Abu Dhabi: The UAE Moral Education Program, which aims to instill universal principles and values in youth from all nationalities in the UAE, announced the launch of the Moral Education Standardized Assessment (MESA), which will be implemented in 78 schools in the UAE, covering more than 10,000 students from grades three, five , seven, and nine, between 14th - 18th April.
The Moral Education Standardized Assessment, which is one of the tools used for measuring the performance of the Moral Education curriculum, is conducted independently and uniformly to assess the students' attitudes and knowledge of the qualities of character and values underpinning the Moral Education program.
In this context, MESA uses the latest advancements in assessment and evaluation to measure students' understanding of Moral Education, the effectiveness of the curriculum, and its impact on the development of students’ personalities. MESA is administered to students as a computer-based exercise, adapted to each grade, that utilizes a combination of knowledge recall and situational judgment tasks to assess the program’s overall effectiveness in teaching morals to students.
For each of the four grades being sampled (three, five, seven, and nine) there are three versions (A, B, C). There is a common set of items across each of the versions, with another set unique to each version. The purpose of having multiple versions is to maximize coverage of the curriculum. MESAwill be distributed in Arabic and English according to the language taught in the classroom.
The platform for these tailored assessments was developed in partnership with internationally-renowned testing organization, ACT Inc., who are known for their advanced standardized testing covering over two million high school students worldwide. ACT will also monitor the assessment system and produce results to be announced later in the year. Meanwhile, the Moral Education Program engaged ConnecME as ACT's local implementation partner in the UAE, with the organization overseeing the distribution of the trial to 78 schools, with representatives visiting schools over the five-day assessment period commencing April 14th.
MESA is one of the tools to measure the performance of the Moral Education Curriculum which is implemented in public and private schools since its inception in 2017. In addition to its program of School Visits and a National Survey, other tools include Social Media Engagement and Analysis of Educational Outcome KPIs. The Moral Education Program recently conducted a survey of 617 schools, supported by field visits to 48 public and private schools in the UAE. Field visits to 50 other schools are under way. MESA, meanwhile, is designed to be at the same level as the international measurement assessments, such as PISA, TIMMS, PIRLS, and the ACT itself.
Mohammed Al Neaimi, Director of the Education Affairs Office at the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, the body that oversees the implementation of the Moral Education Program, said, "We are very pleased to launch the Moral Education Standardized Assessment. This assessment is primarily designed to measure students’ attitudes and knowledge of the moral education values and to measure the effectiveness of the moral education curriculum overall.”
Suzana Delanghe, who is Chief Commercial Officer of ACT Inc. , talked of the enthusiasm shown among the partner organizations: “Working with UAE and ConnecME in developing items for this assessment has been exciting and rewarding for ACT. We are very glad to be involved and are proud of the work we have done and are doing to help assess the skills students have learned in this first-of-its-kind curriculum.”
The UAE Moral Education Program, which was first launched in 2016 under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, aims to nurture young people with core moral values that are rooted in local culture yet acknowledge shared universal human values. Delivered as a holistic curriculum for all ages and nationalities, the program was fully rolled out in all public and private schools across the UAE, covering Grades 1 to 9 in September 2017 and extended to Grades 10 to 12 in September 2018. It follows that, as of current academic year, there are more than one million students receiving moral education in UAE schools.
Based around the four pillars of the Moral Education curriculum, the aim of the program is to build character, instill moral outlook, foster community and endear culture, using contexts that include the holistic environment of the school, the home, extended family and the wider community, locally and globally.
About UAE Moral Education:
The Moral Education Program is a national school curriculum designed to realize the UAE’s vision of cultivating responsible, cultured and engaged citizens who are ready for the wider globalized world. It empowers the youth with a moral compass to aid them in making well-informed life decisions. The Program not only develops the skills of students, but also ensures that they understand their role as responsible members of communities.
The Moral Education Program is designed to nurture young people of all nationalities and ages living in the UAE with moral standards that are rooted in local culture while acknowledging common foundations of universal values that reflect the shared experiences of humanity.
About ACT:
ACT is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people achieve education and workplace success. Grounded in 60 years of research, ACT is a trusted leader in college and career readiness solutions. Each year, ACT serves millions of students, job seekers, schools, government agencies and employers in the US and around the world with learning resources, assessments, research and credentials designed to help them succeed from elementary school throughout life. To learn more, visit www.act.org.
About ConnecME:
ConnecME is an international educational company head-quartered in Abu-Dhabi that possesses a profound understanding of the importance of empowerment and global citizenship. Through ConnecME’s strong partnerships, their aim is to provide tailored educational and career solutions to meet the unique needs of schools, universities, associations, certifying bodies, and government departments. Its goal is to provide students and lifelong learners with opportunities to help them become globally competitive, and to attain excellence and recognition in the global domain. To learn more, visit www.connecme.com
© Press Release 2019
Disclaimer: The contents of this press release was provided from an external third party provider. This website is not responsible for, and does not control, such external content. This content is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither this website nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this press release.
The press release is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Neither this website nor our affiliates shall be liable for any errors or inaccuracies in the content, or for any actions taken by you in reliance thereon. You expressly agree that your use of the information within this article is at your sole risk.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this website, its parent company, its subsidiaries, its affiliates and the respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, advertisers, content providers and licensors will not be liable (jointly or severally) to you for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, incidental, punitive or exemplary damages, including without limitation, lost profits, lost savings and lost revenues, whether in negligence, tort, contract or any other theory of liability, even if the parties have been advised of the possibility or could have foreseen any such damages.
