Challenges of the public-private sector partnership in higher education (KFU cases): SEModelling approach

Abstract

This paper aims to assess the current and prospective applications of the university and private sector partnerships in higher education in Saudi Arabia. This paper highlights the difficulties and challenges facing Saudi universities to establish sustainable partnerships with the private sector as well as the public sector. It also explores many aspects of the partnerships in an approach to boost and enhance the role of universities within the community, with a special reference to a well-known Saudi university; i.e., King Faisal University. The study highlights how the implementation of community partnerships is affected by historical, cultural, and social obstacles and a misunderstanding of the importance of one party to the other. Data was collected through an online structured questionnaire. 100 academic leaders at King Faisal University participated in this survey. We use Structural Equation Modelling Approach to analyse the data. The results of this study found a statistically significant relationship between the current practices of community partnership and the challenges facing these practices. In addition, the study finds a statistically significant relationship between the mechanisms for developing community partnerships and the current practices of the partnership.