Conference to promote 'moral education' in Abu Dhabi

The 8th Annual Education Conference of the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research, ECSSR, will be held on 28th - 29th November, under the theme, "Schools and Moral Education: Toward an Education System that Consolidates Values in Society."

The two-day event will highlight various dimensions of moral education with the aim of establishing a unified view on how this initiative can be successfully applied in UAE schools.

Its organisers stated that education is the top priority on the UAE National Agenda, while adding that the country’s wise leadership is developing and raising the standards of education by enhancing both its societal value and academic aspects.

Realising that alongside academic education, the youth should also be guided to embrace ethics and values, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has issued directives for moral education to be taught as a subject in schools.

Moral education is an important part of any national value system. In recognition of this, the UAE has been pursuing this ideal, ever since the country was founded by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

The first panel, "The UAE Moral Education Initiative: Premises and Impacts," will discuss the vision of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed regarding the role of morality in the education system and how moral education can help promote the UAE as a soft power.

The second panel, "Toward the Implementation of the Moral Education Initiative: Roles and Mechanisms," will cover the various elements of the initiative and how it can be implemented by teachers, the media, families, and religious institutions.

The third panel, "Moral Education in School Curricula: International Experiences," will examine and compare moral education experiences adopted by other countries, such as China, Japan and Finland. In the fourth panel, "Moral Education: Insights from the UAE Educational Sphere," specialists will discuss the challenges in teaching moral education, the factors that determine its success, and the effectiveness of this initiative on parents and students.