Fidelity of family centered care model to early disability diagnosis and rehabilitation in the United Arab Emirates.

BACKGROUND: The role of parents in supporting early intervention for young children with disabilities is critical. Indeed, models of family centered care (FCC), which emphasis strong partnerships between health professionals and families in disability health services delivery are now widely associated with best practice. While FCC is consistently argued to be an appropriate model for disability service delivery, its utilization is limited primarily to Western countries such as Australia and the United States. Countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have prioritized early childhood development and are thus in search of best practices for delivery of early intervention for children and their families. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the appropriateness of the FCC model in disability service delivery in the UAE. This study was conducted from the perspectives of health professionals who are involved in disability diagnosis, referral and ongoing support for families and children with disabilities. METHOD: A total of 150 health professionals were recruited from health facilities, rehabilitation centers and schools in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi. The 27-item Measure of Process of Care for Service Providers (MPOC-SP) was used for data collection. The data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis to confirm applicability of the model to this context. Multivariate analysis of variance and moderation analysis were also conducted, to ascertain the relationship between participants' satisfaction levels with their ability to diagnose, refer and provide on-going support and their likelihood of practicing key components of FCC. RESULT: Computation of confirmatory factor analysis provided support for applicability of the MPOC-SP in the UAE context. Further inspection showed moderate to large correlations between the four components of FCC measured by MPOC-SP, providing further support for utilization of FCC in disability health service delivery in the UAE. CONCLUSION: The study concludes with a call to policymakers in the UAE to consider developing disability health policy based on key components of FCC. This could be supplemented by development of training modules on FCC to upskill health professionals involved in disability diagnosis and rehabilitation.

Factors influencing the intention of trainee special education teachers to integrate assistive technology into teaching students with disabilities in the United Arab Emirates.

Technology has been incorporated into the educational systems of many countries as a teaching and learning tool. Contemporary discourse has focused on how to prepare teachers to utilise technology in their teaching practice. Although most pre-service elementary school teachers in the United Arab Emirates are women, studies have not yet investigated their acceptance of or preparedness to use technology in the classroom. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate whether the training provided to pre-service special education teachers equips them with sufficient skills to support students with disabilities. The present study used the technology acceptance model (TAM) as a theoretical lens to examine the factors that impact female pre-service special education teachers' intention to incorporate assistive technology (AT) in teaching students with disabilities. A survey based on TAM was used to collect data from 138 participants and test four study hypotheses. Regarding data analysis, SPSS and AMOS version 28 software were used to conduct exploratory factor, confirmatory factor and path analyses. Two of the four hypotheses were supported. The results provide support for the four-factor TAM structure, with two predictors - perceived ease of use and computer self-efficacy - supporting pre-service teachers' intention to use AT to teach students with disabilities in the classroom. Teacher educators and policymakers should consider the TAM construct when preparing pre-service teachers to effectively support all students. Specifically, teacher development and stakeholder engagement with AT resources are needed to optimise the learning of children with disabilities.

Affordances as experienced by university faculties during and after the sudden transition to online teaching.

The ravaging effect of COVID-19 has been felt in all spheres of life. While countries are easing their restrictions, the remnants of COVID on education remain, with most universities formally embracing online teaching. Faculty have had to deal with this sudden and enduring transition to online teaching. Although some developments have been made with online education, enormous challenges are simultaneously reported in the literature. This mixed-method study aims to assess the essence of a faculty's bionetwork of lived experience after the sudden shift to online teaching due to the pandemic. Affordance theory was used as a theoretical lens to study the benefits, challenges, and opportunities associated with online education during and post-COVID. The study data comes from faculty members at one institution (n = 170) and follow-up interviews with a smaller subset of participants from the same pool (n = 10). Path analysis and mediation analysis revealed significant differences between the participants based on nationality and gender. While the findings supported two hypotheses, the third hypothesis was not supported. Overall, the findings showed both convergence and divergence between the qualitative and quantitative data. The study incorporates recommendations for online teaching, faculty well-being, and further research based on the results.

Nutritional needs of children with disabilities in the UAE: understanding predictors and mediators of nutritional knowledge and practices.

BACKGROUND: There is a high estimated prevalence of obesity and poor eating habits among children with disabilities. Unfortunately, the extent of parental and teachers' awareness of the dietary needs and nutritional requirements of children with disabilities has been understudied. This study aims to explore the predictors and mediators of nutritional knowledge and practices among parents and teachers of children with disabilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using Nutbeam's hierarchical health literacy model as a framework to test three hypotheses. METHODS: A total of 149 parents and teachers were recruited from rehabilitation centres in two of the seven Emirates in the UAE. The revised Food and Nutritional Literacy Scale (FNLIT) was used for data collection. The revised scale was validated and its reliability was assessed using SPSS and AMOS version 28 to compute exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis), respectively. RESULTS: The results confirmed a four-factor structure for FNLIT, and all three hypotheses were supported by the study findings. We confirmed a relationship between understanding and practical nutritional skills (Hypothesis I), and found that two practical nutritional skills, functional and interactive, combined to predict the understanding of nutritional needs of children with disabilities (Hypothesis II). Hypothesis III was partially supported in that participant type mediated the relationship between functional, interactive, and understanding factors. The convergent and discriminant validities of the scale were confirmed, and path analysis showed the ability of practical skills to predict knowledge. CONCLUSION: The study concludes on the need for public education on nutritional needs as well as developing the capacity of teachers and parents to implement appropriate eating programmes for children with disabilities.

The Impact of an Enrichment Program on the Emirati Verbally Gifted Children.

Most researchers agree that verbally gifted learners should be provided with differentiated curriculum experiences that will allow them to reach their full potential. However, research is scarce in the field. The present study examined the impact of a reading enrichment program on fourth-grade students' critical reading abilities. The program was based on the Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM). The sample consisted of forty fourth-grade verbally gifted students from a school in Dubai, who were randomly assigned to either an experimental instruction condition or a traditional instruction condition and completed pre and post-tests of language arts. A pre-and post-experimental design was used. The overall results indicated the efficacy of the differentiated enrichment program in enhancing Emirati gifted learners' critical reading abilities. The study also provides a framework for better provision and teacher training planning regarding gifted education in the UAE.