Perceptions of School Effectiveness and School Improvement in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Dr. Nafla Mahdi Al Ahbabi

Abstract
This paper reports on findings related to the characteristics of effective secondary schools in Abu Dhabi from the perspectives of their stakeholders; namely, principals, teachers, students and parents. More specifically, the close examination of these stakeholders‟ perceptions made it possible to identify some overriding items out of five key sets of factors proposed in a survey that may contribute to improving effective schools within the UAE secondary education system. These factors correlate with those identified in the earlier school effectiveness literature and include school factors, teaching and learning factors, student factors, school-home relationship factors and local community factors. Together, these factors serve as an epistemic foreground for reframing the school effectiveness and school improvement debate in Abu Dhabi and in the UAE in general, perhaps leading towards more significant reform alignment. The data were taken from research conducted in three regions of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

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