Saudi Arabian Universities Research Articles

Resistance to innovation in low-income populations: The case of university students' resistance to using digital productivity applications.

Innovation resistance research remains in its early stages. Efforts to define and comprehend consumer resistance to innovation necessitate in-depth studies that consider the contextual factors of resistance to innovation. To address this challenge, this research explored consumer resistance to innovation in a low-income population, namely, university students on financial support. The innovation under this study is the productivity applications provided for free by the University of Hail, Saudi Arabia, to all students. This study explores variables such as value barrier, risk barrier, tradition barrier, and image barrier and how they impact consumer resistance to innovation in a low-income population. We extend the theory by investigating the moderating roles of consumer characteristics (motivation, self-efficacy, emotion, and attitude toward existing products). The current study is based on an online survey of low-income students at a Saudi Arabian University; 258 cases were gathered. We found that all the direct effects of the variables (i.e., Value Barrier, Risk Barrier, Tradition Barrier, and Image Barrier) were positively related to consumer resistance to innovation. Importantly, consumer characteristics significantly moderate this relationship, as the relationship is stronger when the measurements for consumer characteristics are high.

Machine Learning approach for Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 on Distance education: An Applied Case on Saudi Arabia Universities

Machine Learning approach for Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 on Distance education: An Applied Case on Saudi Arabia Universities

Spicing up Undergraduate Collaborative Writing Course through Feedback Dialogues

Dialogic feedback, as opposed to unidirectional feedback that positions English language learners as mere receivers, is argued to be effective in promoting learners' self-regulated learning and active roles in feedback interpretation and negotiation. Despite the emphasis on dialogic feedback, empirical research on the how? question related to the processes of dialogues in feedback settings is limited. This paper, therefore, being positioned as part of this dialogic feedback approach, aimed to explore how feedback dialogues on the writing of fifteen pairs of undergraduates joining a writing class in a Saudi Arabia university are constructed. The data was collected from records of oral face-to-face (F2F) dialogues and digital or online written and audio interactions. The dialogues were analysed using an interactional analysis guided by several conceptual frameworks from previous research. Findings illustrated that dialogues are promoted and constructed within a four-dimensional process of cognitive, metacognitive, socio-affective, and structural activities. The assessment questions, hand-written codes and Google Docs-based highlights of errors in learners' drafts played a role in initiating F2F learner-learner dialogues which were extended to teacher-learner dialogues and to online dialogues. The study encourages writing instructors' shift to dialogic feedback in order to foster learners' active engagement with feedback and to motivate them to look for more effective strategies in promoting feedback dialogues with learners.

Critical Analysis of Cultural Values and Traditions Represented in North Star English Course Book

This study reports the findings of a mixed method critical study of non-native university English language teachers’ perceptions about cultural values and traditions represented in North Star English course book (advanced level), published by Pearson. The sample consisted of 35 male teachers who had experienced teaching the course book under investigation used at an English language institute in one of a Saudi Arabian university. In this study, a combined dataset questionnaire was used to collect data. Findings revealed that the participants had a negative perception towards the cultural models and traditions represented in the course book. More specifically, they were not adequately designed to suit the Saudi cultural background, local cultural norms and traditions. Moreover, the participants indicated that the course book failed to embody the international cultures of English speakers. The study recommends adopting new cultural policies which consider incorporating both the local as well as international cultures and traditions of speakers of English.

Well-being and Psychological Distress Status during Covid-19 Pandemic; Nursing Students' Experience from a Saudi Arabian University

Well-being and Psychological Distress Status during Covid-19 Pandemic; Nursing Students' Experience from a Saudi Arabian University

Knowledge development, technology and quality of experience in collaborative learning: a perspective from Saudi Arabia universities

Technology has recently gained relevance within collaborative learning environments to provide robustness, agility and flexibility. Several recent studies have investigated the role of technology, as well as researchers have defined different metrics to assess learning outcomes and experience along the collaborative knowledge development process. More recently, technology has played a key role to face the new challenges related to COVID-19, which forced to move on remote or hybrid learning. This research focuses on the quality of learning experience in terms of academic performance and perceived satisfaction. From a methodological point of view, a conceptual framework has been proposed and a quantitative study has been conducted among undergraduate and postgraduate students that are undertaking programs related to System Design in Saudi Arabia universities. 152 responses have been collected through an online survey and analysed using SPSS and SmartPLS. Results show a positive impact of technology along the collaborative knowledge development process and a strong correlation among the different quality of learning experience parameters considered. Indeed, despite some challenges, an integrated use of technology seems to properly support the most pressing needs in terms of quality experience, while the well-known social/educational issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic are not object of this study. Those findings are expected to contribute to the Saudi Arabia’s vision 2030 and, more holistically, to the assessment of collaborative learning environments that extensively rely on technology.

Gender's Moderating Role in Employee Satisfaction Determinants and Retention in Saudi Arabia's Higher Education Sector

Saudi Arabia's higher education system suffers from academicians’ retention issues, besides low satisfaction. The employment situation in Saudi universities has shown considerable instability for many years, as shown by the high turnover rates among academic staff. The turnover rate is reported to be high and needs to be addressed with the help of retention strategies. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify and consolidate various relevant factors that have an impact on employee satisfaction and retention in the education sector in KSA, specifically in universities. This study also examines the mediating role of employee satisfaction between three factors: compensation package, perceived organizational support, and supportive work environment with regard to employee retention and the moderating role of gender between employee satisfaction and employee retention. To achieve the objectives, a survey strategy was applied to this study because it is associated with a deductive approach. This study employs the quantitative method, relying on primary data at the cross-sectional horizon. The population of this study comprises the academicians who work within Saudi Arabian universities. The online survey instrument was used to collect the data from the target sample size, which was determined to be 384 academicians. The study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the hypotheses developed in the study. The study has found a supportive work environment has a positive, significant relationship with employee satisfaction, as well as with employee retention. However, there were no relationships between (compensation package, perceived organizational support) and both employee satisfaction and employee retention. The study found employee satisfaction significantly mediated the relationship between a supportive work environment on employee retention. This study showed the importance of employee satisfaction in order to assist organizations in achieving employee retention. This study showed that the absence of moderator factors does not affect the relationship between employee satisfaction and employee retention.

EFL Teachers’ Perceptions and Beliefs About a Professional Development Programme at an English Language Institute at a Saudi Arabian University

This research study, based on qualitative research design, reports on the findings from native and non-native university English language teachers’ perceptions and beliefs with regards to a professional development programme they attended in their teaching context where they work at an English language institute (ELI) that is part of a Saudi university. The sample consisted of five male English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers who were involved in teaching intensive EFL courses at a Preparatory Year Programme (PYP). In this study, semi-structured interviews were utilized as the data collection method. Analysis of the data revealed that all teachers had a wide understanding of some essential issues related to professional development. Most of these teachers supported adopting the obligation policy of teacher involvement in the professional development programme. On the other hand, several participants voiced few concerns towards the available activities that are marked by being irresponsive to their needs, inadequate for the teaching context and unhelpful for them to reflect on their teaching practice. Also, the data highlighted the absence of the teachers’ role in the implemented professional development programme. The findings, however, indicated that the participants found the group discussion useful and enriching to their learning experiences. Furthermore, the data findings pinpointed that the teachers provided some useful suggestions for future improvement in the study context. Their suggestions tackled the trainer’s competence, needs analysis and the involvement of teachers in setting the agenda of their professional development programs.

Analysis of E-Exam practices in higher education institutions of KSA: Learners’ perspectives

Assessment is an important aspect of learning. It is done to find out what each student learned. The adoption of valid assessment techniques will help to improve the quality of the educational process. It will allow students to determine whether or not they achieved their learning goals. Due to this importance, students are assessed in a variety of ways. E-Exams are an example of such a technique. Students in university courses must be examined in a short period through mid-examinations and final exams. This necessitates the use of a quick evaluation procedure to yield rapid results. This research work aims to analyze the student perceptions towards the E-Exam system in higher education in Saudi Arabian universities. The study of the E-Exam system is primarily focused on the following subjects: (a) E-Exam implementation (b) E-Exam environment Factors (c) Student Experience Based on E-Exam Attempts (d) E-Exam System Challenge. (e) Recommendations for E-Exam requirements. The suggested work is divided into three stages: The first step begins with the preparation of a questionnaire that has explicitly addressed the impact of the aforementioned motivations on learners. The data presented in the questionnaire were intimately associated with KSA university students. The developed questionnaire was distributed to students as well as research scholars at KSA universities in the second phase. All of the questions in the questionnaire are made mandatory to fill. In the third step, the responses of concerned individuals from Saudi Arabian universities are analyzed. The evaluation has been made with ANOVA and SEM analysis.

Before and Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Self-Perception of Digital Skills in Saudi Arabia Higher Education: A Longitudinal Study.

Compatible with global sustainable development report, 2016 edition, and vision 2030, Saudi Arabia recognized the importance of technology in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper aims to measure the self-perception of digital skills among students in Saudi Arabia’s higher education system to understand how they were influenced before and amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, we started a project to study the self-perception of digital skills among Saudi Arabia university students (group A). A total of 469 students participated in this research. The validity and reliability of the employed scale were tested with first-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The differences between the two groups (before and amid the pandemic) were tested through the Mann–Whitney U test. The results for group A (N = 232 students) showed a higher self-perception of their digital skills. In March 2020, amid the pandemic, Saudi Arabia closed and shifted to technology-based teaching like many other countries worldwide. After students’ return to universities in 2021, an evaluation of how the students perceived their own digital skills was again conducted (group B). The results for group B (N = 237 students) demonstrated a lower level of confidence in their own digital abilities. Comparing two groups (A and B), after the educational course was administered, group A (prior to COVID-19) had greater self-perceptions of digital skills than group B (amid COVID-19). Students’ perceptions of their own digital skills have been negatively impacted as a result of the pandemic situation caused by COVID-19. The collected evidence suggests that there is a difference, and that this difference is statistically significant. As a result of the substantial relationship between self-perception of digital skills and how students deal with reality based on their own self-perception, Saudi Arabia higher education ministry shifted teaching methods to be based on technology. Other significant findings and their implications for practice and theory were reported in this study. Finally, limitations and prospects for future research were also elaborated.

Understanding resilience and coping in a digitally transformed educational environment during COVID-19

ABSTRACT The lasting effects of COVID-19 on education are not yet fully understood. However, many studies have reported on how educationalists and students have responded to the transition from the traditional classrooms to an emergency remote learning and teaching. Prominent researchers in the field strongly argue that teachers' contexts exert a critical role in influencing teachers' resilience. There are fewer studies that targeted resilience during COVID-19. Research into resilience in education is relatively new, approximately 10–15 years old. A global compilation of emergency remote education was conducted in 2020. This paper draws on the 2020 research compilation, and further shares its findings through a resilience lens. The study was conducted at a Saudi Arabian university and employed a mixed-method research approach. This paper reports on the qualitative findings only. Findings from this study have shown that gender inequity may be the contributing factor that female educators experienced. They experienced challenges in terms of personal resources and internal processes; however, despite these setbacks, teachers have adapted and coped regardless of material challenges.

Exploring Toxicity in the Workplace in a Saudi Arabian University from the Perspectives of Senior Personnel and Faculty Members

Exploring Toxicity in the Workplace in a Saudi Arabian University from the Perspectives of Senior Personnel and Faculty Members

Are dental professionals ready to deal with medical emergencies in their clinical office? A survey of university hospitals.

This research aimed to assess the availability and need of dental emergency kits in Saudi Arabia university hospitals. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 267 dentists, including undergraduate, dental interns, general dentists, and specialists in 6 university hospitals (private and government colleges). In addition, a closed-ended questionnaire was distributed through emails using the online platform. The data revealed that 49.4% of dentists faced medical emergencies. Out of them, 72.7% said that emergency kits were available in their clinics. Sugar sources and oxygen were most commonly available. On the other hand, 37.8% of dentists handled emergencies independently, 34.5% considered themselves competent with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and 28.8% were confident of using emergency (ER) drugs. The most common medical emergencies were vasovagal syncope and hypoglycemia. The emergency kit in dental clinics is relatively available, and the incidence of medical emergencies is relatively minor. However, the competence and confidence of the dentists in tackling an emergency is low, including handling of emergency (ER), knowledge of CPR, and its performance. Therefore, CPR courses should be improved and promoted more widely for this purpose.

Students' Perception towards New Face of Education during This Unprecedented Phase of COVID-19 Outbreak: An Empirical Study of Higher Educational Institutions in Saudi Arabia.

Purpose: To examine the perception of students regarding an e-learning system adopted by various educational institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: A web-based-survey was conducted among selected university students in Saudi Arabia. A total of 294 students were randomly chosen to determine the utilities and credibility of the adopted e-learning mode of education. The reliability of latent constructs was assessed according to Cronbach’s alpha, and confirmatory factors analysis was conducted via AMOS software (version 24) to measure the students’ perceptions of online learning. Results: The outcomes of the present study reveal that e-learning has been very useful throughout the pandemic period among selected Saudi Arabian universities. The students have a positive view of the online system of education, which has many benefits, including flexibility, low cost, self-learning, and convenience. Implications: The results of the present study will be beneficial for all educational institutions that are largely dependent on the findings of the online survey.

The impact of virtual learning on students’ educational behavior and pervasiveness of depression among university students due to the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundOne of the worst pandemics of recent memory, COVID-19, severely impacted the public. In particular, students were physically and mentally affected by the lockdown and the shift from physical person-to-person classrooms to virtual learning (online classes). This increased the prevalence of psychological stress, anxiety, and depression among university students. In this study, we investigated the depression levels in Saudi Arabian university students who were learning virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic and examined its impact on their educational proficiency.MethodsThe study focused on two points: first, examining the depression levels among undergraduate students in Saudi Arabia, by adapting the Zung (Self-Rating Depression Scale) questionnaire. Second, whether there is an association between the levels of depression and various distress factors associated with virtual (online) learning resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on students’ educational behaviors. The questionnaire was prepared using a monkey survey and shared online, via email, and on WhatsApp groups, with participants in two universities, a public and private university in the largest city of Saudi Arabia. A total of 157 complete responses were received. Data were analyzed using SPSS-24, the chi-square test, descriptive statistics, and multilinear regression.ResultsThe results indicated that three-fourths of the university students suffered from different depressive symptoms, half of which had moderate to extreme levels of depression. Our study confirmed that a boring virtual (online) learning method, stress, fear of examinations, and decreased productivity were significantly associated with increased depression. In addition, 75% and 79% of the students suffered from stress and fear of examinations, respectively. About half of the students were associated with increased depression. The outcome also indicated that female students experienced extreme depression, stress, and fear of examinations more than males.ConclusionThese findings can inform government agencies and representatives of the importance of making swift, effective decisions to address students’ depression levels. It is essential to provide training for students to change their educational experience mindset, which might help decrease "depression and stress-related growth." There is also a need to search for a better virtual teaching delivery method to lessen students' stress and fear of examinations.

Feasibility of Online Classes for Microbiology Courses: Lessons learned amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Universities and colleges worldwide have been closed following the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and online learning has become an educational practice at once. Previous research showed many problems, including time management difficulties, technological devices, communication, engagement and assessment of students for both educators and students in online education. This research was formulated to understand whether online microbiology courses from different Saudi Universities are appropriate. It was a nationwide cross-sectional study among educators from multiple Saudi Arabian Universities during the whole month of June 2020. We distributed the survey link electronically through messages on the phone. A total of 134 Saudis participated in the study, and the majority of the respondents, i.e., 106 (79.10%) are between 36 to 55 years old, 17 (12.69%) are 56 years and above. A total of 65 (48.51%) respondents responded that shifting from in-classroom to online setup has impacted the teaching-learning process negatively, while 43 (32.09%) responded with a positive impact. The majority of the respondents (82%) disagreed that practical learning outcomes such as laboratory-based microbiology courses can be achieved online at the same level as regular-campus classes.Furthermore, more than half of the participants think that students' dishonesty or violation of academic integrity threatens institutions from offering online courses. Technology tools have brought a positive impact on the effectiveness of online microbiology education. This study illustrated that the shift to online microbiology classes has a positive impact on attention to academic integrity. However, in-person labs are still considered the optimal lab design. While pandemics have historically generated difficulties, recognizing these difficulties is the first step in turning them into possibilities.

Awareness of security and privacy settings in video conferencing apps among faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 has forced many schools and universities worldwide, including Saudi Arabia, to move from traditional face-to-face learning to online learning. Most online learning activities involve the use of video conferencing apps to facilitate synchronous learning sessions. While some faculty members were not accustomed to using video conferencing apps, they had no other choice than to jump on board regardless of their readiness, one of which involved security and privacy awareness. On the other hand, video conferencing apps users face a number of security and privacy threats and vulnerabilities, many of which rely on human factors to be exploited. In this study, we used survey data from 307 faculty members at 43 Saudi Arabian universities to determine the level of awareness among Saudi Arabian faculty regarding security and privacy settings of video conferencing apps and to investigate the factors associated with it. We analyzed the data using the Knowledge-Attitudes-Behaviors (KAB) model and the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method. We found that the average awareness score of video conferencing apps’ security and privacy settings falls into the “Poor” category, which is not surprising considering that many faculty members only started using this new technology on a daily basis because of the pandemic. Further analysis showed that perceived security, familiarity with the app, and digital literacy of faculty members are significantly associated with higher awareness. Privacy concerns are significantly associated with higher awareness only among STEM faculty members, while attitudes toward ICT for teaching and research are negatively associated with such awareness among senior faculty members with more than 10 years of experience. This study lays the foundation for future research and user education on the security and privacy settings of video conferencing applications.

Silence behind the Veil: An Exploratory Investigation into the Reticence of Female Saudi Arabian Learners of English

AbstractThis study explores the complexity of language learner silence in the female Saudi Arabian university English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom. To this end, a combination of two methodologies was used. First, a total of 296 students from 12 EFL classrooms were observed using the COPS structured observation scheme (King, 2013a, b) to measure the extent of silence and to identify relevant patterns of learner reticence. Second, to gain deeper insights into the participants' attitudes and feelings about silence in the EFL classroom, we used two complementary qualitative methods: semi‐structured interviews and stimulated recall sessions. The results suggest the existence of three interrelated groups of factors associated learner silence in the study's research context —(i) factors related to prevailing EFL teaching styles in Saudi Arabia; (ii) socio‐psychological factors; and (iii) underlying cultural factors associated with the value of silence and the role of women in Saudi society. The findings highlight the complexity of Saudi Arabian female students' silence and emphasize the need to view language learner silence as a multi‐dimensional phenomenon.

Exploring the sign language proficiency of university undergraduate students in a preservices preparation program for teachers of deaf students

ABSTRACT Communication through sign language is essential for teachers of deaf students. This study sought to assess and evaluate the sign language proficiency of preservice teachers of deaf students to help preservice teacher preparation program designers identify what aspects of sign language need to be focused on and provide recommendations to improve preservice teachers’ sign language levels. An exploratory research design was used through questionnaires distributed to a convenience sample. The research subjects were undergraduate female students (N = 36) enrolled in a Saudi Arabian university’s preservice preparation program for teachers of deaf students. This study’s results indicate that preservice teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students scored highly for lexical signs, on an average level for iconic lexical signs, but on a low level for the domain of arbitrary lexical signs. There was a significant effect of participants’ grade point averages (GPAs) on their overall sign language proficiency score. No significant effect of age, academic level, and the number of completed sign language training on overall sign language proficiency score was reported. This study’s outcomes show that preservice teachers’ sign language level needs to be improved and developed. Recommendations are presented for future research and preservice teacher preparation program designers to develop learners’ sign language skills.

Impact of training for IoT technology awareness program In the Saudi Arabian Universities

Nowadays, Internet of Things (IoT) has been making drastic changes in e-learning & other fields of our daily lives such as the sectors like healthcare, agriculture, transportation, business & trade and various engineering services. It is predicted that fifty billion IoT devices and six billion mobile devices will be on this earth in 2020 itself. Industries around the world are planning for implementing IoT as it reduces the expenses on energy by fifty percent and eventually increases profit. Therefore, academic institutions must also work on IoT enabled services to compete at the global level. IoT devices are connecting people to the web thus everyone comes closer to each other. Job sector would become more competitive from now on as many people opt for e-learning to obtain easily affordable degrees and required skills while continuing their professional commitments. This research attempts as preliminary step to assess the basic training of IoT to students in order to enhance their motivation to use IoT based equipment which is the prime requirement for an IoT enabled campus. T-test had been conducted to calculate the effectiveness of training as the universities in Saudi Arabia are seeking to launch IoT programs in their various departments, are motivated as well for trainings to prepare their teaching staff and students for IoT based courses.