Classrooms are becoming more diverse around the world, particularly in private and international schools in the Gulf Region, with research findings indicating that culturally responsive teaching has been found to empower students, increase their engagement, and raise their motivation. Many teachers are familiar with culturally responsive practice within their own communities and schools, however, moving to a new country as an expat teacher requires gaining knowledge about the culture, context, and set of values and norms in a short period of time. This workshop offers an introduction to culturally responsive teaching within diverse classrooms in the Gulf Region, and ways through which newly arrived teachers can be supported to optimize their performance. The workshop would be ideal as part of the onboarding process for new teachers.
Dania El Chaar holds a PhD from the University of Calgary, in Canada and is a certified Canadian Inclusion Professional from the Canadian Center for Diversity and Inclusion. Her areas of expertise include intercultural competence, internationalization within post-secondary institutions, and experiences of migrant youth within the Canadian educational system. Dr. El Chaar is currently working as an Intercultural Champion at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Alberta, Canada, and has an extensive experience with offering pre-service and in-service training on culturally responsive teaching, intercultural competence, internationalization of the curriculum, as well as migrant youth educational journeys in Canada.