KT Photo: Rahul Gajjar

Driven by a desire to learn more about children’s characters, teaching methods and causes of suffering, Hend Al Hammadi enrolled at the National Academy for Child Development (NACD) over a year ago.

Although she has been a mother for five years, she was able to understand the child’s behavior until she joined the academy.

“I was raising my children out of passion, with no scientific knowledge of their development and behavior,” said the mother of two, “I studied science at university, but that didn’t help me understand what children were going through.”

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During her time at the academy, she “learned that behind every behavior, there is a hidden factor that we have to decipher; we also learned how to design games to meet certain needs.”

The 31-year-old Emirati is among 81 men and women graduating with a childhood development degree from the academy. They trained at several childcare facilities in Abu Dhabi, including the Zayed Higher Organization for Determined People, along with public schools and women’s shelters.

The curriculum covers child psychology related to times such as parental separation, the birth of siblings, and moving to a new school or city. The academy provides hands-on learning methods to accurately identify all aspects involved in a child’s life – from infancy to adulthood.

Watch a video about how the academy is helping students learn more about how to engage and interact with children:

The academy also provides mannequins equipped with sensors to teach students how to deal with a basic childcare problem – soothing a crying baby. Maryam Mubarak, Emirate, demonstrated how to train using precise replicas that weigh as hard as a real baby, cry like one, and are only quiet once you get their distress problem right. The 27-year-old and her colleagues have written and designed interactive books that teach young people Islamic practices and local traditions.

“It’s a storybook that includes puzzles, 3D figures and art activities,” she said, as she held up a book that teaches about the Muslim fast and the traditions surrounding it.

KT Photo: Rahul Gajjar

Consolidation of the Arabic language

“We are very much on strengthening the Arabic language as well as social skills, unfortunately young people have become English-oriented,” said Dr. Fadi Bani Mostafa, head of the academic department at NACD. Children are no longer in frequent contact with extended family members and older relatives and may not be used to social etiquette, he added.

Upon graduation, students obtain a professional diploma that includes 1,350 credit hours and 18 months of theoretical and practical training. After completing the internship program, graduates of the academy are expected to obtain employment at the entities where they are trained. In addition, NCAD provides specialized training for doctors, teachers, social workers and homemakers, as well as family members.

“Teachers benefit the most from our programs; although they have studied education, it does not mean that they naturally enjoy the right skills to deal with children or manage a classroom,” said Muna Al Blooshi, Head of Training and Education at NCAD. About 63 teachers have recently completed the training.

“We also teach pediatricians how to recognize signs of abuse. Not all practitioners are experienced in child psychology and how to identify if a child has been bullied or abused.” To date, the academy has trained 30 paediatricians, nurses and midwives.

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