TY - JOUR
T1 - Faculty perceptions of the implementation of the United Arab Emirate's qualifications framework (QF Emirates) in federal higher education institutions
AU - Elhakim, Ahmed
AU - Alhosani, Mohamed
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank faculty and staff members of the UAEU and the HCT for their continuous effort and cooperation throughout this study. The authors would also like to extend deep appreciation to the NQA for their support and valuable feedback on the research design and the survey questions used in this study. Declaration of interest statement : No conflict of interest is associated with this study. Funding : No funding was received for this work.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
PY - 2022/6/3
Y1 - 2022/6/3
N2 - Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine faculty perceptions of the aim/structure of the United Arab Emirate's Qualifications Framework (QF Emirates) and its impact on academic practices in order to support policymakers on how to better implement the framework. Design/methodology/approach: The study applied a mixed-methods approach to obtain quantitative and qualitative feedback from faculty members from two of the largest higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), namely the UAE University (UAEU) and the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT). A questionnaire was used to capture broad insight from a sample of 788 faculty members from both institutions. In addition, semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 faculty members to offer more in-depth analysis of how to improve QF Emirates strategies in light of the current challenges and future aspirations. Findings: The study revealed that faculty members have an overall “average” to “high” perceptions of the general aim/structure of the QF Emirates and its impact on teaching, learning and assessment. Moreover, the study revealed that faculty from the HCT have a significantly higher perception of the QF Emirates implementation compared to faculty from the UAEU. The study concluded with proposing a number of solutions to support in improving the QF Emirates implementation, including raising awareness across stakeholders, identifying and communicating faculty roles in the process, and developing polices, guidelines and systems to support consistent integration of QF Emirates into academic practices. Originality/value: The outcomes of this study would add to the existing body of knowledge pertaining to the role of stakeholders (e.g. faculty members) in the implementation of the national qualifications framework. It addition, it can drive future professional development activities and add to the discourse around the conceptual framework of NQFs. Outcomes of the study could also provide additional information on the use of the QF Emirates as a supporting instrument. Last but not least, this work could provide insight to policymakers in regard to institutional support that would promote effective adoption of the QF Emirates.
AB - Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine faculty perceptions of the aim/structure of the United Arab Emirate's Qualifications Framework (QF Emirates) and its impact on academic practices in order to support policymakers on how to better implement the framework. Design/methodology/approach: The study applied a mixed-methods approach to obtain quantitative and qualitative feedback from faculty members from two of the largest higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), namely the UAE University (UAEU) and the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT). A questionnaire was used to capture broad insight from a sample of 788 faculty members from both institutions. In addition, semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 faculty members to offer more in-depth analysis of how to improve QF Emirates strategies in light of the current challenges and future aspirations. Findings: The study revealed that faculty members have an overall “average” to “high” perceptions of the general aim/structure of the QF Emirates and its impact on teaching, learning and assessment. Moreover, the study revealed that faculty from the HCT have a significantly higher perception of the QF Emirates implementation compared to faculty from the UAEU. The study concluded with proposing a number of solutions to support in improving the QF Emirates implementation, including raising awareness across stakeholders, identifying and communicating faculty roles in the process, and developing polices, guidelines and systems to support consistent integration of QF Emirates into academic practices. Originality/value: The outcomes of this study would add to the existing body of knowledge pertaining to the role of stakeholders (e.g. faculty members) in the implementation of the national qualifications framework. It addition, it can drive future professional development activities and add to the discourse around the conceptual framework of NQFs. Outcomes of the study could also provide additional information on the use of the QF Emirates as a supporting instrument. Last but not least, this work could provide insight to policymakers in regard to institutional support that would promote effective adoption of the QF Emirates.
KW - Faculty perceptions
KW - Higher education
KW - Qualifications frameworks
KW - United Arab Emirates
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U2 - 10.1108/IJEM-04-2021-0136
DO - 10.1108/IJEM-04-2021-0136
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85129200047
SN - 0951-354X
VL - 36
SP - 621
EP - 640
JO - International Journal of Educational Management
JF - International Journal of Educational Management
IS - 5
ER -