National Identity Audits

"A nation without a past is a nation without a present or a future."

-Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

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Across the UAE, a significant factor holding schools back from "outstanding" rankings is a school's ability to be innovative in fostering appreciation for UAE's national culture and heritage.

Our comprehensive, research-based audit identifies your school's specific challenges and provides strategies customized for your school. After a months-long process, you’ll know the root causes of the challenges you’re facing and actions you can lead forward.
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Why audits matter.

Following the introduction of the UAE-wide inspection frameworks, schools across the UAE have been making tremendous strides in improving their inspection scores year to year. And yet, indicators related to fostering national culture and heritage hold many schools back from achieving even greater heights. As leading researchers on culture and identity, our team works with schools to conduct National Identity Audits that address questions such as:

- Do students have positive attitudes towards the UAE’s culture and heritage?


- Are teachers trained to foster national culture and heritage in their teaching and curricula?

- Do any of the staff hold deficit understandings toward local heritage or culture?

- Are school leaders prepared to mentor, monitor, and provide instructional feedback to teachers?

- What research-proven strategies have been shown to increase these indicators?

 

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How schools are evaluated.

After all the survey and interview data is collected and analysis is completed, we use the latest technologies to pinpoint the exact sources of specific challenges in your schools. The output is a report that you can read and share—a playbook that shows the challenges and research-based recommendations on how they can be overcome. In year 2, you will have access to an accompanying app that will allow you to trace progress in the school.


How audits are structured.
Your school’s final National Identity Audit will look at your school’s trends, policies, practices, cultures, and for any potential gaps. It will identify specific sources of your disparities and will offer recommendations based on these school-specific findings.

How schools are involved. 
As your partner, a National Identity Audit happens for you and with you—not to you. We collaborate at every step, answer any question you may have, and make sure all relevant people know what’s happening and why it matters.


Schools can also consider these add-ons:
  • Qualitative Interviews & Analysis
  • Policy Analysis
  • Curriculum Analysis

For many schools, a National Identity Audit is the first step toward real and true change.

Unlike other areas, there is no standard available for measuring student knowledge of cultural heritage, so schools struggle to self-assess their students' levels. By partnering together, we’ll continue to make headway in the improvement needed in schools.

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Some of the common issues schools face include:

  • Being tokenistic with fostering national culture and heritage
  • Limiting national culture and heritage to National Day celebrations
  • Focusing on UAE culture in social studies only instead of making it a cross curricular focus


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