The UAE is one of the few countries that consider Education as a top priority for achieving sustainable economic growth in the future. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) data, 20.5% of the country’s federal budget is spent on education and the literacy rate is as high as 93.8%.

In order to achieve its Vision 2021, the country has proposed eight pillars of development in the education sector including its aims to:

• Be among the top 20 countries with the highest performance in the PISA Test (Program of International Student Assessment) and,
• Be among the top 15 countries with the highest performance on TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study).

The latest results of the PISA 2018 edition shows that the UAE has advanced eight points in Mathematics skills, achieving a significant score of 435 and a progress rate of 62%, as compared to the previous edition. The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) termed this as a remarkable improvement for students and educators as well as the nation as a whole.

Increasing focus on developing competencies in “STEM” subjects

In recent years, there has been a concerted effort by the UAE Government to work closely with the Ministry of Education (MoE) to develop STEM Skills in students, especially Science and Mathematics to better prepare them for disciplines such as Engineering, Medicine, Natural sciences etc. and make them ready for the 21st-century workplace.

The focus on STEM is also the consequence of the country’s mission to build critical thinking skills, develop innovation and teamwork among students, and use basic STEM skills for problem-solving. In addition, the emphasis has been placed on providing technical, vocational or trade certifications as a part of upper-secondary Education and students receive more in-depth instruction in core subjects like Mathematics along with other subjects that are geared towards employment and skilled job roles.

The growing popularity of “Maths Mastery”

For developing a first-rate education system, the country is now opening up to several international trends to allow the introduction of global and diversified perspectives, multicultural learning and development of an open mindset. One such trend is “Maths Mastery” which originated in Singapore and Shanghai and has proven to be an effective way of developing numeracy skills and a deep understanding of mathematical concepts in students, particularly Primary age learners.

The “Maths Mastery” approach has grown in popularity across the world, including in the UAE, largely due to the increased interest in the teaching of Mathematics in countries which perform well in international tests, such as China and Singapore.

What is Maths Mastery?

Teaching Maths for mastery involves employing approaches that help pupils to develop a deep and secure knowledge and understanding of Mathematics at each stage of their learning. It was founded by Dr Helen Drury – a pioneer of teaching and learning, who conducted research on how Maths education could be improved to break the UK’s cycle of underachievement. This research, evidence and best practice became the foundation for the Mathematics Mastery programme.

In order to build on this culture of deep understanding, confidence and competence in Maths, Pearson in association with White Rose Maths, a pioneer organisation for Maths Mastery in the UK, launched Power Maths, a whole-class mastery programme designed to spark curiosity, excitement and help children nurture confidence in Maths.

Speaking about the collaboration, Caroline Hamilton, Head of White Rose Maths said: “It is important for young children today to not only understand but enjoy Mathematics to achieve at higher levels. We are proud to have worked with Pearson on the Power Maths series, which includes intellectually demanding and knowledge rich resources with world-class content. It is delightful to see that many schools are already using it to reduce workload and support learning outcomes.”