Teacher quality is often considered one possible factor affecting student achievement. However, existing research has typically focused on easily observable measures such as teachers' content knowledge, years of experience, and education levels. This working paper presents results of a study that explored the impact of unobservable teacher characteristics (behavioral traits) on student achievement in English. Using lab-in-the-field experiments, 118 English teachers in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah participated in risk, patience, and altruism tasks and results from the experiments were then mapped to their students' performance.  Read More

This special edition of FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education celebrates the rich variety of research included the 6th Annual Gulf Comparative Education Society (GCES) Symposium in April 2015. The symposium's focus, "Inclusion not Exclusion: Comparative Educational Perspectives at the Heart of Sustainable Development in the Gulf States," brought together a range of speakers from across the region and around the world. This peer-reviewed edition includes a sampling of papers presented during the meeting.   Read More

In October the Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research hosted an event to share findings from a collaborative case study with UNESCO Doha on Ras Al Khaimah's education system. The case study was one of six included in a broader research initiative which was funded by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF).  Read More

 
Most countries in the Arab world have been placed in the "very high" category of a worldwide table that ranks countries based on young people's digital skills and their access to basic and secondary education. Predictably, the Gulf states top the Arab list. Dr. Soohyun Jeon discusses other improvements that still need to be made to continue improving education in the region.  Read More

 
UNESCO Doha has successfully conducted the Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates Case Study in collaboration with the Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation and the National Commission of UNESCO in the United Arab Emirates and Ministry of Education, which was launched on 13 October 2016 in the RAK Chamber of Commerce.  Read More

Tickets for all Festival-related events are now available for purchase in-person at the Al Qasimi Foundation offices or online through PlatinumList. Buy your tickets now as you won't want to miss:

• Red Carpet & Gala Night (February 17)
• Film Screening & Film Awards Night (February 18)
• Visual Arts & Photography Night (February 19)
• Fine Arts Exhibition at the Ras Al Khaimah National Museum (February 20-23)

More information on all events can be found on the Festival's website. Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis through February 15th. Some venues have limited space and may sellout sooner, so don't wait to reserve your tickets today!

You can also watch what goes on behind the scenes at #RAKFineArts and follow the Festival Committee on snapchat using the Festival's new snapcode: rakfaf.

Foundations and nonprofits are mission-driven organizations, and there is growing acknowledgement that communications play an important role in achieving their social change goals. While new practices and social media platforms often garner the most attention, it would be a mistake to underestimate the value of more traditional tools in effectively reaching stakeholders. Annual reports are one such tool.  Read More

Members of the press who are interested in covering or learning more about the Al Qasimi Foundation's research, events, or other initiatives may contact  Ms. Caitrin Mullan , Director of Community Engagement and Outreach.

To aid in the social, cultural, and economic development of Ras Al Khaimah and the United Arab Emirates through high-quality policy research, strategic capacity development, and purposeful community engagement.