Shift Insight Report

The four objectives of this research were to:

• Build a more detailed picture of Arabic provision in UK schools
• Determine the barriers and drivers influencing Arabic provision by schools and educators
• Determine the barriers and drivers influencing the uptake of Arabic learning
• Determine how QFI and the British Council could encourage future uptake by both schools and students

Research was conducted in five phases, including a literature review, expansion of a database of UK schools offering Arabic, and development of case studies for four different UK schools via interviews with teachers, students, parents, and leaders in the UK schooling system.

The resulting picture of Arabic provision in the UK emphasized that schools offering KS3/KS4 Arabic language in the UK, many of which are Muslim faith schools, tend to be concentrated to areas with sizable Muslim and Arab migrant populations. This coincides with the finding that most Arabic students in UK secondary schools are heritage learners, having cultural or familial ties to Arabic language or exposure to Arabic through religious practices. As such, most schools that currently provide Arabic and schools that have considered Arabic provision are greatly influenced by the demographics of their student bodies and greater community demand.

Common drivers underlying Arabic provision by UK schools coincided with broader goals, including:

• Promoting multiculturalism and global citizenship
• Destigmatizing Arabic language and culture and instilling student pride in their heritage
• Expanding career opportunities for students, especially newly arrived migrants
• Utilizing existing skills and knowledge in the local community

Meanwhile, significant barriers to provision by schools included:

• A scarcity of teachers with all necessary qualifications
• Poor awareness of existing resources offered by the British Council and QFI
• A lack of funding for Arabic programming, especially teacher salaries
• Disinterest or little perceived relevance of Arabic by students
• Covering curriculum within the allotted timetables

As a result of these findings, key recommendation areas to encourage uptake of Arabic in UK schools are:

• Raising awareness of British Council and QFI programming
• Developing additional exam-specific resources
• Prioritizing the training and retention of Arabic teachers
• Expanding the range of qualifications (i.e. exam levels) available to students
• Conducting case studies of schools with successful provision that can be used as references for schools considering provision
• Increasing student engagement with Arabic language and culture