Reflection ‘on’ and ‘in’ teacher education in the United Arab Emirates

This article examines the uptake of reflective practice, as one of a number of educational discourses, by student teachers in a new Bachelor of Education degree in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In a recent article, Pat Richardson [2004. International Journal of Educational Development 24(4), 429–436], argued that reflective practice is incongruent with the values of ‘Arab-Islamic’ culture and is therefore not an appropriate approach to promote in teacher education in the UAE. Here we argue that such a view relies on a limited reading of the concept of culture and reduces individuals to cultural ‘dupes’. We also present evidence from student teachers that, far from endorsing the inappropriateness of reflective practice in the UAE context, shows Emirati women wholeheartedly embracing—and doing—reflective practice.