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The purpose of this paper is to investigate why beginning university Emirati students might believe they are unfairly treated by their instructors. By understanding student perceptions, the learning needs of such students can be better catered for, and learning outcomes enhanced.

An interpretivist approach was taken to investigate a finding from a standardized survey of student satisfaction which showed that students felt they were treated unfairly by their instructors. Focus group interviews were used to uncover the possible reasons why students believed they received unfair treatment.

Interpersonal or interactional unfairness is the type of unfair treatment most often cited by the Foundation students who participated in this study, indicative of the importance of interpersonal relations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) higher education teaching and learning environment.

Although the study is situated within one Foundations program in the UAE, the imperative for instructors to build positive interpersonal relationships with beginning students is highlighted, as well as the need for curricular transparency and ongoing moderation of grading practices, and the importance of informing students about these practices.

The imperative of building positive pedagogical relationships with beginning university Arab Gulf students is highlighted, as well as the need for transparent practices such as moderation of grades, and explicitly informing students about fair practices.

Drawing on data from faculty instructors, the paper suggests that a deeper, macrosystemic level of educational unfairness may also be at play: that is, the unfairness inherent in the hegemony of English, and the disconnect between the quality of the state school system and the demands of university. Until these educational issues are addressed, perceptions of unfair treatment in Foundations programs in the Gulf are likely to continue.

As higher education continues to undergo expansion and transformation in the UAE, increasing numbers of academic staff from around the world migrate there, and thousands of Gulf students continue to emigrate to study overseas. This paper contributes important insights into Gulf students’ perceptions.

Arabic Across the Curriculum is a broad language support program at Zayed University in the UAE, which has stimulated discussion on several issues concerning Arabic language support in the Arab world in general and in the Gulf area in particular. These issues can be summed up in the following questions: Why do we need to teach Arabic to native Arabic-speaking students? How will Arabic language proficiency help students in their academic and future careers? Which Arabic language skills should we teach native speakers in higher education, and how? What means of assessment and what criteria might be helpful to Arabic programs and instructors?

Emotional and interpretive responses to three short stories were noted in two study populations of similar age: Qatari students in a post-highschool foundation program preparing to attend branch campuses of western universities located in Qatar, and American students, many of Mexican-American heritage, from a small college in a rural setting in South Texas. It has long been thought that reading literature from a foreign culture confers educational value on the reader; in this investigation the nature of that ‘value’ was placed under study. Written responses to quiz questions or assignments were used as data; responses critical of or affirming of character, setting, plot, and literary tropes were particularly noted. Our data show that readings from an author whose culture was similar to the reader’s created interest and urged both intellectual and affective types of understanding, such as remembering, grieving, healing, forgiving, and feeling pride. Readings from ‘classic’ literature presented in historical context strongly enabled critical discussion among students in a multicultural setting, since the author’s absence from the scene ‘allows’ free conversation about his or her work without fear of insulting the author’s culture. Readings by contemporary writers from outside the reader’s culture, or ‘multicultural literature’, may cause some readers to shy away from the challenge of understanding another culture or to voice stereotypes instead of seeking ideas. Readings from outsider cultures, however, and the affective distancing of ‘othering’, enable the well-prepared educator and student to discuss how culture patterns our lives.

This study investigated the effect of cooperative learning on the performance of female college students enrolled in “writing and research” courses at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia). Cooperative learning (CL) activities were employed in place of traditional lectures and group activities. Two populations were compared, one with the CL methodology and one with traditional methodology. The results were assessed by final exam scores, final course grades, the number of students passing, pre and post-tests and a self-report survey. We found that this sample of Arab college students performed at a higher level in the CL classes than in the traditional classes. Findings suggest that CL is an effective method for teaching Arab college students.

Many researchers have addressed students as consumers and considered their online searches to choose a university as typical buying behaviour. The myriad features of digital information enable universities to conveniently and quickly reach educational markets at a relatively low cost. Consumers’ market choices can usefully be interpreted in terms of their cultural perceptions. To encourage Web viewers to make repeat visits to, and remain longer on, their websites, it is critical for international universities to understand local and regional viewers’ perceptions and preferences regarding non-text Web messages through the lens of culture. The purpose of the current study is to address the need for, and the challenge presented by, glocalising the text and non-text aspects of university websites by investigating Arab consumers’ perceptions of these websites.

The sampling frame comprised 200 residents from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, including 100 high school students and 100 stakeholders, with equal proportions of Arabs and non-Arabs. Illustrations and images were used in the questionnaire to collect respondents’ perceptions about university websites from a cultural perspective.

This study identifies a need to glocalise the non-text and website messages of international universities that are aiming to penetrate educational markets in the Emirates.

This study clearly identifies the segment that is most receptive to a “glocalised” website communication strategy of international universities: Arab students, aged 16 or above, and educated stakeholders, expect to view academic information on websites, as do viewers everywhere, but prefer this information to reflect the values and traditions of Arab culture.

The increasing inflow of students from the Gulf region to the United Arab Emirates, instead of their usual choice of European or Western educational destinations, has motivated international universities to envisage the Emirates as a location for their campus expansions. An understanding of the approaches of Arab viewers to the websites of international universities through the lens of culture is essential for bridging the literature gaps that currently persist in the area of digital promotion and social marketing.

This paper examines the educational environment of indigenous Gulf Arab students at a UAE institution, many from rural families and with English skills that need further development. The influences on a group of freshman Engineering students, their developing learning skills and the coaching they are given is explored. Practical methods for motivating such students to cross boundaries of world-view and sentiment are discussed, whereby a focus is maintained on their personal context and objectives whilst aiming to achieve excellence in academic accomplishment. A pre-freshman stage is introduced to fill the language void, easing the transition between High School, College and University. A personal view is presented from an educator who himself is crossing many boundaries.

This paper reports results of analyses made at an all-female Gulf Arab university measuring the nature and extent of biases in students' evaluation of faculty. Comparisons are made with research reporting the nature of similar relationships in North America. Two issues are investigated: 1) What variables (if any) bias faculty evaluation results at an all-female Arab university? 2) Are biasing variables different in nature or magnitude to those reported at North America universities? Using the population of 13,300 faculty evaluation records collected over two school years at Zayed University, correlations of faculty evaluation results to nine potentially biasing factors are made. Results show biases to faculty evaluation results do exist. However, biases are small, and strikingly similar in nature to those reported at North American universities.

Literature is replete with studies indicating the need to develop students’ language skills; however, little research has emphasized the importance of language proficiency in enhancing learning or performance in specific content-area courses. This study investigates whether a student’s English language proficiency can be associated with her performance in specific cognitive skills (knowledge, comprehension, application, and analysis) in an introductory accounting course. Data is summarized from students’ performance on their first financial accounting examination as well as from students’ academic history records as maintained by the university. A correlation analysis of the cognitive skills score with student language proficiency is used to identify initial relationships; and multiple regression analysis is subsequently used to identify interrelations between combined multiple dependent variables and the language proficiency variables. While the results show no association between TOEFL and overall performance, the mean of the English composition courses do show a significant association with knowledge and comprehension cognitive skills scores on the first financial accounting course. No associations are attached to the application and analysis cognitive skills. The results are meaningful to faculty in balancing language proficiency with quality instruction in content-area courses.