Dubai: Students’ well-being in schools has improved, census says

Students’ well-being in Dubai schools has either improved in the last five years or has stayed high.

That’s according to the Dubai Knowledge and Human Development Authority’s (KHDA) latest student well-being census, that was released on Wednesday.

The recently released data reflects one of the world’s largest cross-cultural studies on student well-being.

108,224 students which consist of 86 per cent of students from 189 Dubai private schools took part in the census.

The census not only delineates students’ well-being status but also highlights some student-related challenges that can possibly lead to imminent solutions.

What is students’ well-being like?

Grade 6 students typically have great relationships with their teachers, feel very connected to adults at home and are engaged with their schoolwork, and they feel they’re doing well in their studies.

Grade 9 students typically get along great with their teachers, and the adults they live with and are engaged with what they’re learning and do well in their schoolwork.

Grade 12 students typically have high emotional engagement with their teachers, are interested in what they’re learning at school and feel that their school is a safe place to be.

How can students’ well-being be improved?

Many Dubai students, regardless of age, say they don’t sleep enough.

Typically, the older students are, the less sleep they get. Helping them get more sleep would improve their well-being even more.

Students across all grades also say they worry about things that are going on in their lives or the world around them.

Improve in students’ well-being

The census underlines that across all five years, students’ well-being improved or stayed high.

Students felt their school is a positive place to be.

In 2017, 78 per cent of students in Grades 6 to 9 agreed that people at their school were treated respectfully and helped each other. By 2021, it was 85 per cent.

For the last five years, percentage of students in Grades 6 to 9, have consistently felt connected to adults at their school.

87 per cent of students connected with at least one adult at their school throughout the years of the Census.

For the last four years, 82 per cent of students in Grades 10 to 12 have consistently said they felt optimistic about life.

Over the years, 88 per cent of students in Grades 10 to 12 have continued to report they felt a sense of belonging to their friendship groups.

More than 78 per cent of students in Grades 6 to 9 ate breakfast regularly during the period of distance learning decreasing to 70 per cent when schools went back in 2021.

ALSO READ:

• UAE: Adek outlines new requirements for school transport

• UAE: Displaced Indian medical students returning from Ukraine can now apply in Gulf Medical University

• Dubai