What is the problem we are addressing?
The problem that we are trying to address is that international curricula lack the support of the local environment that enhances the identity and heritage of the learner in his community; especially since future generations need to know about this heritage, and to preserve it in light of globalization, which has led to their tendency more broadly to individual activities that appeared in our societies with the revolution of communications and digital devices. Therefore, through this initiative, we seek to apply international curricula but within a local context.
Based on the initiative of the Pre-University Education Office that aims to glocalize the curriculum which leads to “linking global curricula with local knowledge, innovation, language, culture, heritage and values”. The mission of Tariq Bin Ziad School was created based on this approach and we adopted a dual language program that provides an accredited international curriculum from a local perspective.
What is our solution?
Glocalization is a ‘new’ concept in education and should be analytically distinct from the term ‘globalisation’. This concept will be used for ‘learning’ real life experiences and situations on a local scale using the advocacy of global issues.
We are currently applying the international curriculum, the “International Baccalaureate Curriculum”, and linking our study plans in the research units with the local context in all its details. At Tariq Bin Ziyad School, we are promoting the Qatari heritage in all its forms, such as: educating the youth to learn the authentic Qatari values and customs, and linking research units with local institutions and entities to support the process of learning in a holistic local context that helps the learners understand the world around them and the needs of their community. This is in addition to expanding the teaching of heritage to include the tangible heritage of foods, drinks, clothing, art and literature as well as the intangible legacy represented by the inherited values and customs. Based on this perception, the school began to provide the appropriate play environment for young learners to support the learning environment that deals with the intangible things that enhance the learner’s perception of his local environment.
The educational curriculum, including the methods and programs it contains, can enhance the cultural heritage through the use of strategies to integrate the Qatari cultural heritage into the educational curriculum and in the educational process, and include it in all academic subjects. It can also be incorporated and enhanced with extra-curricular activities.
Tariq Bin Ziad school provides an inclusive bilingual program in a learning environment that supports academic excellence whilst promoting personal growth, within a caring community committed to Qatari heritage and leading to better understanding and appreciation of other cultures.
Examples of implementation
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Classroom activities. Heritage will be incorporated into the academic subjects through: (Use of traditional tools in the classroom, classroom activities in which students practice traditional games such as (Kerem, Jis, Subba, etc.), phonemic awareness of letters supported by vocabulary from the local environment, heritage stories in the classroom, etc.)
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Extracurricular activities. (Mini workshops to learn about traditional crafts, making traditional tools (fishing and diving tools), field trips and visits to famous sites; (museums, mosques, castles, etc.), student visits to Qatari farms, dress and traditional clothing day: Students attend school wearing traditional Qatari clothing on the last Thursday of every month).
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Activities and events on national occasions. (Story time (narrating a story) - playing the role of a grandmother and sharing the children with a story from the Qatari heritage, introducing the girls to a simple traditional dance associated with Qatari songs in addition to training them on it (My Mother Calls Me), introducing the boys to a celebratory parade (Arada) to perform the sword dance, various artistic activities related to the National Day and the State of Qatar, puppet theater with grandmother Shama, etc.)
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Book day. Hosting Qatari male and female writers to talk about their books. Communicating with child literature. Hosting grandmothers to narrate folklore stories. Supporting students’ poetic talents; such as participating in poetry competitions, etc.
What are our future goals?
We are excited to start our new journey and relaunch a school that has a legacy of graduating many of our current leaders in Qatar. The school promises to be one of a kind as it will provide a bilingual education blended with a curriculum that is deeply rooted in the Qatari heritage. Our programs will be offered in a great facility that retains the historic shape of our building and updates it with the addition of new state-of-the-art amenities.
We look forward to further strengthening links with the community and providing learning opportunities for our students that enable them to explore the world beyond the confines of their classroom. We encourage you to visit the school and get to know more about our philosophy, programs, and facilities.
How can someone else implement it? What do they need?
This initiative targets all local and international schools, as well as all its employees. Some recommendations and advice for those who will adopt this initiative:
- Develop and implement educational resources on local values and ethics
- Develop and implement educational resources on local culture and heritage.
- Develop and implement educational resources supporting dual language education.
- Develop educational resources on local knowledge, environmental sustainability ands sporting events
By following these steps you can take the initiative to embrace the local environment to provide young generations with a spirit of citizenship and all that this concept implies in terms of open-mindedness, tolerance and responsibility in serving the community that is fostered by the national identity.
Remember to examine the prior knowledge and the needs of the learners stemming from the local environment. By focusing on the educational curriculum taking into account the reality of society and its philosophy, as each society has its own customs and traditions, and in light of these particularities the curriculum planning must be made. It is unreasonable to overlook the community or to set the curriculum in isolation from it, since the local context is the direct source of education from which a person acquires his interaction experiences in life.
