Charter school reform in Abu Dhabi: policy borrowing, translation and frenemies

This research investigates the implementation of charter schools in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the effects of this policy change on education workers. Operation by for-profit education management organisations shifts the government policy on UAE national students, changing the education governance of the government system to be more like that of local international schools. This research aimed to understand the reform based on the experiences of charter school administrators, schoolteachers, charter operator managers, and other stakeholders. The main findings relate to policy translation, policy mobilities, and the complexity of the relationship between for-profit school operators and the government regulator. The importance of this research is understanding how a government school system can be subsumed by an entirely private, for-profit education system.