Home Economics: Standalone or Integrated in UAE Education? - Research Paper

Introduction

This paper aims to determine if Home Economics needs to be a mandatory standalone subject or if it needs to be integrated with Physical and Health Education in the UAE.

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Holistic education equips children with the knowledge and skills required for critical thinking, decision-making, and responsibility, which prepares them to undertake practical life skills (Miller 2019). Home Economics is part of the broad spectrum of subjects needed to prepare learners for day-to-day decision-making situations. Home Economics is a broad subject that covers nutrition, food service, interior design, purchase and budgeting, family relationships, child development, and household economics (McGregor 2019). Learners are introduced to practical skills that improve their management skills and their relationships within and outside the home environment.

The existing UAE curriculum is narrow compared to those of other developed countries. Under the curriculum, there are no vocational skills training, and subjects such as Home Economics are not offered (Ridge, Kippels, and Farah 2017). This deficiency traces back to the history of western-style education in the UAE. Before 1971, there was only Islamic Education. When the country struck oil and began to develop, it attracted many foreign nationals. At the same time, the country embarked on a rigorous process of establishing a national education system and curriculum. Over the years, the country's education system has grown in response to changes in global needs. Presently, the government acknowledges that sustainability is only realizable if future leaders are knowledgeable in practical skills and are capable of applying critical thinking skills to make sound decisions.

Holistic education is a top priority for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government. Despite years of investment in education, there have been increased concerns over the employability and skills of the youth. Plans are underway to introduce a standards-based curriculum that will help realize a shift from the traditional note memorization to skills-based education to remedy the situation. The government hopes that such a change will prepare learners for the challenges and expectations of the 21st century (Gallagher 2019). Since the new curriculum focuses on practical skills, this study investigates if Home Economics should be a mandatory standalone subject, or if it should be integrated with Physical and Health Education in UAE.

This research paper is based on primary data collected from interviews conducted via Skype with three Home Economics subject teachers. The study will rely on primary and secondary data. The researcher will collect primary data using semi-structured interviews, which will be undertaken using Skype. Interview transcripts will be coded manually before thematic coding using NVivo12. Once the interviews were coded, all the themes were interpreted and the results presented and discussed.

Background to the UAE Curriculum

The UAE curriculum has undergone significant growth in the past five decades. The country has invested considerable resources in educational infrastructure. In the past three decades alone, growth in education has been oriented towards incorporating technology and the commitment to ensure student well-being and the pairing of skills and competency to the first development of the country's development. However, as Gokulan (2020) notes, these developments are increasingly considered incapable of "instilling the joy of learning in children." The government acknowledges the need to redesign the educational curriculum so that learners are better prepared for the workplace challenges, and they can contribute proactively in the globalized economic environment.

Pridane (2017) notes that, through investment in educational technology, the government has been able to shift from teaching pure content with the teacher as the focal point, to a focus on the learning process. Increasingly also, development in the UAE curriculum is enabling learners to develop higher-order thinking and moving away from factual recall. However, despite all these positive developments, the private sector has recorded benefited the most. Public schools still face challenges relating to imparting interest in children. Students continue to worry about the skills acquired in the classroom, and their relevance to the work environment. As a result of the disconnect between school and work dynamics, the majority of parents and graduates are viewing education as being too costly. Some of the skills that have been hailed to position learners for the new work dynamics include innovation and participation in multimedia and computer development. Revamping the curriculum, and building confidence in the practicality of the skills and competencies acquired means that subjects that promote skills development must be offered and encouraged. Home Economics is that subject.

Collaboration for Building a Home Economics Curriculum

The UAE's futuristic Education 2020 strategy is founded on the promise of "smart learning programs, new teacher's codes, licensing and evaluation methods, as well as curriculum revisions..." (Gokulan 2020). Matsumoto (2019) adds that in its pursuit to realize global competitiveness in education, the UAE curriculum needs to offer learners the capacity to think creatively and establish an environment for positive collaborations between all stakeholders. In the past four years, there have been changes in the UAE curriculum for public schools, with a focus on "norm subjects" that include Science, Mathematics, English, Physical Education, Moral Education, Arabic and Islamic. The government's commitment to shaping all-rounded learners is evident in its decision to introduce Physical and Health Education as part of the national curriculum beginning in September 2020. The critical thinking elements of the curriculum will reflect in the addition of Home Economics principles into the new subjects.

Curriculum change in the UAE requires the active participation of individuals that understand or have experience with skills-based disciplines that will help the country to develop skills and a critical thinking-based curriculum. Such a level of involvement has been hard to realize so far. Jenkins (2014) confirms that the active engagement of teachers in the curriculum change process is critical for the attainment of the desired curriculum goals. However, the study notes that, as a non-core elective subject, Home Economics teachers often get ignored by curriculum planning bodies and school management. Hence, the subject becomes vulnerable to externally imposed changes. In response to this limitation, studies have found suggest that changes in education must respond to "socioeconomic internationalization, digital technology advancement, and demographic reallocation" (Alamassi et al. 2015, p.54). Individuals with experience in teaching Home Economics can provide valuable insight into how the subject is packaged and presented to learners.

Home Economics Internationally

There exist Home Economics curriculums from which the UAE education ministry can borrow. An adequately constituted Home Economics subject should promote "cross-curricular priorities of literacy, numeracy, life skills, and a futures perspective" (Queensland Studies Authority 2005, p.6). The subject contributes to lifelong learning by equipping the learner with the soft tools to be knowledgeable and have a deep understanding, to be a sophisticated thinker, active investigator, responsive creator, an active participant in an independent world, and a reflective, self-directed learner. Home Economics as a subject, must also promote work education. Essentially, Home Economics is integral for ensuring that students learn for work, learn about work and understand the nature of work. In undertaking the subject, the learner is appropriately equipped with the knowledge and skills that allow them to transition from the classroom environment to the work environment.

Dixon (2016) constructs a futuristic Home Economics subject that would be appropriate for the needs of New Zealand. The recommendations apply to the UAE case as it targets to prepare learners with 21st-century skills. According to the article, the New Zealand Home Economics subject, like is envisioned in the UAE curriculum, spans Health and Physical Education learning areas. There are similarities in the Australian and New Zealand Home Economics subjects. In New Zealand, it is offered as one of the three Health and Physical Education subjects. The nature in which the subject is provided enables for the introduction of critical competencies that reflect the principles, vision, and values envisioned for the curriculum. The critical thinking and skills development plans desired in Home Economics for the next generation of learners must be comprehensive. In New Zealand, this strength is recognized and reinforced through offering Home Economics as a whole subject, supported by other Health and Physical Education subjects (New Zealand Government 2020).

Ma and Pendergast (2011) highlight the Home Economics subject in Hong Kong. The study notes that, internationally, the Home Economics profession and teaching have become eroded, leading to its almost phase out from most curricular. The fact that the UAE curriculum does not presently offer Home Economics as a standalone subject validates this assertion. In Hong Kong, like in the UAE, Home Economics is perceived as a low-status subject. The study notes that there is the possibility that the curriculum developers focus on digital skills as the only competencies needed for the next generation. The Federation of Home Economics' definition of the subject provides a guide to how the future of the subject should look like. Individuals need to develop skills that enable empower them as individuals, families, and communities, and that allows them to realize lifelong learning.

UAE Curriculum

The deficiency of the UAE curriculum in equipping learners with practical skills has been addressed by Trines (2018). The study notes that, despite decades of improvement in the UAE education infrastructure and resources, the number of outbound degree-seeking students in the UAE has been on an upward trend. The majority of Emirati students seeking higher education outside the country prefer the U.K. and U.S (Badry 2019). Others prefer India, Australia, Oman, and Germany. The key factor is driving students to foreign or international universities in the pursuit of employability. The UAE comprises a significantly large percentage of immigrants, the majority of who come equipped with knowledge and skills to form part of the country's workforce. There is a big difference between the experiences of learners in private and public institutions in the UAE. Public schools in the UAE are segregated, meaning that girls and boys study separately and have separate textbooks.

Elementary Education in the UAE consists of a focus on Islamic Education, mathematics, music, science, integrated social studies, and physical Education (Haddad 2020). At lower secondary education, learners' students are introduced to either business education or health sciences. However, promotion to the next stage depends solely on continual assessment and end-year examinations. Technical upper-secondary education introduces learners to employment-oriented skills. Even with the introduction of an advanced track, focus remains on core subjects such as science and mathemati...