The Millennial Generationin

Higher Educationin the

United Arab Emirates

Janet MartinMay 2011

Outline for the session

* The “Digital Natives” debateWhat claims have been made about young people today, and implications for education

* Definitions* International research summary* Significance of UAE research* Research design

The “Digital Natives” debate•Can multitask

•Have a short attention span

•Prefer non-linear, visual, interactive, collaborative learning

•Are innately skilful, expert, confident, intuitive when dealing with technology

•Have brain changes

The “Digital Natives” debate•Expect digital technologies to be an integrated part of education

•Education which is not technology-based is boring/obsolete

•Education needs to radically change to remain relevant to students and society

•“Natives” vs “Immigrants”

The “Digital Natives” debate

* Net Generation * Millennials

* Google Generation * Digital natives

* Digital Generation * Generation “Y”

Commentary vs Research

* This debate has gained wide traction

* Government policy and educational institutional policy affected

* What has the research basis been?

International Research Summary* Internet use has increased dramatically in the past 10-12 years in many countries* Internet has an increasing role especially in the lives of many young people* Majority of students use core technologies only * Majority of students not skilled or confident with a variety of digital tools* No evidence for short attention span* Limited evidence for multiskilling

International Research Summary

This is NOT a homogenous generation

Great variation is apparent in access, use, and ability world-wide, and within countries and regions•economic, political, or cultural forces within different countries•gender•socio-economic status•education•content and language•rurality...institutional variations...school vs personal use...age...

A “piece of the evidence”

Empirical research into the Millennial generation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Middle East ...

... a rapidly changing and sometimes volatile part of the world

Oil was discovered in the UAE in the 1960’sThe UAE was formed as a federation of ‘emirates’ in 1971. Within 40 years ...

... a new country of fast development,

great contrasts and ambiguities

Are these young Emiratis “Digital Natives”?

Research DesignPrimary goal to form part of internationally comparative documentation of the Millennial generation (an indicator for the Middle East):

•What is the extent of UAE Emirati Millennials’ engagement with digital technologies?•Are there possible implications for UAE educational systems ?•Are there cultural, demographic, linguistic, educational considerations which impact upon engagement?

Research DesignMixed method design•Survey instrumentParticipants will be Emirati youth 18-25 yrs old who are attending tertiary education in the UAEStratified random sample of 1,000-1,500Survey instrument adapted from Kennedy/Newton with permissionData collection – cross-sectional, online survey by December 2011, after pilot testing

Research DesignMixed method design•Semi-structured InterviewsParticipants will be volunteers from survey respondents – small, representative sampleSemi-structured interview of 4-5 open-ended questions based on survey responsesInvolvement of Emirati research assistant to minimize potential cross-cultural interview problems

Research DesignData AnalysisEnables deconstruction of responses to identify patterns, and make inferences about the whole

Quantitative – Use of SPSS for descriptive, inferential, and correlational analysis.Qualitative – Use of Nvivo for annotation and coding of interview responses.