EDUCATION
INTERNATIONAL
F i n d i n g s f ro m F i e l d wo rk : T e a c h e r s d es c r i b e d i v er g e n t e x p e ri e n c e s i n t h e U n i t e d A ra b Em i r at e s A wealthy Gulf nation with a small local population, the United Arab Emirates has long relied on international recruitment to staff its schools. As far back as the 1970s, this meant importing teachers from within the region and treating them as a source of cheap labour. Government figures from 2009-2010 showed that only 1,787 of the 3,154 teachers working in the state system were Emirati.95 Then, in 2011, hiring practices began to change when the Abu Dhabi Education Council instituted a new school model curriculum intended, among other things, to make English a medium of instruction by 2030. This policy change meant that the Egyptian and Jordanian teachers who had been staffing Emirati schools were sent home and replaced by a new crop of English speaking recruits, largely from developed Western nations, who were hired under much more favourable terms and afforded generous benefits. Focus groups of teachers on both sides of this policy change reveal striking differences in their experiences. Jordanian teachers who had worked in the United Arab Emirates spoke of discrimination, lack of support, and wide pay disparities between themselves and the teachers who were nationals of their host country. Jordanian teachers were paid between one half and one quarter the salary of local teachers. Most felt discriminated against by their employer, and some felt mistreated by parents and teachers as well. Few felt the experience had met their expectations. By comparison, the Americans and Australians who were hired as English Medium Teachers reported in a focus group that they were treated lavishly. Upon arrival, they spent the first month at the five-star Intercontinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi, where their only job was to acclimatise. They earned a tax-free income that exceeded their home country salaries, in addition to free housing, health care, several trips home, and even a furniture allowance. They noted with concern the inequity between their treatment and that of their predecessors from Egypt and Jordan, and suggested that there was even a third tier of salary and benefits reserved for the South African teachers, who fell mid-way between the Westerners and the teachers from the region. The teachers also noted differing levels of support from school administrators. While some reported supportive management, others said they were forced to attend faculty meetings held in Arabic with no translation and confronted open hostility from other teachers.
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Edarabia, “Expat teachers aren’t the only ones”, 2011.