Teaching and Learning in the Arab World

Christina Gitsaki is the UNESCO Chair in Applied Research in Education at the Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology. Part of her role as UNESCO Chair is the dissemination of innovative teaching practices through professional development programs delivered to educators across the UAE. Gitsaki is also involved in research related to the educational reforms currently sweeping the Arabian Gulf.

• Contents: Abbad Alabbad/Christina Gitsaki: Attitudes toward Learning English: A Case Study of University Students in Saudi Arabia – Michael Fields: Learner Motivation and Strategy Use among University Students in the United Arab Emirates – Georgia Daleure: Factors Affecting Persistence in Post-Secondary Education: A Case Study of Emirati Males – Rana Raddawi: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills to Arab University Students – Lauren Stephenson/Barbara Harold: Emergent Leadership Development through Undergraduate Research in UAE Classrooms – Khawlah Ahmed: Casting Arabic Culture as the ‘Other’: Cultural Issues in the English Curriculum – Keith Kennetz/Melanie Van Den Hoven/Scott Parkman: Arab Student Attitudes towards Varieties of English – Ahmad Al-Issa/Aida Abou Eissa: Teachers’ Attitudes and Practices toward Providing Feedback on Arab EFL Students’ Writing – Jonathan Aubrey/Christine Coombe: An Investigation of Occupational Stressors and Coping Strategies Among EFL Teachers in the United Arab Emirates – Robin Dada: Teacher Leadership in the Arab Gulf: Expatriates and Arab Educators Mentor Each Other – Nettie Boivin: The Rush to Educate: A Discussion of the Elephant in the Room – Stephanie L. Knight/Atmane Ikhlef/Dawn Parker/Malatesha Joshi/Zohreh R. Eslami/Hissa M. Sadiq/Mubarka Al-Ahraf/Ahmad Al Saai: An Investigation of Math and Science Teaching and Learning in Qatari Independent Elementary Schools – Iqtidar Ali Shah/Neeta Baporikar: The Suitability of Imported Curricula for Learning in the Gulf States: An Oman Perspective – Mary Ellis/Anitha Devi Pillai/Ali Al Raba’i: Bilingual Academic Discourse Skills: A Pre-Service Teacher Training Program in Bahrain – Hala Al-Yamani: Drama as a Pedagogy in Arab Teacher Education Programs: Developing Constructivist Approaches to Teaching – Rida Blaik Hourani/Ibrahima Diallo/Aleya Said: Teaching in the Arabian Gulf: Arguments for the Deconstruction of the Current Educational Model – Mick King: Implementing Problem-Based Learning in the Gulf: A Case Study of Arab Students – Sabina Ostrowska: The Effect of Course Content on Student Motivation: A UAE Study – Melanie Gobert: Cultivating Phonological and Orthographic Awareness in Arab Learners of English – Katherine L. Hall: Teaching Composition and Rhetoric to Arab EFL Learners – Josephine O’Brien: Teaching English to Arab Learners: A Case for a Pedagogical Grammar.