In findings that many will see as something of a surprise, students’ well-being in Dubai schools has either improved in the last five years or has stayed high, according to the Dubai Knowledge and Human Development Authority’s (KHDA) latest student well-being census, which was released on Wednesday – this despite the ravages, stress and disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The findings are the concluding part of a five-year project that measures how students in Dubai’s private schools feel and think about their own wellbeing over time.
As one of the world’s largest cross-cultural studies on student well-being, the latest survey gathered data from 108,224 students, representing 86% of students from 189 Dubai private schools. The survey was answered by children between Year 5 and Year 13 in schools across Dubai.
Overall, Dubai students seem to rate their wellbeing highly, despite the impact of the pandemic, according to the results that the KHDA has released in an infographic.
Even more profoundly, schools have become even kinder post pandemic, according to the survey findings over time: In 2017, 78% of students in Grades 6 to 9 agreed that people at their school were treated respectfully and helped each other. By 2021, the figure had risen extraordinarily to 85%.
Teachers and support staff play a key role in students’ lives, with a positive impact. For the last five years students in Grades 6 to 9 say they have consistently felt connected to adults at their school, and 87% of students say they felt connected with at least one adult at their school throughout the years of the Census.
Children who are coming towards the end of their Dubai school careers generally feel well prepared for the next stage: 82% of students in Grades 10 to 12 have consistently said they felt optimistic about life over the last four years.
They’re also making important friendship bonds: 88% of students in Grades 10 to 12 have continued to report they felt a sense of belonging to their friendship groups.
The key point seems to be that schools – teachers, leadership and students, have been brought closer by the pandemic – and together have collectively created a culture of happiness, kindness and hope against all the seeming odds stacked against them.
This is quite some achievement and schools, parents and students we think should be hugely credited for their achievement.
This stands despite the KHDA survey identifying that not everything has improved:
- More than 78% of students in Grades 6 to 9 ate breakfast regularly during the period of distance learning. This decreased to 70% when schools returned to school in 2021.
- Sleep is also an issue. Children of all ages report not getting enough sleep, with older children generally getting less sleep than older ones.
- Students across all grades also say they worry about things that are going on in their lives or the world around them.
These findings suggest that, despite many impacts, children have shown themselves to be remarkably resilient in the face of the pandemic.
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