CULTURAL CONIDERATION POLICY

Context

The population of the UAE has grown dramatically over the last few decades due to the influx of non-nationals who have come to contribute to the economic diversification and cultural enrichment of Abu Dhabi. As a result, the emirate’s private schools are currently represented by a high percentage of non-nationals – students and staff – who have infused the private schooling sector with an international richness for the whole school community.

While this has led the UAE to embrace its diversity through the principles of tolerance as embodied through the National Tolerance Program, there is simultaneously a growing need to ensure that members of the school community are aware of the culturally and nationally acceptable topics and practices in the educational context.

Schools are required to ensure that members of the school community understand, respect, and adhere to the requirements identified in this policy:

  1. the Code of Conduct for Education Professionals in General Education (MoE, 2022),
  2. MoE Circular No. 1 of 2022 Regarding Private School’s Compliance with National Identity Requirements in the School Environment,
  3. MoE Circular No. 1 of 2023 Regarding Promoting a Safe School Environment,

and all other legislation in the UAE ensuring that school practices and the content  of all teaching and learning resources align with and respect cultural consideration as regulated within the laws of the UAE, including but not limited to the following:

  1. “Respecting the constitution, laws and orders issued by public authorities in implementation thereof, observance of public order and respect for public morals, is a duty of all residents of the union” (Article 44, Constitution of the UAE).
  2. “Preserving the Islamic and Arab principles and values, public morals, and the values, traditions, and systems of the state” (Clause 11, Article 11, Federal Decree Law No. (18) of 2020 Concerning Private Education).
  3. “Respect for national identity and sovereignty” (Clause 12, Article 11, Federal Decree Law No. (18) of 2020 Concerning Private Education).
  4. Penalties are applied for “Manufactur[ing], import[ing], export[ing], possess[ing], acquir[ing] or transfer[ing] with the intention of exploitation, distribution or display to others, writings, drawings, photographs, films or symbols or other things if they violate public morals” (Article 416, Federal Decree Law No. (31) of 2021 Promulgating the Crimes and Penalties Law).

ADEK Requirements

  1. Induction and Refresher Training:

    ADEK Requirement: Schools shall organize an induction on cultural consideration awareness for all new staff, parents, and students. Refresher training shall equally be provided annually to returning staff, parents, and students to enable them to maintain their awareness of cultural consideration in the UAE.

    School Policy: the school organises initial training for staff, students and parents at the beginning of the school year. The annual induction and refresher programme includes for staff, students and parents includes:

    • Cultural sensitivity training
      • Dress
      • Behaviours
      • Expectations
    • For new staff, the programme involves:
      • A tour of the major cultural centres of Abu Dhabi
        • The Grand Mosque
        • The Presidential Palace
        • The Louvre
  2. Vetting Resources:

    ADEK Requirement: Schools shall establish processes and procedures for vetting, reviewing, and selecting teaching and learning resources as per Section 2.3 Learning Resources and Activities of this policy

    School Policy:  Cultural Sensitivity Policy: Selection of School Resources 2023-24

    Purpose:

    The purpose of this policy is to ensure that school resources meet the requirements of ADEK’s Cultural Sensitivity Policy and fulfil our obligations to observe the laws, values, morals and cultural heritage of the UAE. The primary purpose of this policy is to ensure that we respect the country that we live, work and learn in.

    The goal is to avoid the use of any teaching & learning resources that would be culturally, socially, morally, religiously, ethically or politically offensive.

    The primary aim of selecting suitable and appropriate resources is to promote the National Identity agenda whilst resourcing the educational provision of the school.

    Resource Selection Process

    Step 1:Teachers and/or Heads of Department or Coordinators identify teaching & learning resources that are needed to deliver the British and MoE curricula.

    Step 2:Heads of Depart and/or Coordinators (line managers of teachers) vet the resource selection of teachers and approve the resources as being fit for purpose

    Step 3: Heads of Primary & Secondary Schools vet the resource selection approved by the Heads of Depart and/or Coordinators

    Step 4:Resources and approvals (documentation) are vetted by the Resource Selection Committee (RSC). The RSC shall comprise:

    • Principal
    • School Manager
    • Senior Vice Principal + Vice Principals/Heads of School
    • Head of MoE Subjects, Head of Primary Arabic

    Step 5: The RSC recommend procurement of resources to school management, who are required to undertake a final vetting of the resources. Once school management are satisfied that resources meet the criteria of ADEK’s Cultural Sensitivity Policy, resources are then procured for use by the school

    School Libraries – Procurement of Books

    Learning Resources and Activities:

    ADEK Requirement: Schools shall establish a Resource Selection Committee to ensure that all teaching and learning resources are vetted for cultural consideration. The school shall ensure the following while reviewing and selecting any teaching and learning resource:

    1. The suitability and appropriateness of the teaching and learning resources intended for a certain age group.
    2. The suitability and appropriateness of the materials (topic/content/images) to UAE culture, values, and national identity: For example, topics/content/images that are culturally inconsiderate or encourage undesirable habits/behaviour such as drug and alcohol use, violence, smoking, gambling, alternative gender identity and sexual orientation, indoctrination, etc., shall not be accepted.
    3. The suitability and appropriateness of political topics as per the approved UAE Social Studies curriculum.
    4. Schools shall establish a process, with full documentation, to vet or verify the suitability of all resources, that includes a final signing off by the head librarian, the Resource Selection Committee, and the Principal.
  3. Observation of UAE Cultural Practices:

    ADEK Requirement: Schools shall adhere to cultural practices such as singing the UAE national anthem daily, observing official public holidays and national celebrations, and following protocol for flags and portraits as per the Positions of their Highness’ Pictures and Placements and Uses of Flags Manual. This includes ensuring that the only flag raised in schools is that of the UAE and portraits are those of the UAE’s leaders.

    School Policy:

    The Facilities team (Central Support Services) under the leadership and guidance of the Director of Facilities, report directly to school management, and are responsible for ensuing that all physical aspects of the observance of UAE Cultural Practices are in place.

    The school’s academic team, led by the Principal, are responsible for the academic operations of the school, such as ensuring that the National Anthem is sung every day. Senior Leaders lead the daily ritual of observing the National Anthem and the reading of the Qur’an.

    Termly protocol checks are in place to ensure that physical representations, flags & portraits, meet the requirements of the Positions of their Highness’ Pictures and Placements and Uses of Flags Manual.

  4. Monitoring of School Communications:

    ADEK Requirement: Schools shall regularly monitor all official and unofficial school-related communication channels (newsletters, social media, parent communication groups, etc.) to ensure their compliance with this policy.

    School Policy:

    School policy is for all communications to be channelled through the School Principal for vetting before being sent to the IT Helpdesk, and being sent to parents via SchoolVoice (parent communication app).

    School social media content is managed and monitored by the Director of Facilities and school management.

  5. Response Mechanism for Non-Compliance:

ADEK Requirement: Schools shall establish processes and procedures for reporting and responding to any breaches of this policy in school.

School Policy for Reporting & Responding to Breaches of Cultural Sensitivity Policy

Reporting

Members of the school community (staff, students, parents, visitors) will be encouraged to share any causes for concern that they have regarding breaches of the Cultural Sensitivity Policy

The School will record these causes of concern.

The School has created a Cultural Sensitivity Committee comprising:

  • Principal
  • School Manager
  • Senior Vice Principal + Vice Principals/Heads of School
  • Head of MoE Subjects, Head of Primary Arabic

The Cultural Sensitivity Committee will meet on a per-need basis, to consider any cause for concern that is raised in relation to the Cultural Sensitivity Policy.

The Cultural Sensitivity Policy will, according to it’s findings, respond according to the concern.

Where a serious breach of the Cultural Sensitivity Policy has been discovered, the School Principal will report the incident and corrective action to ADEK, to the school’s Board of Trustees, to the person who raised the concern, to the school representatives implicated in the cause for concern, and to the school management.

An official record will be held for all incidents that fail to meet the standards of the school’s Cultural Sensitivity Policy.

Community Conduct:

Members of the school community shall conduct themselves in ways that are mindful of cultural consideration, including the following:

  1. Respecting the UAE’s cultural and social norms, values, and traditions.
  1. Refraining from (directly/indirectly) promoting inappropriate stereotypes, preconceptions, and

assumptions about the UAE and the region.

  1. Refraining from directly or indirectly encouraging any behaviour, practice, or displays that are culturally inconsiderate, such as drug and alcohol use, smoking, violence, promoting alternative gender identity and sexual orientation, indoctrination, etc.
  1. Refraining from using symbols, colours, or imagery associated with any movement/beliefs related to political, social, or extremist religious groups which are culturally inconsiderate, such as misrepresentations of prominent figures, images that are gratuitously violent or sexual in nature, representation of pride movement, extremist ideas, etc.).
  1. Refraining from conducting any activities and/or using any content that leads to the indoctrination and promotion of religious/political extremism, racism, bullying, and all other forms of discrimination.
  1. Refraining from holding rallies, demonstrations, and protests on school premises or while holding a school-related event offsite.
  1. Ensuring that one’s appearance is culturally considerate. Examples include but are not limited to:

    a). Covering of visible body tattoos and any type of piercings for men and women.

    b). Appropriate clothing in line with the school’s dress code.

  1. Ensuring the appropriateness of all school-organized events and celebrations to UAE culture, in adherence with this policy.
  1. Adhering to the laws of the UAE by conducting themselves accordingly.

Topics in the Approved Curriculum:

ADEK Requirement: Schools shall ensure the following when addressing potentially controversial topics:

  1. If the approved curriculum includes topics relating to biological reproduction, human evolution or sex education, schools shall limit the usage of figurative explanation and scientific images/photos required to address the relevant learning outcomes in a manner that is respectful and culturally considerate.

    a). Schools shall inform parents in advance of the lesson, including the topics that will be covered (and whether the topic will be covered in any assessments), and allow parents to excuse their child from attending the relevant lesson with a written exemption.

  1. If the approved curriculum includes topics relating to revolution, wars, or any other potential violent conflict, schools shall ensure that the required content is discussed and handled in the right formal educational context and presented objectively as related content may involve offensive, violent, or obscene imagery or themes. Schools shall limit figurative explanation and scientific images/photos required to address the relevant learning outcomes in a manner that is respectful and culturally considerate.
  1. If the approved curriculum includes any potentially controversial topics as part of the learning resources or activities required for the preparation of any high-stakes exams, schools are authorized to teach these topics after seeking approval from ADEK.
  1. Where controversial topics may surface outside of approved curricula due to high-profile current events, schools shall follow UAE government direction and adhere to any directives issued by relevant federal or local UAE authorities.

Roles and Responsibilities

Head librarians shall:

a). Review, vet, and sign off all resources requested and ensure that they are compliant with relevant requirements and are age- and culturally appropriate.

b). Submit the list of acceptable and non-acceptable resources to the Resource Selection Committee for review and approval.

c). Continuously monitor digital and non-digital resources and textbooks including their usage to ensure compliance with the regulations, policies,  guidelines, and circulars issued by ADEK.

d). Immediately report any content discovered in resources that may violate this

e). Policy to the Principal and remove the resource from circulation.

Principals shall:

a. Form a Resource Selection Committee to review, vet, and approve all resources.

b. Implement and document the school-level process for the selection of teaching and learning resources as per Section 2.1.2 of this policy.

c. Provide, upon request, the full set of documentation for the vetting process as indicated in Section 2.3.4 to ADEK.

d. Communicate school-level processes and procedures to all staff.

e. Ensure all resources and materials selected and/or developed at the school are age- and culturally appropriate.

f. Ensure the delivery of cultural consideration awareness induction and refresher training.

g. Report any content discovered in resources that are non-compliant with this policy to ADEK and ensure it is immediately removed from circulation.

h. Ensure relevant staff engage parents to communicate that their school:

  1. Entrusts parents to oversee their child’s use of the internet at home to minimize their exposure to inappropriate content.
  2. Expects parents to immediately report to both the school and Abu Dhabi Contact Centre (800 555) any content in school resources that are noncompliant with this policy and always exercise caution when posting school information on public forums and social media channels