Comparing teacher work in the UAE and New Zealand

Introduction

Just as knowledge is a key element in the livelihood of man, so is the role a teacher plays in scoping out the eventual outcome of what a person becomes. In the education context, a teacher is defined as a person who teaches, guides, trains or instructs with the aim of helping a another person through the process of imparting knowledge and understanding. Also known as tutors, teachers play a very vital role in spreading knowledge (Galloway, 2001).

Teacher work is often formal and ongoing, and that for teachers to properly carry out their work, they must achieve proper professional qualification. The teachers’ work should aim to vary between cultures. Most countries have systems that put this into consideration while at the same time incorporating the study of literature, numeracy and other school subjects.

However, different places in society may at times require a different approach to teaching work and the spread of knowledge. As an example, we notice that teaching methods in developed countries may not be similar to teaching a similar number of students in third world or simply underdeveloped countries. This will therefore mean that teacher work varies across the social divide; with respect to social and cultural factors such as religion. Teacher work or teaching is a noble profession and is described as being service-oriented. The important role it plays in molding generations does in turn imply that major social institutions such as government, the church, the family and civil society should play a major role in valuing education.

While comparing the teacher work in the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand, we will find many differences as well as similarities in the teaching methods and practices. Being an education consultant will mean identifying these differences and similarities and evaluating them to see which can be taken as viable or in a different view, disadvantageous (Galloway, 2001).

In this paper, we will give a description of the teacher work in the United Arab Emirates and in New Zealand, while at the same time giving the characteristics that will help distinguish one from the other. We will observe that though the areas could be described as equal in terms of economic strength, the culture and social background of the native religion will in most cases mean that the teaching approach will be different. This however does not mean that there are no similarities in the general approach.

Teacher work in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The development and growth of the education sector in the UAE has seen it develop from a time when most of the population was basically illiterate to a time when a modern comprehensive public educational system has been developed. Records have that the level of illiteracy in the UAE has improved from a discouraging low of nearly 90% of the whole population to a remarkable 10% (McInerney, 2007).

The UAE has never had the disadvantage of having limited resources, in terms of funds, to develop the education sector. They have only had problems with lack of teachers and this has been the problem the government is trying to stem. Lacking teachers in the UAE, the government has been able to recruit teachers from other countries to fill staffing needs. Most such teachers are Egyptians, Jordanians, Syrians, and Palestinians.

The UAE Education Ministry should aim to improve education in the country and this they should do by focusing their efforts in teacher recruitment. They have to put efforts into understanding how the duties and responsibilities of teachers in the UAE compare with the work of teachers in other countries. This will in turn help to develop a system that will promote high quality education for all students (McInerney, 2007).

Teacher work in New Zealand

            New Zealand is also a comparatively developed state though it has had the disadvantage of having one of the lowest unemployment rates on record. This has created a tight labor market and a strong need for skilled workers. Teachers here have not fallen short of being affected by this situation (Wood, 2007).

The education sector in New Zealand was seen to have made a great leap towards perfection in 1989; right after the Department of Education was replaced by the Ministry of Education. The reforms implemented by Ministry have helped the education sector by providing and implementing policy advice both internally and overseas, as well as ensuring the optimum use of resources allocated to education (Wood, 2007).

Of importance though is the teacher induction program, which has seen the Ministry continue to fund school-based and regionally based teacher support programs. This has in turn been seen to have appositive effect in terms of the student enrollments, which have grown significantly. Student enrollments are projected to continue growing rapidly for the next several years. However, the number of new teachers has quickly moved from an oversupply to an undersupply (Wood, 2007).

Discussion

            To begin with, any teacher must show that acceptable learning standards are maintained under their responsibility. This notion is seen to be shared by both the governments of the UAE and New Zealand. Their education policies however are subject to cultural restriction in which case, learning is to be within an environment that affirms the bicultural and multicultural nature of both of the societies respectively.

The teachers are therefore required to follow responsibilities that basically include:

• Demonstrating knowledge of teaching and learning (including native tribal values), based on teacher education programmes and ongoing study, research, reflection and practice.
• promoting learning through good practice while at the same time maintaining relationships of trust, co-operation and respect for learners, parents and colleagues as well as  religious figures in society.

The teacher in both New Zealand and the UAE is required to interweave dimensions of teaching with the need to respond to the increasing drive for quality in Maori education and Muslim teaching respectively.

            With this in mind, a good question that comes to mind is whether this system of teaching is constructive or destructive. It should be understood that when teaching, teachers should be able to promote sustainable development and develop socially-aware and God-fearing students who shall be responsible citizens of society. This would therefore imply that the aforementioned method in teacher work may only work to meet conditions that help the students work well in the local society but will not function well on the outside.

The UAE should therefore make emphasis on promoting teaching that encompasses parts of other societies as well. The world developing rapidly into a global economy will mean that students will have to be taught to adapt to living among other cultures and societies. This will in turn mean that the UAE education ministry should make an effort to employ teachers who are skilled in diverse cultures and social backgrounds (McInerney, 2007).

 

 

References

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