SMM

Moral Education

The Moral Education department of SMM is designed to be taught in a series of units over 12 years of schooling from Year 2-13. A unit requires 6, or in some cases 12, 45 minutes of teaching time during the course of half term or across two half-terms.

Moral Education covers four pillars of teaching and learning. Character and Morality, the Individual and the Community, Civic Studies and Cultural Studies. The four pillars complement one another, using the lens of moral thinking, learning and building character. Underpinning the curriculum are the thinking, learning and communication skills relevant to the curriculum, which support development through 12 grades.

Moral Education is a 40 minute class each week; a 160 minute integrated lesson in a month in Social Studies class and a 30 minute form time class each week.

Likewise, in connection with the real life experience, cross-curricular links and cultural awareness are imparted among the students. It provides opportunities for the students to reflect on what they have learnt and review their learning.

TARGET

Moral Education not only focuses on the curriculum but also has a multifaceted targeted approach to student development.

  1. At home – Parents are involved actively in the school community and are aware of the child’s school life. They are engaged with the MOED curriculum and actively take part in it with their children.
  2. Holistic School Environment – School administration, curriculum, teachers, extra-curricular activities, field trips, lectures, community service, and other activities.
  3. Wider Community – Recreational Activities, Media, work readiness and volunteering; students are not isolated in their schools but rather actively take part in community outreach and service. The wider community is aware of the material of the Moral Education and takes part in the dialogue around it.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MORAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM

  1. Deliver as a separate subject
  2. Deliver as a separate subject using some of the time allocated to Social Studies.
  3. Integrate into the school’s existing curriculum to deliver the specified learning outcomes.
  4. Moral Education is integrated in all subject areas making sure that all lessons taught in school are value-laden.

THE FOUR PILLARS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING MORAL EDUCATION

  1. Character and Morality
    • SMM ensures that the students are to develop their individual as moral being. The development of practical wisdom or good sense that is the capacity and willingness to do the right thing, at the right time and in the right way, and to be able to justify the choices one makes. The acquisition of the concepts, skills, language of moral enquiry.
  2. The Individual and the Community
    • The moral issues confronting the individual in a variety of social contexts. The overarching aims of this pillar is to help young people to grow as individuals and to be capable of playing a responsible role as members of families, and of local, national and international communities.
  3. Civic Studies
    • As SMM students, becoming a citizen in the UAE and the wider world and the moral decisions and choices that this involves. Applying moral thinking to the development of individuals as members of their communities. The moral decisions and choices embedded in responsible citizenship in the UAE and the wider world. The relationship between the individual and the state in the context of the UAE. The ethics of sustainability.
  4. Cultural Studies
    • The concepts of morality embodied in the history and culture of the UAE Awareness of different cultural practices and views, regionally and globally. Having a positive attitude towards cultural differences and valuing and respecting cultural diversity and being able to communicate and interact effectively across cultures.

FOCUS TOPICS

YEAR 2 – WHO ARE THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN MY LIFE?

YEAR 3  – TOLERANCE AND RESPECT FOR DIFFERENCE

YEAR 4 –  EQUALITY AND APPRECIATION

YEAR 5 – COMPASSION AND EMPATHY

YEAR 6 – INTELLECTUAL AND EMOTIONAL EMPATHY

YEAR 7 – EMPATHY AND ASSUMING RESPONSIBILITY

YEAR 8 – MAKING GOOD DECISIONS

YEAR 9 – MORAL RULES AND ASSUMING RESPONSIBILITY