University, and Parent Fears
It is fairly easy to place yourself in the position of a student and to understand his or her fears. New place, new friends, new challenges - will I be able to compete? Will I like the course? Will anyone on it like me?! It may be hard for students to understand, but their parents are often as worried as they are.
In the WhichSchoolAdvisor.com 2014 University survey, we asked parents what worried them most.
The answers are naturally different for those whose children study abroad, and those that remain either at, or close to home in UAE based universities.
The biggest concern for parents of children remaining in the UAE is the quality of education their children will receive. This was a concern expressed by 71% of respondents, followed by a concern that their children will not be exposed to other, perhaps more competitive countries and environments (64%). A total of 56% expressed concern that self-dependency skills would not be gained. Under other, parents also told WhichSchoolAdvisor.com they feared their children were being spoiled, and that there were too many lifestyle restrictions for a real university experience in the UAE.
Parents whose children left home more completely for studies abroad have very different concerns – largely focused on a fear that too much of a real university experience may be going on.
Not knowing where their children are or what they are doing topped the list of concerns, a fear expressed by 56.41% of responses, a possible erosion of local cultural, moral norms was expressed by 55% of parents, while 38.46% worried their children would become distracted by new found freedoms, and not focus on what they were at university for - to study!
The Survey:
UAE Universities Fail to Make the Grade
Students Failed Before Arrival at University?
UAE Schools Fall Short on University Guidance
University, and Parent Fears
University: Parent's Pay, But Don't Decide
About the Survey
WhichSchoolAdvisor.com ran its University survey through the month of February, and collected just under 250 responses from educators, students and parents.
WhichSchoolAdvisor's research team runs surveys regularly on its web site. If you have an idea for a survey you would like us to consider, please contact editor@whichschooladvisor.com.
