Teachers' Views of the Effectiveness of United Arab Emirates Kindergarten Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, and Assessment Procedures

Abstract

The present study aimed at investigating kindergarten teachers' views of the curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Data were collected by an open-ended questionnaire, interviews, and observations. Forty-four kindergarten teachers in the United Arab Emirates responded to the questionnaire; six teachers were later interviewed. Results revealed that some teachers believe that the official curriculum is not developmentally appropriate, as it focuses more on academics rather than on child development in social, physical, emotional, and intellectual aspects. Results also revealed that the vision of developmentally appropriate practices among these kindergarten teachers has not been well-acknowledged and that their instructional and assessment practices emphasize teaching academic skills, using a direct instructional approach.