With few exceptions, the world’s school systems – both public and private – were unprepared for the conditions created by COVID-19. This is a rapid look at what I have seen happening. First Take The lockdown approach adopted by most countries, designed to limit the spread of COVID-19 and to relieve pressure on medical services, […]
The UAE education news cycle over the past 5 weeks has been relentless, as the race to be first has ignited a spate of click-bait headlines, in amongst the genuine stories about the impact of COVID-19 on the sector. Parents, teachers, investors, school groups and regulators have been forced to confront some of their greatest
Now is the time to talk about quality… Read More »
A famous and brilliant passage of writing about effective teaching is called, ‘Imagine Three Teachers’. Written in 1991 by cognitive scientists Scardamalia and Bereiter, the passage is a thought experiment that compares three classroom teachers: Teacher A, Teacher B and Teacher C. The strength of the passage is that the Teachers appear at first glance
When Teacher A, Teacher B and Teacher C work from home Read More »
This week, my education journey takes me to Japan. You wouldn’t immediately think that Japan would be opening up to private international schools. This country has great PISA and TIMSS results and stands as one of the best-performing Government school systems in the world. The schools are free to the national population, who are sophisticated,
Even the Rising Sun Read More »
In the last two years, the pioneering territories for international schools in the UAE and China have hit some problems. China is posing regulatory challenges from time to time, which impacts enrolment numbers and the predictability of any ramp-up. While the UAE has experienced an economic slowdown much like the rest of the world and
Mature, diversify, and open new ground Read More »
Several of my friends are much better writers than I have ever managed to be. A couple have the muse. They can write with rhythm and poetry in their prose. Others have stamina and can produce books in a moment, it seems, only to go on and produce another and another. I take great pleasure
At the end of 2018, I predicted that 2019 would be the “Year of Agility” for school operators within Dubai, as the market would demand different approaches to HR, new recruitment strategies to attract teaching talent, and new ways to use technology as a resource to support the curriculum. I also predicted that 2019 would
The Battle of School Bingo on Dubai’s Radio Stations or “The Year of Hope” Read More »
As I travel I like to ask school chains, what are your educational assets? If the answer is, “it’s our teachers”, I worry about all that high turnover in the international field. If the answer is “mainly, it’s our schools”, I worry about the missed opportunities. You see, I have commented before about the Copernican shift that
What are your educational assets? Read More »
Interesting times for GEMS, the international schools chain with a customised school model at almost every price. The news of their successful move on Ma’arif in Saudi Arabia, another school chain, is out and now they can enjoy having a large Acquisition under their belt. I almost added, “at last” because, in their sixty years
GEMS cutting a new path Read More »
In the Middle East, we entered a new phase of maturity in the schools market a couple of years ago. Supply of private schools increased in many countries and demand softened for some market segments. That brought in an Age of Competition which is great for consumers and for quality. It also brought a new
Advice to Investors! Read More »
