From Their Perspective: Parental Involvement in the UAE
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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to share findings from a mixed-method study that explores, from the perspective of Emirati parents, what it means to be involved in their children’s education. The study is built upon the idea that in order to provide culturally responsive family-school involvement practices and recommendations, it would serve us, as educators and researchers to investigate and understand Emirati parents’ beliefs about the educational choices they have for their children and their “involvement” in this process. The instrument used for data collection was a survey and included open-ended questions. Generally, the results suggest that parents viewed involvement as important, but that they also heavily relied on school staff and teachers for this involvement. This important first step of understanding parents’ beliefs will enable us to better support collaborative partnerships between schools and families in the education of children in the UAE.
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