This report was requested and funded by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), whose staff provided valuable guidance and support throughout the process. We sincerely thank all those that took part in the virtual review visit, including officials from the Ministry of Community Development, the Ministry of Culture and Youth, the Dubai Executive Council, the Dubai School Inspectorate Body, and Teacher Socials.
We are grateful to the researchers, non-governmental organisations, school governors, school leaders, school counsellors, teachers, parents and students, that kindly gave their time to share their views, experience and knowledge with us. We would especially like to thank the schools for welcoming us so warmly during our virtual review visits.
We are also grateful to the many international policymakers and experts who graciously shared their insights with us, in particular, Nic Marks, David Bott, Louise Lambert, Michelle McQuaid, Mike Thiruman, and colleagues at the South Australian Department of Education. Our sincere appreciation goes out to the GwE (Gwasanaeth Effeithiolrwydd, the North Wales consortium) team, notably Arwyn Thomas, Ruth Thackray, Gavin Cass, Marc Hughes, Tamasine Croston, Sharon Williams, Joanne Davies, for their advice and kindness. This report has benefitted hugely from Simon Thacker’s (World Bank) detailed revision and thoughtful suggestions.
The OECD team was led by Elizabeth Fordham, co-ordinated by Manuela Fitzpatrick, and included Pablo Fraser (Chapter 4) and Soumaya Maghnouj (Chapter 3). Majda Eddaifi and Alissa Deleverova provided invaluable research support. Within the OECD Secretariat, we would also like to thank Tracey Burns, Francesca Gottschalk, Rowena Phair, and Javier Suarez-Alvarez for their support. The team is grateful for the support and advice from Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills, and Paulo Santiago, Head of Policy Advice and Implementation Division. Sara Gouveia provided administrative support, Lidia Gromadzka organised the publication process. Rachel Linden and Sophie Limoges helped to prepare the draft for publication.