CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT POLICY THROUGH THE LENS OF HUMAN CAPITAL THEORY (Research Paper Sample)

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT POLICY THROUGH THE LENS OF HUMAN CAPITAL THEORY by [Name] Course Professor’s Name Institution Location of Institution Date Critical Analysis of Curriculum and Assessment through the Lens of Human Capital Theory Introduction Background of the Study In the past, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has developed policy frameworks in various sectors of the economy to guide operations towards the attainment of national development goals ((Krzymowski, 2020). In the education sector, the assessment and curriculum policy was developed under the general framework for educational policies through ministerial decision number 624 of 2017 by the Ministry of Education (United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education, 2018). According to Badry (2019), the policy aims to respond to economic, social, educational, and health challenges in the 21st century by having a culturally, economically and socially responsive education system. It also guides the creation of an education system that integrates digital learning strategies to foster technological growth (Gallagher, 2019). Furthermore, it provides a unified framework of assessment and teaching practices that aligns the country’s educational system with international standards (Al Ahbabi, 2019). The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education (2018) stated that the policy introduced dynamic, flexible and comprehensive learning and assessment strategies to foster problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and creativity in solving contemporary issues. The curriculum and assessment policy was developed to support the realisation of two major national development goals (United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education, 2018). The first goal is the Centennial 2071, launched in 2017. One of the key pillars of the goal is the enhancement of the quality of education, research and innovation to position the country towards responding to its emerging needs across sectors of the economy (Sarker and Rahman, 2023). For example, Antwi‐Boateng and Jaberi (2022) stated that the Centennial 2071 is a long-term commitment by the government of the United Arab Emirates to introduce a market-driven education system that focuses on building key competencies across sectors of the economy. This supports the diversification of the country's economy by promoting non-oil sectors (Russo, Figueira and Santos, 2023). The second national development goal was the UAE Vision 2021, which was developed to propel the country towards a knowledge-based economy. Matsumoto (2019) states that the curriculum and assessment policy was an appropriate tool to standardise assessment and teaching practices. Moreover, it helped align educational practices to these national development goals, as well as international standards of education. Additionally, Pilotti, Alkuhayli and Ghazo (2021) noted that the education system of the UAE historically encouraged memorisation as a way of learning. There was a lack of diverse learning styles to improve the quality of education, prepare learners for the job market, and enhance the country’s economic productivity. Therefore, the policy under the general framework for educational policies provided a framework to respond to the unique learning needs of diverse learners by incorporating diverse teaching and assessment methods to foster holistic student development and equip them with essential skills to spur economic productivity and promote equity in the education system (Al Ahbabi, 2019). Gallagher (2019) noted that the UAE has had challenges attaining its development goals and further hypothesised that this could be due to policies not adequately aligned with the country’s national goals. While the curriculum and assessment policy shows the commitment of the UAE’s government to enhancing the quality of education and attaining its goals, it is not clear whether it has been adequately aligned to these goals that emphasise economic diversification and productivity. Therefore, there is a need to critically analyse this policy document to determine its effectiveness in achieving these development goals through the lens of a robust theoretical perspective. Abbott et al. (2019) argue that human capital theory provides a comprehensive framework upon which policies can be examined and how they contribute to the economic growth of a nation. Therefore, this study critically examines the curriculum and assessment theory from a human capital theoretical perspective. Research Question The curriculum and Assessment policy developed by UAE’s Ministry of Education incorporates standardised assessments and educational practices to enhance equity in the educational system and align learning outcomes to the development goals of the nation (United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education (2018). However, since its development and subsequent implementation, Matsumoto (2019) states that there are concerns about whether this education policy contributes to the national development goals. In light of this, this study has conducted a comprehensive and critical analysis of the policy document and how well it contributes to the achievement of the national goals: centennial 2071 and UAE Vision 2021. These development goals advocate for a quality education system that promotes inclusivity and diversity and also enhances human capital for economic productivity in the UAE (Krzymowski, 2020). Therefore, the study focussed on answering the question, “How does the Curriculum and Assessment policy of UAE align with the human capital theory, which emphasises investment in education and training for enhanced human capital and increased economic productivity?” This paper addresses this question by critically analysing the curriculum and Assessment Policy from existing literature on human capital theory to identify its strengths and limitations and provide an alternative, feasible policy proposal addressing the shortcomings. Justification of the Study Drawing insights from the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education (2018), the curriculum and assessment policy is a critical document that guides academic institutions to standardise their teaching activities and assessments. It aims to contribute to national development through its potential to align teaching, assessment practices, and educational outcomes with strategic development goals that focus on market-driven education and a knowledge-based economy (Matsumoto, 2019). According to Abbott et al. (2019), human capital theory is the most appropriate theory to evaluate the effectiveness of educational policies in promoting educational investment, focusing on improving the quality of education, enhancing the economic value and productivity of the students and positioning them towards fostering the economic growth of a nation. Therefore, this study is justified as it applies this theory to critically analyse how educational practices in curriculum and assessment theory contribute to the economic productivity of the country. By applying this theoretical perspective, this paper evaluates the policy’s ideological stance and assumptions and how these have the potential to prevent or enhance its ability to achieve educational objectives enshrined in national development goals (Anderson and Holloway, 2019). Furthermore, Garces-Bacsal et al. (2021) argue that educational disparities in the UAE educational system exist due to a lack of holistic teaching methods that address socio-economic barriers to quality education. For instance, the study noted that individuals from disadvantaged populations have schools that lack adequate resources to guarantee quality education. This can compromise the quality of education and the ability of learners to acquire skills needed for economic productivity, as emphasised by human capital theory (Garces-Bacsal et al., 2021). Therefore, this study applies the human capital theoretical lens to critically evaluate the contribution of the policy towards reducing socioeconomic disparities that exist in the UAE education system and enhancing the economic productivity of learners as articulated by human capital theory. The study provides evidence-based recommendations to stakeholders on the areas of adjustment to improve the policy. Furthermore, it also presents an alternative policy proposal that can be implemented to address the gaps in the initial policy document. Literature Review Overview of UAE National Goals Previous studies have examined the focus of the national development goals of the United Arab Emirates. According to Krzymowski (2020), UAE Vision 2021 is one of the nation’s goals that was developed to provide a framework towards establishing a competitive knowledge-based economy. This goal emphasised the development of human capital through investments in education to equip learners with skills and knowledge to contribute economically to the country's economy. Similar evidence by Antwi‐Boateng and Jaberi (2022) indicates that Vision 2021 contributed to economic diversification in the country by introducing a market-driven education system, equipping citizens with the essential knowledge and skills to diversify to other underutilised sectors of the economy like tourism. The study further notes that the national development goal focussed towards embracing inclusivity and national cohesion. On the contrary, Anshasy and Khalid (2022) state that UAE’s Vision 2021 did not effectively address its core objectives of enhancing economic diversification as educational policies did not adequately enhance human capital for the country's growth. The study highlights challenges, including limited resources and technology to enhance education and explore other sectors of the UAE economy. This contrasting evidence suggests that educational policies should align with the national development goals to enhance sustainable growth. Additionally, the evidence of these studies underscores the ...