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The current educational system in the UAE does not reflect the economic and social status of the country. The country is one of the leading oil producers and petrochemical manufacturers in the world, with a proven oil reserve of more than 98 billion barrels. This wealth has been reflected on most aspects of life including an advanced infrastructure, and prepared the country for the new century. However, this wealth has not equally affected the educational system. It is true that the numbero f studentsw as doubledm oret han 10 times in the pastt hree decades, but the quality of education did not change enough to meet the requirements and challenges of the new century. This thesis examines an innovative educational project aimed at bridging the gap between the education system output and the country's future needs. The project is based on a model school that is designed to enhance the students' academic standards more than the other governmental schools do. The thesis covers a number of issues in ten chapters. It starts with an introduction in chapter one followed by a comprehensive background of the UAE as a country and its educational system in chapter two. Chapter three covers a theoretical framework of the education change process supported by a review of the literature. Chapters four to six are devoted to the model school project. In chapter four the origins of the model school are discussed, while the major changes implemented in the model school are presented in chapter five. These changes cover the areas of: teacher motivation, student motivation, time allocated for education, education materials, and teachers' professional development. Chapter six clarifies the method by which teachers are allocated to work in the model school and the way students are selected to join the school. The case study methodology adopted in this thesis is explained in chapter seven. In ordert o evaluatet he models choolp rojectt he thesisi ncludest wo strands. Strand one is the students' achievement test, and strand two is teacher perception of the changes in the model school. Strand one, which is discussed in chapter eight, compares the achievement test results of third grade students in the model school to that of other schools in Abu Dhabi Education Zone. Strand two which is discussed in chapter nine evaluates the teachers' perception of the changes implemented in the model school. Chapter 10 discusses the relevance of current literature on educational change to the educational system in the UAE. Conclusions and recommendations are presented in chapter eleven.

Financial literacy is perceived as important and yet what does the term financial literacy actually mean? An exploration of literature examining aspects of individuals' financial literacy in particular contexts found a conceptualisation to be absent despite the term being adopted widely. This study addressed this omission and sought a conceptualisation of financial literacy. A reflexive, ethnographic approach was adopted for this exploratory study which examined the experiences of school governors. The study explored a proposed model of financial literacy as a meaningmaking process. A conceptualisation of financial literacy as a sense-making process is offered latterly, where financial literacy is conceptualised as a process involving individuals constructing and making informed decisions with financial consequences. The aim of individuals taking these decisions is to achieve desired outcomes. The conceptualisation is necessarily offered tentatively as a result of the exploratory nature of the study. Acceptance of the conceptualisation offered requires serious revisions in the way financial literacy is currently understood. This thesis argues that financial literacy is a construct relevant to the social world which is characterised by equivocality and ambiguity. The governors in this study engaged in sense-making in order to make the environment sensible. This required governors to seek plausible solutions rather than accurate ones, although there was little evidence to support the view that they recognised this. Financial literacy has previously been concerned with accuracy, rather than plausibility. This thesis argues that it is time for a new era for financial literacy where financial literacy is conceptualised as a sense-making process seeking plausibility rather than accuracy in environments characterised by ambiguity and equivocality. The usefulness of the conceptualisation of financial literacy offered in this thesis is in need of ffirther exploration. The relationship between financial literacy and other terms, such as financial awareness and financial capability, was found to be poorly understood and in need of further clarification.

The study aimed to determine the extent to which a thinking skills programme influenced the beliefs and practices of secondary teachers in the Dominican context. The study further intended to assess the degree to which the teaching of thinking influenced teachers' professional development, particularly their ability to reflect on practice. Mathematics teachers of three secondary schools were observed and interviewed in an effort to record patterns of change in beliefs and practices. In addition, the teachers were asked to keep journals to aid their reflection on practice. The data collection was divided into three components, namely data gathered at pre-intervention, intervention and postintervention phases. The purpose was to assess potential changes in teachers' perceptions and behaviours during and after the active intervention period. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used for the analysis of research findings. The findings revealed irrespective of school status and the availability of human and financial resources, there was no obvious difference between schools relating to changes in teachers' beliefs and practices. In many cases there was greater variation among teachers within the same school, than there was among teachers of different schools. The study further revealed all teachers appeared to have an external locus of control as reflected from their reasons for lack of sustained changes in practice. Trained teachers blamed the Education System (curriculum framework, assessment system, unavailability of resources, time constraints, etc) for their limitations, whereas untrained teachers blamed lack of training. It was concluded that teachers would only subscribe to long-term change in practice if they believe such change would not add to existing pressures, even if there were potential benefits to students.