Astronomy Education in theUnited Arab Emirates
This overview is part of the project "Astronomy Education Worldwide" of theInternational Astronomical Union's Office of Astronomy for Education.
More information: https://astro4edu.org/worldwide

Structure of education: Children begin their comprehensive school at the age of 6. All students
attend pre-primary school at the age of 4 or 5. The first circle of the comprehensive schooling lasts 5years, comprising grades 1-5 (first cycle hereafter). At the age of11, the pupils start the second cycle ofcomprehensive schooling that they attend for four years, comprising grades 5-8 (second cyclehereafter). The third cycle comprises grades 9-12. The first nine grades are obligatory grades thatpupils must attend. Most of the pupils move to the course-based upper secondary school (high school),whereas a small ratio of the pupils continue on a vocational track.
In addition, there are private schools with other educational systems like the American system, Britishsystem, Australian system, Indian system, etc. All schools offer education in Islamic religion but pupils
have the right to have the teaching of their own religion or to choose to attend ethics classes instead.
Education facilities: UAE school classes (either public or private schools) have average sizes ofabout20 pupils.The schools are mostly well-equipped modern buildings. In most of the schools,
students have easy access to laptops, smartboards, and other modern teaching equipment, and they
have used these facilities in everyday teaching. Electronic platforms are being increasingly utilized inteaching. Evensome final high school exams have been shifted to electronic platforms.
Governance and organisation: Schools are run under the control of the Ministry of Education andEmiratesSchools Establishment. There are also local education councils in some Emirateslike Sharjah
Education Council, which ensures implementation of Ministry of Education policies. The national
curriculum is set by the Ministry of Education, while the international curriculum is set by the countryof origin.
Teacher Training: Teacher Training: School teachers at UAE have at least a Bachelor or M.Sc.
degree in addition to the professional diploma in education. The Ministry of Education selected highly
qualified teachers from different nationalities, this makes the UAE education system internationallyrecognized. The school teachers learn about astronomy in the context of their physics and chemistryeducation. The universities offer and recommend general courses in astronomy for the teachers, andthese courses are indeed popular. The universities further offer special courses for senior teachers inorder to complete their training in science. Teachers are encouraged to take part in further training inscience, especially astronomical camps and workshops in space sciences.
Astronomy in the curriculum: The UAE school curriculum does not include any specialized coursesin astronomy. In cycles 1 (grades 1-5) and 2 (grades 6-8) astronomy is part of science studies.
Whereas it is being offered only in Grade 9 in the cycle 3. The theme can include all the topics inastronomy from the Sun, Moon, planets, asteroids, and comets to black holes, Milky Way and othergalaxies, and cosmology. This table gives the topics in more details:

GradeCurriculum

Topic

SecondIntegrated sciences

Earth and space sciences

Third

Integrated sciences

Earth and space sciences

FourthIntegrated sciences

Earth and space sciences

Fifth

Integrated sciences

Earth and space sciences

Sixth

Integrated sciences

Our planet Earth, the Earth in space

SeventhIntegrated sciences

Space exploration

EighthIntegrated sciences

Evidence for the Earth's pastNinthIntegrated sciences

Stars

Astronomy education outside the classroom: There are a significant number of science orastronomy outreach centers in the UAE and they are located throughout the country. The largest ofthese centers is Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology (SAASST), which
is a part of the University of Sharjah, located in the Emirate of Sharjah. There are also several
amateur associations. Planetariums have been playing a role in astronomy education since 1981
when the first planetarium was established in Sharjah, UAE. Now there are six planetariums inoperation. The newest one is located inside SAASST, it is the largest in the region with an 18 m
diameter and 200 seat capacity.

The International Astronomical Union's National Astronomy Education Coordinator (NAEC)Team for the United Arab Emirates: Prof. Hamid M. Al-Naimiy (Chair, UoS & SAASST), Prof.
Mashhoor A.Al-Wardat (Contact person, UoS & SAASST, malwardat@sharjah.ac.ae), Prof. Ilias
Fernini (UoS & SAASST), Dr. Rim Fares (Assistant Professor of Astrophysics, UAEU), Dr. Othman
Abukhurmah (Ministry of Education, Abu Dhabi), Dr. Ayman Bastanji (Ajman Teacher Training
Institute, Ajman), Dr. Randa Assad (Associate Professor of Astrophysics–AUS)
Document co-authors: Mr. Marwan A. Shwaiki (SAASST)

For specific information about astronomy education in the United Arab Emirates or on this document
please contact the Office of Astronomy for Education (oae@astro4edu.org).