Dubai schools begin student wellbeing census

A census which measures the wellbeing of middle school students in Dubai has launched this week.

The Student Wellbeing Census, run by Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority in partnership with the Department of Education and Child Development (DECD) in South Australia, will include over 70,000 students in Grades 6, 7, 8 and 9 (equivalent to Year 7, 8, 9 and 10)

Census data will provide schools with an in-depth understanding of how students feel about their school life, home life, themselves and their relationships with others. The data will also provide insight into student attitudes towards their experiences in and out of school.

The questions have have been fully adapted to Dubai's education culture and will be offered in both English and Arabic.

The census asks students about their social and emotional wellbeing/happiness, school relationships and engagement, as well as their physical health, lifestyle and after-school activities.

The data will then enable school leaders to better design their schools' wellbeing culture, and will allow policymakers to make evidence-based changes that have positive long-term impact on the education community.

Although individual students complete the census, the questions in the census are not validated for individual diagnosis or assessment of children. Student responses will be combined with responses from those of others in the same school to enable schools, communities and governments to meet the needs of all students.




A trial was conducted in May 2017 prior to the full implementation of the census this month.

The results of the Student Wellbeing Census will be published in January 2018