K-12 Education Reforms in Saudi Arabia: Implications for Change Management and Leadership Education

Abstract

The Saudi education system has been experiencing continuous reforms during the past two decades. However, despite the financial support education reforms are granted by the government, impact of those reforms on education outcomes, if any, remains minimal. The author argues that reviewing Saudi education reforms based on Rogers’ (2003) characteristics of innovation (internal factors) and Ely’s (1990, 1999) conditions of change (external factors) as a framework demonstrates that shortcomings of these reforms could be attributed to a lack or at best to weak change management and leadership that failed to provide for those factors during the implementation stage. Taking these factors into consideration by Educational Administration Departments at the Colleges of Education in Saudi universities should improve teaching topics and issues of educational administration and leadership at these departments as well as improving school’s principals in their role as change managers. This chapter starts with an overview of the Saudi education system and the Tatweer education reform project followed by an overview of Rogers (2003) and Ely’s (1990, 1999) proposed frameworks. Next, it critically reviews Saudi education reforms based on this framework. The chapter ends with proposed curriculum outlines in change management and leadership for the preparation of future graduates of the colleges of education at Saudi universities.