Zeina Hojeij

Zayed University · College of Interdisciplinary Studies

Field experience, or practice teaching, or practicum has become a cornerstone of teacher education. It is a high-impact experience and a period of intense learning and growth if done professionally. While current research highlights the experiences of pre-service teachers as a catalyst for improving their perceptions, little is known about faculty...

The Arab world is very diverse when it comes to leadership practices. The females’ level of participation in leadership positions in Arab countries ranges from very restricted to fully engaged. Taking on leadership roles imposes many challenges both on micro and macro levels. The aim of this study is to explore the leadership practices of Arab fem...

One way the United Arab Emirates uses to increase the employability skills of its nationals is by promoting and encouraging students to pursue technical and vocational education and training (TVET). This goal includes both female and male Emirati youth. However, studies show that females are still under-represented in TVET. Therefore, this study ai...

Reading aloud is a valuable technique that teachers utilize to develop students' literacy skills, improve comprehension skills, expand imagination, and increase text engagement. This strategy also helps English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students to master key elements of successful reading in English, like prosody, vocabulary, and comprehension....

This feminist semiotic study explores the folkloric imaginary of the jinn in the context of children’s and young adults’ Arab Gothic literature. Across the Middle East, the jinn is a common trope in literature, folklore and oral storytelling who, in diegetic terms, can manifest as the Gothic figure of an aging female, deranged older woman or succub...

This comprehensive scoping review aimed to identify and synthesize the existing research on professional development (PD) for educators and educational leaders in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between 2018 and 2023. Fourteen scholarly articles, covering a wide range of topics related to education in the UAE, were collected and analyzed, providing...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) aims to improve its education sector by recruiting qualified and diverse student teachers. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the factors affecting student motivation to enroll in colleges of education. Using simple random sampling, a total of 199 consenting students were recruited to participate in this...

Purpose This study aims investigate in-service teachers’ perspectives on the integration of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven chatbot, into United Arab Emirates (UAE) private schools. As the UAE progresses towards a knowledge-based economy, aligning with the goals of the UAE 2030 vision, this research assesses the capacity of ChatGPT...

University–Industry Collaborations (UIC) are increasingly recognized as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. While numerous studies have been conducted on this topic, this paper specifically focuses on UIC in the Arab World. The aim of this study is to explore the establishment of successful UIC by conducting a review of existing lit...

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted higher education institutions to improve their e-learning systems, especially for students with disabilities. The sudden shift to online learning in 2020 was particularly challenging for these students due to difficulties in accessing technology, technical support, and training, and using learning management systems l...

This study investigates the developments in the experiences of students with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on distance learning at three Emirati universities. It explores the students' experiences during the first semester of distance learning and analyses how these experiences evolved one year into the pandemic. The research...

The present study explores the experiences of Emirati female preservice teachers who are completing their internship teaching practice virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study focuses on virtual classroom management. Participants were preservice teachers (n = 18) completing their undergraduate degrees in Early Childhood Educat...

School leaders work under pressure in dynamic, rapidly changing environments. Their administrative and leadership tasks, and ensuring work-life balance have overwhelmed them and increased their stress and burnout levels. Particularly, during a reform, leaders struggle to keep this balance given their workload. This study investigated school leaders...

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine faculty perceptions of virtual field placement of preservice teachers at a university in the United Arab Emirates and to explore the factors that promote or hinder the success of this experience. Vygotsky’s concept of scaffolding was used as the theoretical framework of this study and to explain...

Through exploratory quantitative research, 120 school leaders in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were found to have a moderate level of stress. School leaders have regularly sought social support and focused on the problem as strategies to cope with stress. There was no difference in the means of stress related to the leaders’ gender, marital statu...

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has forced many learning institutions to close or switch to remote learning as a preventative measure to reduce the spread of the virus. The greatest challenge was with practical courses where preservice teachers had to promptly acquire technological skills and online teaching pedagogies as part of their virtual fiel...

Field experience otherwise known as practice teaching or practicum became the foundation of teacher preparation programs bridging the gap between theory and practice. The practical/field experience is viewed as a significant learning curve for preservice teachers as it provides them with the opportunity to build their pedagogical proficiencies in p...

This study examined the impact of iPad integration on student motivation, engagement, and learning skills in a mathematics program. Subjects included 143 students aged 8 to 14 years old and 63 parents in an Indian-based school in Dubai where the national curriculum required the use of tablets be integrated into school subjects starting at grade thr...

This research study investigated the effects of digital feedback on EFL students’ writings in ubiquitous learning. Feedback on students’ writings, especially at university level, must be constructive to enhance their overall academic writing skills and requires purposeful planning. . In this study, teachers created digital screen-recorded feedback...

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, universities have moved rapidly to transition of various courses and programs from face-to-face to online delivery mode. Involving pre-service teachers in the virtual field experience remained almost impossible. In the United Arab Emirates, however, a small cohort of four pre-service teachers have completed their teach...

This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative study conducted to explore the effects of reflective journal keeping by 30 female pre-service teachers studying at a university in the United Arab Emirates. At the onset of the study, the participants were trained on the principles of reflective journal writing and were asked to write in their jou...

Due to the current COVID19 pandemic and the way it has affected education and teacher preparation programs, students and teachers have had to cope with the unexpected transition to online teaching platforms. While universities have moved rapidly to transition of various courses and programs from face-to-face to online delivery mode, involving pre-s...

Job satisfaction remains until this date a prominent factor that managers seek in their employees to ensure the organization’s productivity and success. It has extensively drawn the attention of researchers in the educational field to inform policymakers and school leaders of its impact on teachers’ motivation, commitment, stress, retention, and bu...

Research indicates that mobile learning (ML), has the potential to transform teaching and learning. Despite its benefits, mobile learning adoption is a challenging process which requires support to facilitate its integration. The focus of this article is to investigate the factors that could affect ML acceptance. The quantitative and qualitative da...

Bilingual literature for children is valuable in encouraging literacy in second language learners. Stories can enhance vocabulary and language abilities, learning encounters, subject content, social aptitude, and other skills in the early reader through text as well as illustrations. This paper explores issues in selecting quality dual language pic...

The aim of this study is to explore the role of K-12 school principals’ self-efficacy as an attribute for their leadership effectiveness in Lebanon. The Norwegian principal self-efficacy scale (NPSES) instrument was translated into Arabic and used to collect quantitative data from participants. Internal consistency of factors within this study was...

The impact of peer reviewing for writers has been investigated extensively for the past three decades. Results have showed that peer reviewing improves writers’ texts, helps in identifying their writing strategies, and develops their motivation and confidence. Less researched, however, are the ways that could improve the quality of peer-review feed...

Children’s literature plays an essential role in the development of children’s literacy skills. Dual language learners can particularly benefit from the use of picture books to facilitate comprehension, formulaic language acquisition, and vocabulary acquisition. This paper explores the availability and quality of English/Arabic dual language books...

In this research project, the effect of flipping grammar instruction was examined in terms of student motivation and achievement. Thirty five female university English students took part in this study. They watched video lesson explanations about specific grammar points out of class and completed assignments during class time using Book Widgets. St...

Many teachers consider themselves digital immigrants who struggle to keep up with student digital natives. Whether or not this dichotomy still holds true, in a 21st Century context of teaching and learning, is debatable not least of all because of the exponential development of apps and mobile learning technology. Nevertheless, it is sometimes diff...

This paper reports on a study exploring the relationship between the manner in which listening content is presented and the results of listening tasks in EFL classes. The study involved university level first-year students in an English foundations program at the intermediate level. The participants were Arabic-speaking students learning English la...