The study aim is to identify the opportunities for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) educational sector during COVID-19. A survey was conducted among a sample of 100 teachers from 20 UAE higher education institutions. Teachers use online learning tools that cannot fully provide the benefits of face-to-face meetings with students. The research methodology is based on primary and secondary data analysis. Teacher questionnaire was formed; it contains 9 questions on distance learning actualization in a pandemic. Only 25% of those surveyed agreed with the inclusiveness and ease of remote learning technologies use, 20% expected that after a lockdown, learning could return to the status quo; 55% disagreed that the technologies used stimulate creativity and have an evidence base. Among key findings are that almost all respondents (95%) see the necessary reform of distance education for its further adaptation in the post-COVID-19 period. The study shows a significant imperfection of the applied online learning technologies. Studies from around the world have shown that school shutdowns have had similar consequences for most education systems.   Keywords: COVID-19; education; online learning; pandemic outbreak; teaching and learning.

A crucial component of boosting, maintaining, and improving school performance is instructional leadership. In order for instructional leadership to thrive, leaders must be thoroughly supported and well-trained in the best practices of supervision. This chapter dives into the initiatives that the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) launched over a decade ago in the United Arab Emirates to help principal supervisors grow from being traditional enforcers of district policy to being supervisors involved in helping their principals develop their instructional leadership practices. A case study design will be employed to investigate principal supervisors’ perceptions of their day-to-day operations in leading the principals to whom they are assigned. Three overarching themes, which derived from a thematic analysis of the interview findings, will serve as a guide for the presentation of information contained in this chapter: (1) the duties and responsibilities of principal supervisors, (2) the obstacles principal supervisors face in fulfilling their obligations, and (3) the circumstances principal supervisors require for optimal leadership performance. At the close of the chapter, the authors offer suggestions to improve principal leadership practices as well as implications for further research.

With the economic expansion and globalization, there are several disputes raging over how to enhance education quality. Conventional education systems do not give students the necessary information and skills; hence, there has been a shift in the education industry with customized learning, in which schools and universities build teaching models adapted to students' learning preferences. In general, each institution has its own framework for growing student competency; so, the research reveals how UAE educational institutions are enhancing learning elements for students as part of the quality education process. Quality assurance and the notion of continuous improvement are inextricably linked since both are associated with outcome-based education in the academic sphere. As a result, the chapter comprehensively explores the measures utilized by UAE educational institutions to ensure academic excellence. In addition to this, the research sheds light on the steps being implemented by the UAE government in regard to enhancing the quality of education for kids.