The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a wealthy and relatively new country attempting to achieve top tier global status in education. A literature review of education reform efforts in the UAE reveals remarkably limited research on the subject. Existing studies show the a country is struggling to align market-driven academic goals with dominant cultural paradigms. A transition away from a reliance on a formerly lucrative petroleum industry raises the stakes of their academic outcomes. This literature review uses terms explored in Comparative Education such as "policy borrowing" to explain the government's approach to reform, and suggests areas for future research.