Saudi Higher Education Research Articles

English as the Medium of Instruction in Saudi Higher Education: Necessity or Hegemony?

English has been implemented as the medium of instruction of engineering, medicine and science in Saudi universities. This decision was taken by some universities without consultation with students or teaching staff, and stands in violation of the Saudi policy that states that Arabic should be the language of instruction. This study investigates the attitude of 702 Saudi students and 162 instructors towards English as the medium of instruction, and towards Arabic as an alternative. The Component of Attitude and the Theory of Reasoned Behavior were adopted to analyze the findings. It explores the consequences of these choices based on theories regarding functions of attitude among students and instructors of the Science Colleges in King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia. Sub-themes include the effectiveness of English as the medium of instruction for Saudi students; the consequences of imposing English as the medium of instruction; the potential of Arabic as the medium of instruction in higher education, and students’ right to be taught in their own mother tongue. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were used based on a questionnaire survey. Findings show strong attitudinal differences between students and instructors, which may be attributed to the degree of hegemony affecting the groups.

Health science students’ perception about research training programs offered in Saudi universities

Purpose– The purpose of this paper was to examine the perceptions of students of health sciences on research training programs offered at Saudi universities.Design/methodology/approach– A cross-sectional survey design was adopted to capture the perceptions of health science students about research training programs offered at selected Saudi universities. A criterion-based sampling technique was adopted, and accordingly, 630 students were selected to participate in the study. A pre-tested questionnaire tool titled, “Students Attitude towards Research (SAR) questionnaire ”, was used to capture student responses on a five-point Likert scale with respect to three dimensions, namely, extent of research activities offered in their college, involvement of faculty in research and the infrastructural facilities offered by the college for research. The students’ attitudes with respect to various components of research training programs were analyzed using mean and cumulative percentage of students satisfied with the training. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to study whether there is any significant difference in attitudes among the students belonging to four health science programs of the seven selected universities.Findings– The results of this study demonstrate that only less than 50 per cent of the students from the selected health science colleges are satisfied with the existing research training programs. There are significant differences in the students’ attitude toward research training programs offered in seven selected Saudi universities.Originality/value– This is the first Saudi Arabia-based study that provides an alarming signal to educational-policy planners on students’ perceptions and attitudes toward research training programs offered in Saudi higher education institutions.

E-Learning in Saudi Arabia's Higher Education

This Paper aims to provide a brief look on present E learning development in Saudi Higher Education. E Learning is the next big thing and getting very much accepted by the Saudi Arabia higher education System. Huge Technological Developments have taken place, many Universities have started using technology such as Blackboard as LMS (Learning Management System) with many other great pulg-ins and tools in a smart classroom like ePodium, Interactive board, lecture sharing, eAttendance, Video Conferencing, etc. Well the evolution from traditional blackboard and chalk to a huge innovative technological development in the education system has not been that easy among teachers and students. Statistical analysis and data mining tools have been used to find correlations among the technical ability, learning ability, time management ability and preferred mode of study of these learners. Our investigation shows that majority (73%) of the students still prefer classroom teaching to individual study. (1)

Larry Smith and Abdulrahman Aboummoh (eds): Higher education in Saudi Arabia: Achievements, challenges and opportunities

This book provides the audience with a detailed overview of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia. It joins a very small club of books written in the English language that seeks to enhance our understanding of higher education in Saudi Arabia. What separates this study from its predecessors is that it prescribes a remedy for the Kingdom’s inability to produce a significant level of knowledge workers. The book covers major aspects of the Saudi higher education system including its history, structure, governance, approach, teaching and learning methods, research output, quality and accreditation, development towards internationalisation, female education and private higher education in the Kingdom. The book consists of 17 chapters by 32 authors. 17 of whom are Saudi (53 %) from the Ministry itself and other local higher education institutions and 15 non-Saudi academics (47 %) from Australia, Ireland, South Korea, UK and USA. This in turn provides internal and also external perspectives on all issues discussed. In the initial chapters, chapters one to four, a general overview of the system is discussed. The glaring issue in this section seems to be an incessant focus on the inability of Saudi universities to attain ‘world class’ standards. The lack of realistic understanding is troubling, particularly when we realise that in order for the Saudi university sector to be considered ‘world class’ it would have to undergo a complete overhaul of the present system, an overhaul that would touch matters of governance leadership and public disquiet. Aleasa (2012) highlights these matters showing that the main issues are ‘autonomy and flexibility in decision-making’. This is because education is fully funded by the state, thus government influence remains an important factor. In the following chapters, chapters five to eight, the authors discuss some of the internal aspects of higher education. The quality of teaching and learning, we are told is a responsibility shared between academics, department chairs, college deans, university

A matter of degrees: The introduction of clinical doctorates to the Saudi higher education system and a comparative prospective from the American model

Recent unprecedented growth in Saudi population challenged its infrastructure and intensified demand for higher education and healthcare. In response, both the government and the private sector founded numerous colleges and universities, increasing the overall number from 8 to 49 institutions of higher education. A significant portion of the expansion has been in the health professions higher education, which also included the establishment of new teaching hospitals and other medical training facilities. As part of this growth, practice (clinical) doctorates have conspicuously made their presence felt in Saudi Arabia. The doctor of pharmacy is the first clinical doctorate that has been formally adopted as the terminal professional degree in the field. Others are in the works. Results are presented using descriptive methods. Data were collected from reviews of the literature and individual institutional websites of Saudi colleges, universities and salient governmental regulatory and national accrediting agencies. This article will introduce clinical doctorates, their status and state of implementation in the American health professions higher education system as a possible model. The article will review the current status of clinical doctorates’ implementation in Saudi Arabia. It will conclude with a recommendation for concerned stake holders, including policy makers, educators, and practitioners.

Improvement of the Quality Assurance in Saudi Higher Education

In recent years, the Saudi Arabian higher education system has taken major actions to improve itself and maintain international standards. These actions are in response to the perceived low quality of the system which has affected its graduates. Among these actions were the establishment of the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment, support for research and development, and creation of a large study abroad program. This paper discusses how these actions have addressed some of the shortcoming of higher education in Saudi Arabia.

The Possibility of Useful Applications of Total Quality Management in Saudi Higher Education

The Possibility of Useful Applications of Total Quality Management in Saudi Higher Education