UNDERSTANDING STUDENT-FACULTY INTERACTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Ginger Silvera
Joana Stocker
Zayed University
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

ABSTRACT
University education plays a key role in the development of students’ lives. A higher
education allows a student forward mobility in life such as career and professional status. The
United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been focusing on enriching its human capital by concentrating
on university education. The majority of faculties employed in local universities are not Emiratis
while their students are; therefore, this study seeks to determine if there is a difference in students’
perceptions for academic success on receiving education between non-Emirati vs. Emirati faculty.
This study builds on the theory of representative bureaucracy, which examines whether sharing
the same ethnicity and gender to students helps to develop working relationships for academic
success. This study was able to determine that the ethnicity and gender of faculty are not factors
for students achieving academic success in the Middle East
Keyword: United Arab Emirates, human capital, faculty, student’s perception