Legal aspects of electronic learning in the Distance Learning Code of Conduct: Evidence of the United Arab Emirates legislation

Abstract

This paper addresses the issue of to which extent law keeps pace with the tremendous development in the education field. The main aim of this paper is to analyze the Distance Learning Code of Conduct in Public Education Institutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) No. 262 of 2020 (hereinafter, the Code of Conduct) texts to find out the extent of its success in facing the legal problems caused by distance learning. That requires using an analytical approach fundamentally. The importance of this research is manifested in the fact that it is the first to examine the texts of the Code of Conduct and analyze it legally. Legal references in this field are scarce. We will mention one of them (Al-Khasawneh, 2020) in particular. That works to reduce cyberbullying and reviews the adequacy of electronic legislation to reduce cyberbullying. Among the crucial results of our paper is that the rules of the Code of Conduct are considered the guide for any educational institution establishing its own rules for regulating distance learning. Another crucial result is to call on the UAE legislator to expand the statement of legal provisions for electronic learning (e-learning) and not to limit to regulating the students’ behavior.