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At a pivotal moment in its educational journey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is shaping a teaching profession unlike any other. Set within one of the world's most internationally diverse education systems, Teacher Education in the UAE explores what it means to cultivate a coherent profession across multiple curricula, languages, cultures and governance arrangements while remaining grounded in the nation's educational aspirations.
Linda Rush offers a reflective exploration of teacher education as it is experienced by those working within the system. Rather than presenting a conventional research study, the book brings together professional voices, critical reflection and international scholarship to examine how professional identity, belonging, career-long learning, schools as learning hubs, licensure and accountability can contribute to a coherent teacher education ecosystem.
Teacher Education in the UAE is an invitation to reimagine teacher professionalism as a living, evolving ecosystem: one that is internationally credible, nationally legitimate, and meaningful for the diverse community of educators who choose to build their careers in the UAE. Essential reading for policymakers, practitioners, teacher educators and scholars interested in educational reform, profession-building and the future of teaching in the UAE and beyond.
This book's real achievement is refusing to treat teacher quality as a checklist. Written with the rare authority of someone who has worked across schools, universities and government, it insists, convincingly, that a teaching profession only takes root when pre-service training, licensure, accountability, professional development and school culture are designed as one interconnected, coherent system rather than parts and that no framework travels intact across borders without being reshaped by local context, culture, governance and identity. The Intelligent Professional Ecosystem it proposes is systems thinking applied with real cultural precision, grounded in the UAE's own ecosystem, often transient yet certainly progressive. Essential reading for anyone building a sustainable, high-performing profession, not just a policy.
— Cameron Mirza, IREX
This book addresses a key gap in knowledge relating to teacher education in the UAE, moving beyond discussions of individual reforms to examine how a distinctive teaching profession can be deliberately cultivated and sustained within one of the world’s most diverse and privatised educational contexts. Drawing on deep professional experience, local knowledge, stakeholder perspectives and international scholarship, it offers a compelling framework for understanding teacher education as a coherent professional ecosystem within a changing global and regional context. Scholarly in its analysis yet practical in its orientation, the book combines intellectual rigour with actionable insights for policy and practice. This is an important and timely contribution that will be of considerable value to policymakers, educational leaders, teacher educators and researchers seeking to strengthen the future of the teaching profession in the UAE and beyond.
— Professor Pauline Taylor-Guy, Sharjah Education Academy
Dr Rush provides a structured thought process to explore the complexity of our education systems and the cultural diversity of our profession. Exploring our profession through the lens of an Intelligent Professional Ecosystem entices reflection on how we provide space and opportunity for our educators.
— Maryssa O’Connor, Executive Head, Inspired Education Group, Spain
Linda Rush is the Director of Academic Quality and Institutional Excellence at Sharjah Education Academy in the United Arab Emirates. She has worked both for the Ministry of Education and GEMS Education in the UAE. Prior to working in the UAE Linda served as the Head of Teacher Education at the University of Manchester, UK where she was also Director of Professional Learning for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. She has been an international consultant as well as a senior leader of teacher education in three UK universities and a primary headteacher in Liverpool, UK.
Introduction: Cultivating a Distinct Teaching Profession in a Global Context
Chapter 1. Teacher Education in Context: Coherence, Professional Belonging and System Design in the United Arab Emirates
Chapter 2. Designing for Coherence and Legitimacy from the Ground Up
Chapter 3. Becoming a UAE Teacher: Professional Formation in a Context of Rapid Change
Chapter 4. Mapping the Journey: Designing a Coherent Professional Pathway for UAE Teachers
Chapter 5. Schools as Learning Hubs and Boundary Spanners
Chapter 6. Rethinking Accountability: Accountability as Coordinating Architecture for a Developmental Teacher Education System
Chapter 7. Entry-to-Profession Professional Learning: Induction as Alignment, Belonging and Capability in a Diverse System
Chapter 8. Repositioning Licensure within the Professional Formation Continuum: Licensure as Developmental Infrastructure
Chapter 9. From System-Building to Profession-Building: Reimagining Teacher Development in the United Arab Emirates
Conclusion: The UAE at a Strategic Turning Point