation by Saunders et al. (2009), a similar procedure has been applied towards participants of the qualitative part of the research, as their demographic data was collected (Table 12). According to the obtained data, the interviewed teachers have had professional experience from a minimum of 4 years (Respondent 4) to 15 years (Respondent 6). As demonstrated within the Table 9, the age of the participants ranged from 29 to 48 years of age. Finally, of the interviewed kindergarten staff was females (Table 12). Overall, it can be suggested that the current study has recruited a sample population that can be regarded as diverse and representative of the current staff of the UAE kindergartens (Bennett & Coram, 2009).
Table 12. Demographic characteristics of the interviewed kindergarten teachers
| Teacher | Years of experience as a kindergarten teacher | Age | Gender |
| 1 | over 5 | 36 | Female |
| 2 | 6 | 48 | Female |
| 3 | 11 | 29 | Female |
| 4 | 4 | 29 | Female |
| 5 | 9 | 43 | Female |
| 6 | 15 | 55 | Female |
| 7 | 5 | 32 | Female |
| 8 | 7 | 41 | Female |
During the course of the interview a number of relevant themes have emerged related to the impact of early childhood education in the UAE: reducing inequality, improving communication and socialising experience, achieving academic excellence.
According to two of the eight interviewed kindergarten teachers, early childhood education was an important step in reducing possible inequalities existing within the UAE families.
In my own experience children come from very different families. You often see that both parents are involved into child education and development… They read books to their children, talk to them… But sometimes, unfortunately, children receive very little if any intellectual stimulation at home – mother is too busy with youngest children, dad is at work. Kindergartens allow to reduce such differences (Respondent B).
Overall, 100% of the interviewed teachers have expressed an opinion that early childhood education is highly important within the UAE, and that current measures applied by the government to strengthen it should be increased. Among some of the key reasons why the teachers believe early education is important are: increasing literacy skills, enhancing language learning process, strengthening discipline, training social skills, allowing children with special needs to integrate into society, increasing equality among children from the different households and backgrounds.
Respondents A, B, C, D, G and F have voiced their opinion that early education is highly important for development of children`s learning skills especially in regards of language. All of the interviewees emphasised the role of starting to teach children basics of grammar and vocabulary as early as possible:
The earlier we start… the better it is for them. Grammar is difficult for little kids, but when they are 4 – 5 we start with simple games… It is not like teaching boring rules, it is about games… And it is amazing how fast little kids can learn Arabic… (Respondent A)
Many parents think it is too early or tough for children… but you should come and sit during one of our classes. Look at their eyes – they enjoy what they are doing… They are curious and eager to learn, more so than in school even! (Respondent C)
If any reason, speaking proper Arabic is a good motif to let your child go to the kindergarten… (Respondent B).
Such findings of the qualitative part of the study are aligned with what is known from scholarly literature. Bradshaw and Tennant (2004) and Sylva et al. (2010) indeed point out that children from the very early age are highly interested and eager to engage into the process of learning. Al‐Hosani and Rugg‐Gunn (1998) and Sylva et al. (2010) discuss the age of 3 – 5 as key period in children`s development when the process of language learning is highly effective. As pointed out by the Respondent C, many researchers indeed highlight natural curiosity and thirst for learning among young children and note that using games can be an effective tool to teach language and even grammar in kindergartens. The findings of the qualitative part of the study are aligned with the results of the survey which also suggest that attending a kindergarten positively impacts child`s language learning abilities.
However apart from succeeding in learning language (s) the interviewed teachers have also expressed their opinion that Emirati children would greatly benefit from attending kindergartens because socialising with other kids from a very early age can significantly improve and strengthen communication, conflict resolution and other skills that are relevant both in elementary school and adult life:
Apart from the fact that many kids enjoy going to kindergartens, it is also good for them. They learn to communicate and find common grounds with others… (Respondent E)
I often watched kids that never went to a kindergarten or did not have any siblings… I would not say such kids are less smart… then those who went to kindergarten… But I would definitely say they experience some major problems trying to communicate to other children, they … they feel more awkward around people… (Respondent A).
Yes, socially awkward is a good word…. Children who have not attended a kindergarten behave a little bit differently among other children. Eventually most of these differences are eliminated. Also all children have brothers or children at home… But you know kindergarten does something good in terms of teaching children to socialise with each other and it is very important. (Respondent C)
Such finding is also consistent with both theoretical and empirical evidence from scholarly literature (Sylva et al., 2010: Al‐Hosani & Rugg‐Gunn, 1998). Researchers argue that early engagement with other children significantly improves social skills and abilities of children and helps prepare them for going into elementary school (Al‐Hosani & Rugg‐Gunn, 1998). At the same time Almekhalfi and Tibi (2012) point out that within the context of the UAE, there is still insufficient progress made to assist children with special needs especially when it comes to early childhood education. Bradshaw et al. (2004) argue that most of the parents of children with special needs first of all struggle to find early childhood educational services that can assist needs of their children. Moreover, “Students with severe types of disabilities that are not accepted into the public education system are able to register to attend the Dubai Center for Special Needs, a non-profit program serving students from ages of three and a half to twenty two” (p. 53). According to the obtained qualitative evidence, the state of affairs has changed since the Federal Law No. 29 came into effect in 2006 (Respondent D):
We are moving towards making things better for children with special needs… But the problem is still there. Now schools have more facilities to assist special needs children… Even with some serious issues – ASD or Cerebral Palsy… (Respondent D).
Therefore, overall, although the interviewed teachers believe that attending a public kindergarten would benefit children with special needs as well as their parents, currently there are very limited opportunities in the UAE to enrol special needs children into public early childhood educational facilities, except for the specialised centres.
Another important theme has emerged which concerns the role of kindergarten in ensuring equality and helping children with special needs adapt. According tofour of the interviewees (A, C E and H), kindergartens can help ensure equal opportunities among children due to the fact that some kids receive more coaching and training from their parents and extended family than the others. When children from different backgrounds enter elementary school, these discrepancies impact their academic performance sometimes increasing the knowledge gap even further (Respondent E):
I talk to parents all the time. I notice that some parents, particularly where mothers got some good education, invest more time to educate young children… Some parents believe that it is too early to sit down with their 3- year old and read him a book… Kindergarten helps these children get on the same level. (Respondent A).
Yes, it all starts with parents – they determine a lot. They form the foundation teachers get to work with earlier… you know what I mean? In kindergarten everybody is treated equally in the same way, but at home – no… And we as teachers get to address these inequalities. So I think it is a very important part and role of early childhood education – to be able to address different inequalities among children. (Respondent F)
The interviewed teachers have also touched upon the topic of children with special needs. According to the interviewed staff, not all of the public kindergartens have qualified staff and facilities to assist such children (Respondents A and C). However, the kindergartens that do can offer children and their parents’ unique opportunity to better adapt within society and receive professional help from teachers and nurses:
Many parents believe they (children with special needs) have to be home schooled… This is not always good for them… (Respondent A)
Kindergarten offers children and their parents help… Some cases are difficult and parents may need some help… Teachers can assist them. (Respondent D).
Respondent B has shared her experience with encountering a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attending a public kindergarten. According to the teacher, staff has helped the boy and his family to build a stronger communication channel through the use of technology. Teachers and some of the students also started communicating to the boy (Respondent B). Overall, many teachers have made a point that for the children with special needs attending the kindergarten provides them with a unique opportunity to integrate into society as opposed to being excluded. This is in line with the existing empirical evidence (Sylva et al., 2010; Al‐Hosani & Rugg‐Gunn, 1998).
Another interesting theme has emerged during the process of qualitative research. Two of the interviewed teachers (Respondents C and D) have shared their opinion that early childhood education may be highly important and beneficial not only for children themselves, but also for their mothers who are still planning to pursue their various educational and career wise plans:
Last week I was talking to a mother who decided to allow her daughter to go to the kindergarten… She told me this was a very good decision and that she is happy. She is back to school and hopes to get her Masters in two years… Her husband supports her. (Respondent C)
I know many parents who decided to put their children in kindergarten because they both worked and wanted to continue their careers… But such couples are not very common… Most couples do not behave in such ways, not all husbands support their wives … they say – you have to stay with a baby, you are a mother, right? (Respondent D)
Along with relevance and impact of early childhood education in the UAE, the current thesis has also addressed the issue of obstacles and challenges that exist within the country in relation to children attending kindergartens. The relevant qualitative findings will be discussed within the following sub-section.
4.3.2. Challenges associated with early childhood education in the UAE
One of the key themes that has emerged during the course of the interviews with the kindergarten teachers concerned the quality and appropriateness of curriculum developed to facilitate early childhood education in the UAE. A total of 100% of the interviewees have voiced various concerns associated with appropriateness of the curriculum: level of difficulty, focus on academic aspect, etc.. According to the Respondent A, overall the curriculum focused on developing academic skills but did not support child development in general:
In my experience, our curriculum is too “academic” – it is about learning words, sentences… But it does not help engage children or teach them work together and socialise… (Respondent A)
Respondents B and D have expressed their opinion that the developed curriculum is often too complicated for pre-school children and contains words not relevant to 4 year olds and too complicated. It is important to point out that Respondent C, on the contrary, has expressed an opposing view. According to her, the curriculum developed for the UAE kindergartens is overly simple:
I think after attending kindergarten children are not ready to enrol in first grade… they need more knowledge, more preparation. I am afraid the program now is not challenging enough… Children develop quickly and are eager to learn, but our program does not stimulate them. (Respondent B)
I think too much of the curriculum is about grammar and history or religion. Children want to be creative and physically active… I believe more attention should be given to providing kids with an opportunity to imagine, create be innovative… As well as just to run around and move! (Respondent D).
The obtained information is in line with the evidence presented by Al-Momani et al. (2008) concerning limited nature of the UAE kindergarten curriculum, and suggests that progress in the area has not been sufficient to overcome the challenges that existed a decade ago.
Four of the eight interviewed respondents (or 50% of the sample) voiced dissatisfaction with lack of flexibility within the current curriculum. According to the interviewed kindergarten teachers, the current curriculum cannot not be significantly altered as it is developed and approved by the Ministry of Education, and thus public kindergartens have to strictly follow it. Respondent A has mentioned that the teachers are allowed to add some topics, however overall significant part of the curriculum is dedicated to studying Holy Qur`an, and thus cannot be changed:
I try to add some activities now and then… I believe our children have to learn to work in teams. And they have to do it in elementary school a lot… So it is logical, I think, that they start earlier – in the kindergarten (Respondent A).
Team work and ability to socialise and effectively collaborate with other children has been discussed as important skills, and early childhood education offers a unique opportunity to enhance such skills (Elango et al., 2015). However, such enhancement cannot be achieved via implementing specific activities (e.g., group tasks) but instead have to be an integral part of the curriculum of a given kindergarten and have all teachers trained to facilitate development of social, collaborative and team working skills among children (Elango et al., 2015).
Apart from the available curriculum for public kindergartens approved by the MOE, another common theme within the participants` narratives was related to the numerous social and cultural barriers preventing from early childhood education becoming more widespread in the context of the United Arab Emirates. More specifically, according to all of the interviewed teachers, traditional gender roles and responsibilities of women in the Emirati families was a key obstacle. As pointed out by the Respondent 1, women in the UAE are expected to care for children and teach them during the early years:
I think this is a common view that a woman has to stay at home and it is her responsibility to teach children… I do not argue with that, however this point of view excludes the role of kindergarten in helping children (and their mothers!) to perform a little better… later mum… during their school years. (Respondent 1)
Overall, the respondents were highly careful in pinpointing and identifying the issue of social pressure and female responsibilities, which suggest that the discussed aspect of the researcher problem can be regarded as a sensitive issue which can possibly affect interviewees` feelings. As per guidance by Easterby-Smith et al. (2012), the researcher tried to be particularly careful and delicate when probing for the identified theme, and avoided pressuring respondents who did not want to discuss the issue.
One mother actually told me that she feels guilty to let her child attend a kindergarten. Her husband and family think it is better for a child… a small boy – 4 years of age… to remain at home for as long as possible, because he is too little… So maybe mothers who let their children attend kindergartens experience pressure from their families? Or even society in general… (Respondent 4)
The opinion expressed by the Respondent 4 is highly similar to the findings by Badry et al. (2017), who report that in certain cultures (more traditionally oriented) women often experience different types of social pressure that dictates certain rules and responsibilities, particularly in relation to taking care of their children and allowing them to attend nursery or kindergarten. According to Baker (2014), gender equality and overall level of feminisation of a given society also impacts the degree to which early children education is widespread and accepted by general population.
Another one of the re-occurring themes identified during the course of the interviews concerned lack of overall understanding and awareness of the importance of early childhood education in development, formation of social skills and academic achievement of the Emirati children. In regards to such issue, 100% of the respondents voiced their opinion suggesting that the topic is highly relevant and important for the UAE. The respondents, however, shared different views on it. One group of respondents (1, 3, 5, 6) have expressed an opinion that some parents believe that kindergarten is suggested to them as a substitute for mother`s care and learning the children would otherwise receive from their parents and extended family at home. Such opinion, according to the interviewees, has some major negative effect on the parental attitude towards kindergartens, as they feel challenged and intimidated:
This is what I notice… Of course this is my personal opinion, nothing more… But parents often think we try to make them choose – kindergarten or mother`s love, kindergarten or grandfather`s wisdom… I feel like kindergarten is viewed as a formal place where children loose connection with their families and tradition. But it is not true… (Respondent 3).
I always tell parents – kindergarten cannot give your child what you and your husband can give… You give him so much more… love, emotion, pride of family traditions. But kindergarten helps your child learn formal education that you cannot help with… To do better at school and to find a good job. (Respondent 5)
Another group of the respondents believed that Emirati parents often have little information about importance and relevance of early childhood education, which may as a result lead to some hesitations and resistance when deciding whether to allow their child to attend a kindergarten or not. More specifically, the interviewees believe that parents are often unaware of the importance of kindergarten in helping their children develop literacy skills:
We know that 3-5 years is a very important period for kids when they can learn language more easily… But what some parents do not know is that language learning has to be a process… that has… structure is the word! It has to have structure and then a child can easily learn grammar and even some basic writing… (Respondent 7)
In addition to the literacy skills, a number of respondents have mentioned that attending a kindergarten also strengthens social skills and many parents are not aware of that. According to Badry et al. (2017) and Baker (2014), early childhood education is not limited to future school curriculum (language learning, grammar, history) but is also concerned with a number of soft skills such as communication, conflict resolution, etc. When a child is deprived of such experiences he or she may find it difficult to adapt and communicate later in life – when attending school or even higher education (Baker, 2014). The interviewees` opinion obtained within the scope of the current study is aligned with such scholarly evidence:
We know that kindergarten does not only help to learn language but also helps children to learn some important socialising skills. Children learn how to interact with each other – with peers… Yes most children have their brothers and sisters, but it is not the same. They have to know how to socialise outside of their family as well. (Respondent 3)
I always tell parents – yes, it is difficult to accept that your child will go to the kindergarten, but you have to know that it is better for him! But many parents do not understand that. They think they are acting in the best interest of their child… But they are not! (Respondent 8)
Finally, two of the interviewed teachers (4 and 5) have shared their experiences with parents who avoided early childhood education because of overall in availability of the appropriate services. According to the interviewees, there is a predominant view according to which services such as nurseries and kindergartens are mostly designed for foreign expatriates who reside with their families in the UAE. The interviewees have shared that some of the parents they have talked to during their professional practice, have expressed concern about nursery staff being majorly English-speaking:
One type, a boy`s mother told me that she does want him to learn English, but she believes it is better if the staff in the nursery or kindergarten can speak Arabic as well to make it a little easier for the child… (Respondent 4)
There was a married couple who tried to put their daughter in a nursery because mother decided to do a PhD… However they could not find a good one for their child… They got so discouraged… because staff did not speak Arabic… that they did not let her go to the nursery or kindergarten… (Respondent 5)
Such findings are consistent with the report by KHDA (2018), according to which only 5.4% of the nursery staff in Dubai could speak Arabic, making this option available only to expatriate children.
2.3.3. Strengthening early childhood education in the UAE
Finally, the kindergarten teachers interviewed within the context of the present Dissertation were asked to share their perceptions and opinions concerning how the current state of affairs concerning early childhood education can be strengthened and improved. Surprisingly, despite strong evidence obtained within the context of the present research, according to which early childhood had a strong pronounced positive impact on children development, academic performance and communicational and socialising skills, majority of the interviewed teachers expressed an opinion that transformation of the early childhood educational system of the UAE should not be forced and instead should follow a more slow “natural” (Respondent E) path:
I think this should be a natural process… People, I mean parents of children have to be ready for the changes… You know what I mean? Natural change. (Respondent E)
The way I see it the Emirates are moving towards kindergarten system… Each year I personally notice more and more parents bringing their children to the kindergarten… (Respondent A)
Such opinions voiced by the early childhood education practitioners are somewhat surprising given the fact that they are voiced by professionals who are best informed about necessities of early childhood education. At the same time, their opinion is highly valuable and has to be taken into consideration given the fact that they possess in-depth understanding and knowledge of benefits surrounding attendance of public kindergartens as well as potential pitfalls, obstacles, etc. The interviewed teachers believe that educational changes in the UAE are taking place along with major transformations and shifts in mind set and the local culture:
It has to take some time…for people to realise we can do things a little different. And a little better. (Respondent A)
It is a big change for our society if you think about it… We value family very much and believe that children are the most important part of it… To allow children to go to the kindergartens is a huge step… I would call it a transformation… (Respondent D).
Respondents have voiced their belief that allowing the Emirati women more flexibility in relation to their educational and career – related choices would automatically result in increased interest and attendance of the local public kindergartens in the UAE. As women are given more opportunities to pursue professional goals and contribute towards strengthening their society, more children will be attending kindergartens (Respondent A).
Emirati women have ambition, knowledge and skills to work… And you have to realise that they want to work… Kindergartens can help them achieve this ambition, while also benefiting their children. (Respondent C).
Respondents A, B and C have mentioned that in order to strengthen the transitioning process and make it more smooth two key interventions should be implemented. One such approach concerns promotional effort that should be made to educate young parents about importance and relevance of early childhood education. Moreover, Respondent B has highlighted that it is the goal of the MoE to create a positive image of mothers who decide to allow their children to attend kindergartens: “… this will help address the problem of negative stereotypes that exist in our society and show that kindergartens are good for the children”.
Majority of the interviewed UAE kindergarten teachers have also expressed an opinion that in order to attract more parents and children into the UAE public kindergartens it is important to strengthen trust between the two parties. As of now, many parents are highly suspicious about an overall quality of education and curriculum standards adopted within the kindergartens (Sylva et al., 2010; Bradshaw et al., 2004). However, despite the fact that some curriculum- related problems indeed may exist, overall, the UAE public kindergartens are offering some progressive services and even are starting to offer support to and consider interests and needs of children with special needs which can be regarded as a major breakthrough for the country and the region in general:
It is important that everybody learns how much progress is being made here in the UAE. Parents have to know that the kindergartens become better and better, and that they children will be attended by trained and friendly specialists… We are also trying to engage more children with special needs.. yes, we still have to learn a lot in this area, but the first steps are being made and we are happy to assist the parents and their children in any way we possibly can… (Respondent A)
I believe there is simply not enough promotion, advertisement going on… Nobody knows what kind of work is being done… And it is really changing the life here because if you think about it, children education is in fact everything – it is so important.. (Respondent C).
Importantly, majority of the respondents have highlighted the fact that indeed early childhood opportunities in the UAE are constantly improving and therefore parents of young children should be informed about such progress and educated about the state of affairs in the UAE as well as about the role of early childhood education in general. At the same time, surprisingly, only one person of all of the interviewed teachers has expressed an opinion that in order to attract more children and parents, the kindergartens have to in fact focus on strengthening their curriculum, quality of service provided and satisfying children with special needs:
Yes, I know a lot of work has been done. But, you know,, and maybe I am wrong… But I think we as professionals and government too… we have to improve our kindergartens to gain some trust from parents. For example, not all kindergartens have food options for children with special needs. Some kindergartens are not wheelchair friendly… This is not ok.. I know things are getting batter, but you cannot blame parents for wanting the best for their children, right? (Respondent E)
Respondents A and E have also brought up the pivotal issue of service availability and localisation of early childhood facilities in the UAE. According to the existing empirical evidence as well as the interviewed kindergarten teachers, majority of the public kindergartens are still located in Abu- Dhabi. Therefore children from other emirates and cities are in a disadvantaged position simply because there are not enough kindergartens there:
If you live in Abu Dhabi it is ok, no problem. There is a great variety of kindergartens and nurseries to choose from…. You can choose to go to a private or public facility, all up to you there are so many options. But parents in smaller cities have a problem – there are simply not enough kindergartens there. (Respondent E)
I would recommend the government to focus on building more kindergartens outside of Abu Dhabi… and to also ensure that all of them, or at least some of them are friendly towards people with special needs because this is the next big step for us – to ensure that indeed everybody is equal and has the right for education, as outlined in Islam and our law… (Respondent B).
Finally, it is important to discuss an interesting opinion expressed by only one of the interviewed respondents – F. According to the unique opinion of the kindergarten teacher, it may not be necessary for the UAE to copy and imitate educational path and practices adopted by other countries. Instead the UAE may choose to develop and pursue its own way and approach towards raising and educating its children.
I believe our country is very different in many ways… Please note this: I say different. Not worse. Maybe it is our destiny to follow a path which is different from other states…(Respondent F)
However, despite such opinion the Respondent has shared her firm belief that it is not ok just to not allow the child to attend a kindergarten; instead it should be a conscious and weighted decision. And couples deciding to make such a decision have to be aware of appropriate and necessary teaching techniques that they will have to apply at home to ensure that their child gets the highest quality of education possible and does not struggle with academic performance or socialisation issues later when he/ she attends elementary school:
It is important through that parents realise that it is their child and if they do not involve professional teachers, the kindergarten teachers… then they need to take care of their child`s education themselves, you know what I mean? (Respondent F)
Time…parents have to spend more time teaching children…Actually all parents, not only those who decide not to give their children to the kindergarten… Instead people now spend more time on their tablets and smartphones… They stay with children, but they are not there. I am not sure if it makes sense to you? (Respondent F)
The opinion expressed by the Respondent F has to be aligned with the data obtained via conducting a quantitative survey. According to the quantitative study results of the present dissertation, parents deciding to send their children to a kindergarten on average spend the same amount of time learning and engaging with their children when compared to the parents who do not choose to allow their children to attend an early childhood educational facility. This finding suggests that the latter group of parents do not compensate for their decision. As pointed out by the Respondent F, such behaviour may not be very beneficial for the children who by staying at home are deprived of early childhood education benefits and a chance to interact and play with their peers. Respondent F makes a point according to which, if the UAE families and society feel like a kindergarten is not the most important part of the educational system, more effort should be made to engage and education parents on how they can teach their children at home. According to the Respondent F, in such cases and particularly in cities and emirates where there are less public kindergartens, programs should be launched to help educate parents and help them learn simple techniques they can apply at home to help their children learn Arabic and English languages, socialise with others and even practice team work.
4.4. Chapter summary
The present chapter concludes that the problem of public kindergarten availability and early childhood education in general are two key issues within the context of the UAE and its educational system. The obtained qualitative and quantitative findings suggest that attending public kindergartens may provide the Emirati children with a number of advantages, including but not limited to improved literacy and language learning outcomes, strengthened social and communicational skills. Early child education can also serve as an equaliser by providing equal opportunities for children from different social and financial backgrounds as well as children with special needs. However, as demonstrated by the results of the research, numerous obstacles and barriers exist in regards to the Emirati children attending kindergartens or nurseries. The research in line with the argument from earlier studies highlights the negative role of cultural traditions and customs in relation to allowing children to attend public kindergartens.
The combined data from quantitative and qualitative parts of the study suggests that overall the UAE kindergartens have a positive impact on child`s performance in elementary schools. In line with such findings majority of the interviewed teachers have expressed an opinion according to which it is important to strengthen premises and basis of the early childhood education in the Emirates, via improving current level of educational curriculum, and increasing awareness of the UAE parents concerning positive impact of early childhood education on academic performance and socialisation skills of their children. However, an interesting opinion has been voiced by one for the teachers, according to which the UAE may choose to follow an alternative path and due to its traditions and cultural heritage choose to opt out of kindergarten system. In this case, however, parents of children not attending kindergartens should engage and spend more time educating their children and strengthening various skills that would be pivotal in the kindergarten.
Chapter 5. Conclusions
5.1. Chapter overview
The present chapter conducts an overview of the key findings of both quantitative and qualitative parts of the current dissertation. The obtained findings are presented in relation to the established research questions. The chapter also recapitulates some difficulties the researcher has come across during the process of data collection and analysis, and these challenges are discussed in light of how future research can address the identified gaps. Finally, the chapter is concluded by discussing the relevance of the conducted work to improving the current educational system of the UAE, and the key emphasise is given to the novelty of the research.
5.2. Key findings
5.2.1. Impact of early childhood education on Emirati children
According to the obtained qualitative and quantitative evidence, attending public early childhood educational facilities in the UAE provides Emirati children with a number of benefits and opportunities. First of all, it has been demonstrated that children who have attended a kindergarten experience less problems studying and understanding mathematics at school (F= 3.39, p= 0.05), writing (F=4.84, p=0.03), difficulties socializing (F=14.02, p=0.00), do not struggle as much when working in a team (F= 16.04, p=0.00). At the same the time the conducted quantitative study results suggest that although there is definitely a trend, no significant relationship has been identified in relation to kindergarten children feeling less isolated when going to school (F= 3.58, p=0.06), or feeling less or more happy when attending school (F= 3.43, p= 0.07). A majority of the parents felt that their children did not have difficulties speaking in Arabic (M=2.61, SD=1.21). Most of the parents also agreed that the students acquired life skills while attending the kindergarten schools (M=3.34, SD=1.16).The qualitative part of the study supports such findings as the interviewed kindergarten teachers firmly believe that early childhood education benefits Emirati children in a number of ways, effectively preparing them for elementary school.
Table 13. Impact of attending kindergarten on child`s performance
| My child has attending a kindergarten | Feels isolated at school | Difficulties learning to write | Attends school happily | Difficulties socialising | ||
| No | N | Valid | 25.00 | 25.00 | 25.00 | 25.00 |
| Missing | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Mean | 2.12 | 2.40 | 3.72 | 2.16 | ||
| Std. Deviation | 0.88 | 1.04 | 0.94 | 0.99 | ||
| Range | 3.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | ||
| Yes | N | Valid | 26.00 | 26.00 | 26.00 | 26.00 |
| Missing | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Mean | 2.62 | 3.15 | 3.15 | 3.42 | ||
| Std. Deviation | 0.98 | 1.38 | 1.22 | 1.33 | ||
| Range | 3.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
In addition to that, the qualitative part of the research, in accordance with the developed theoretical evidence, suggests that within the context of the UAE and other countries, early childhood education can be viewed as a pivotal element of educational system which allows for the bridging of inequalities that may exist between different children. For example, within the context of the UAE limited opportunities exist for children with special needs. Ensuring availability and preparedness of public kindergartens that can assist such children will help them better adapt and integrate into society, as well as become its important part in future.
5.2.2. Obstacles on the way of adopting early childhood education on Emirati children
According to the obtained results of both quantitative and qualitative parts of the study, there exist multiple obstacles and challenges on the path of implementing interventions and programs of early childhood education within the context of the UAE.
First of all, the study has demonstrated that within the context of the UAE there exit significant social stigmas associated with motherhood and allowing ones young children to spend time away from the house at a very early age. The women deciding to allow their children to attend public kindergartens may experience lack of understand and acceptance from their families and communities. Another important obstacles for further development of early childhood education in the UAE concerns lack of sufficient number of kindergartens that are public across the UAE, and particularly outside of Abu Dhabi. Therefore families living in some remote areas can find it highly difficult to find appropriate kindergartens to let their child attend to. Another identified issue concerns the fact that not all kindergartens and even teachers are ready to meet needs and expectations of children that have special needs. It particularly concerns children that are diagnosed with some severe conditions, such as autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, etc. (Bradshaw et al., 2004). At the same time the existing evidence suggests that similarly to the global context such issues are highly common and relevant within the context of the UAE, and therefore it is essential that this issue is addressed and more public kindergartens in the UAE are capable of allowing enrolling children with different disorders, both physical and mental.
5.2.3. Policy Implications Recommendations – Reflections
According to the results obtained via collecting quantitative and qualitative data as well as analysing the body of existing scholarly literature, it can be concluded that a number of approaches can be taken to strengthen the UAE`s focus on early childhood education. Despite the fact that the country is already committed to the issues of encouraging and engaging more Emirati children and their parents to take advantage of the available public early childhood facilities (kindergartens and nurseries), there is still a significant body of work ahead of the state.
Surprisingly, majority of the interviewed respondents have expressed their opinion that the UAE transition towards early childhood education becoming a normal approach among its locals, has to occur in a natural way. This is surprising due to the fact that 100% of the interviewees, as demonstrated within the study, clearly understand and appreciate benefits of the early childhood education. However, the kindergarten teachers interviewed within the scope of the current study believe that the transition has to occur in gradual and slow manner, and more importantly – correspond to the transition and shifting within the UAE society.
The present study has also identified a unique opinion expressed by one of the kindergarten teachers, who believes that the UAE is a unique country, with a unique set of cultural and historical traditions. In line with such logic, the UAE may be willing to pursue an alternative way concerning early childhood education with less priority and resources allocated to kindergartens. However, in case of such decision, it is important that parents of the children who do not attend kindergartens become an integral part of their children`s process of learning by actively engaging and participating in various learning activities at home. The present research has demonstrated that on average parents who choose to allow their children to attend kindergarten spend the same amount of time teaching and engaging with their young children when compared to parents who have decided to let their children attend a kindergarten. According to the interviewed teacher such situation is not acceptable because parents who consciously choose not to allow their child to attend a kindergarten have to realize and account for all the possible consequences of their decision and ensure they are able and willing to allocate more resources to teach their children. According to (Baker, 2015) although kindergartens play an important role in educating and developing children, parental support and engagement is a unique and very influential factor in relation to early childhood education. Therefore, the present dissertation advocates for more active involvement of children`s parents into the process of early childhood education and equipping them with tools and techniques to educate their child at home.
The government, through the ministry of education, should also consider gradually channelling more funds towards early childhood education by investing in training of Emirati national, increasing the number of school, improving facilities, and conducting campaigns that indicate the importance of early childhood education in the contemporary education trends. It will promote gradual adoption of preschool education among the Emirati parents.
5.3. Study limitations and opportunities for future research
The issues related to sample size can be discussed as a key limitation of the present research. Due to time constraints the researcher was only able to recruit 51 study participants. Although this sample allowed gaining in-depth understanding of the various issues surrounding the problem of early childhood education in the UAE, the problem of generalisability persists. Another important issue to discuss is the fact that the current study did not score academic or other types of performance of the Emirati children who attend kindergarten versus those who do not. The overall effects of early childhood education were therefore assessed by surveying parents` perceptions of their children`s performance. Although parents are considered very knowledgeable of their children`s progress (Badry et al., 2017), using such methodological approach may have introduced some degree of subjectivity into the process of knowledge generation.
Reliance on self- reporting is another common concern within quantitative research (Easterby- Smith et al., 2012; Saunders et al., 2009). Within the context of the present study, a total of two parents out of 51 surveyed have shared that they on average spend over 20 hours a week teaching and schooling their children. Although theoretically possible, such high value is highly suspicious. Therefore, the obtained results concerning the amount of time spent schooling and educating children should be viewed with a certain degree of caution.
In line with such considerations the present study argues that it is important to conduct a follow-up study recruiting a larger sample size (particularly for the quantitative survey- based part of the research) and also integrate an additional data collection tool to score academic and social performance of children and compare and contrast them with their peers who have not attended a kindergarten. Another opportunity would be to conduct a research in 2 – 5 years from now and compare the obtained results with those of the current study. This will allow identifying any dynamic process that are happening within the early child education in the UAE and address the problem of the cross-sectional nature of the current thesis.
5.4. Relevance and novelty of the work
It is important to highlight that although some authors have attempted to explore the problem of relevance of early childhood education within the context of the UAE, such effort is unsystematic and as of now there is lack of research which has tackled the problem within the last three years. The educational system in the UAE on the other hand, is highly dynamic as it is quickly developing to catch up with the communicated vision of the UAE`s strategic development (Baker, 2014). Therefore, one of the key relevance of this research is that it provides a current perspective of the perceived importance of early childhood education in the Emirates, as well as teachers` perceptions of ongoing problems and limitations in the sector.
One of the key findings of the present study concerns the fact that cultural context of the UAE in relation to early childhood education is highly complex, with multiple stakeholders and factors involved in its process of shaping. Importantly, practitioners of the UAE early childhood education believes in and negotiates for slow and gradual change as opposed to disruptive innovation. Another key finding concerns the identified highly close connection between the role of women in the society and progress of early childhood education. The present research clearly illustrates that the two processes are highly interconnected and it is impossible to address one issue without focusing on the other. Most importantly, developing early childhood educational opportunities within public sector and helping the UAE women to implement and achieve their educational and professional aspirations go hand and hand.
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Appendix 1. Interview questions
1. Could you please tell about your experience of working as a teacher in the kindergarten?
2. Do you think attending kindergarten has an impact on children? If so what kind of impact?
3. Does attending kindergarten impact performance in elementary school? Why?
4. How does kindergarten impact social skills?
5. How would you describe current early childhood education policy of the UAE?
6. What are some of its strengths?
7. How about limitations?
8. How can it be improved?
Appendix 2. Survey
Part A. Demographic data
1. Please state your age
18 – 25 years
26 – 35 years
35 – 45 years
45 + years
2. Please state your gender
Male
Female
3. How many children do you have?
1 child
2 children
2+ children
Part B. Early childhood education
1. Has your child attended a kindergarten? Yes/ No
What type of kindergarten was it? Public and operated by a government entity /Private and operated by a business
2. Please share how many hours per week do you engage in learning activities with your child?
1-5 hours per week
6-10 hours per week
11-15 hours per week
16-20 hours per week
21-25 hours per week
Using the following key, please rate the statements below depending on how they apply to your child: 1 = completely disagree, 2 = somewhat disagree, 3=I do not know, 4=I agree, 5=I fully agree:
| Parameter | Likert scale | ||||
| My child experiences difficulties with speaking English at school | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| My child experiences difficulty in mathematics at school | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| My child has difficulties learning to write | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| My child has problems socialising with other children | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| My child struggles working in a team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| My child feels isolated at school | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| My child attends school happily | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Appendix 3. ANOVA test results analysis
| ANOVA Table | ||||||
| Sum of Squares | df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | ||
| Difficulties with English at school * My child has attending a kindergarten | Between Groups | 3.13 | 1.00 | 3.13 | 2.16 | 0.15 |
| Within Groups | 70.79 | 49.00 | 1.44 | |||
| Total | 73.92 | 50.00 | ||||
| Difficulties with mathematics at school * My child has attending a kindergarten | Between Groups | 7.04 | 1.00 | 7.04 | 3.39 | 0.07 |
| Within Groups | 101.79 | 49.00 | 2.08 | |||
| Total | 108.82 | 50.00 | ||||
| Difficulties learning to write * My child has attending a kindergarten | Between Groups | 7.24 | 1.00 | 7.24 | 4.84 | 0.03 |
| Within Groups | 73.38 | 49.00 | 1.50 | |||
| Total | 80.63 | 50.00 | ||||
| Difficulties socialising * My child has attending a kindergarten | Between Groups | 20.33 | 1.00 | 20.33 | 14.72 | 0.00 |
| Within Groups | 67.71 | 49.00 | 1.38 | |||
| Total | 88.04 | 50.00 | ||||
| Struggles to work in a team * My child has attending a kindergarten | Between Groups | 13.70 | 1.00 | 13.70 | 16.46 | 0.00 |
| Within Groups | 40.81 | 49.00 | 0.83 | |||
| Total | 54.51 | 50.00 | ||||
| Feels isolated at school * My child has attending a kindergarten | Between Groups | 3.13 | 1.00 | 3.13 | 3.58 | 0.06 |
| Within Groups | 42.79 | 49.00 | 0.87 | |||
| Total | 45.92 | 50.00 | ||||
| Attends school happily * My child has attending a kindergarten | Between Groups | 4.09 | 1.00 | 4.09 | 3.43 | 0.07 |
| Within Groups | 58.42 | 49.00 | 1.19 | |||
| Total | 62.51 | 50.00 |
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