Abstract:

The UAE’s Vision of 2021 called for citizens to be united in responsibility. To do this, the mission stated: Emiratis will be confident citizens, steadfast in carving out their future in a spirit of entrepreneurship and responsibility, engaged in the course of their nation and embracing moral values for richer fulfillment.

Emiratis have a civic duty towards being socially responsible and helping their community. The university’s goal is to align and provide support for the national vision. Therefore, teaching and engaging students in areas of autonomy, self-determination, and competence aligns well with the national vision. One of the challenges is to successfully engage students in class activities and ensure that coursework supports the vision. The hope is for students to move from extrinsic motivation related to grades and move toward intrinsic motivation gained through Deci’s (1985) Self-Determination Theory (SDT). It suggests that people are motivated and engaged when autonomy, relevance, and competence are present. It was determined that an appropriate pedagogical strategy to address the goals of the course and of the program was through project-based learning. This study examines the survey results from a project-based learning project completed by College of Business students in 2015. It also includes follow-up data collected seven years later to demonstrate the impact of project-based learning on engagement and students' perception of success.

Keywords:

Project-based learning, self-determination theory, UAE Culture, student engagement, Emirati success, perception of learning.