An Exploration of Issues Relating to the Implementation of Active Learning in Saudi Arabian Universities

University of Plymouth PEARL https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk 04 University of Plymouth Research Theses 01 Research Theses Main Collection 2019 An exploration of issues relating to the implementation of Active Learning in Saudi Arabian Universities Alotaibi, Fatmah http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/14672 University of Plymouth All content in PEARL is protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author. An exploration of issues relating to the implementation of Active Learning in Saudi Arabian Universities By FATMAH ALOTAIBI A thesis submitted to Plymouth University in partial fulfilment for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Faculty of Arts & Humanities March 2019 Copyright Statement This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author's prior consent. ii Acknowledgements In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful “Praise be to Allah, to Whom belong all things in the heavens and on earth: to Him be Praise in the Hereafter: and He is Full of Wisdom, acquainted with all things” (36:1, Holy Quran). This study could not have been completed without the support and guidance of some very special people. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my first supervisor Professor Jocey Quinn for her continuous support, guidance and encouragement. I am also indebted to my second supervisor Dr Roger Cutting for his insightful, professional and helpful guidance. I am grateful to all of the study participants for their time and willingness to share their views. I am also extremely thankful to my mother and father for their love, prayers, support and encouragement. My deepest gratitude goes to my husband for his endless encouragement, patience and support throughout my studies. Without the tremendous support of my life partner, Hamdi, this thesis would not have been possible. To my children, Fawwaz, Mohammed, Mayar and Khalid, thank you for your understanding and willingness to adjust family priorities to allow the pursuit of Mom’s PhD to be such a part of our lives. I am also extremely thankful to my sister Awatif and my brother in law Mohammed for their continuous support and encouragement. iii Author’s Declaration At no time during the registration for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy has the author been registered for any other University award without prior agreement of the Graduate Sub-Committee. Work submitted for this research degree at the Plymouth University has not formed part of any other degree either at Plymouth University or at another establishment. Relevant scientific seminars and conferences were regularly attended at which work was often presented; external institutions were visited for consultation purposes and two paper prepared for publication. Publications (or presentation of other forms of creative and performing work): A Critical Analysis of the Literature in Women’s Leadership in Saudi Arabia Information Journal: IJBAMR Vol 3(1) Mar 2017 Raising Standards of Teaching at a University in Saudi Arabia Using Methods of Active Learning Information Institute Conferences: ICOE 21 – 22, April 2016, Word count of main body of thesis: 69,560 --------------------------------------- Date: 12/07/2019 Fatmah Alotaibi (Student No. 10331677) iv Abstract Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is ambitious in its proposals for educational reform which includes the preparation of a modern curriculum focused on rigorous standards which will be aligned with a range of education outcomes Therefore, Saudi Higher Education laid the groundwork to develop and improve the educational aspects towards students and lecturers, as well as to adopt all new approaches in education. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore the perceptions of Saudi lecturers and undergraduate students towards learning approaches especially Active Learning (AL) when participating in active courses. The advantage of AL is that it may provide the Colleges and Universities with a mechanism by which improvements in educational outcomes are achieved. As the move to an AL model represents an essential shift in the Saudi education system, this study illustrates how Saudi students and lecturers reacted to this alteration and how it influenced the quality of their learning and teaching experience. The objective of the study is to classify Saudi undergraduate students and lecturers’ perceptions of the advantages, challenges and future of AL. Therefore, the vital factors that affect the lecturers’ and students’ views are discussed, and recommendations for future research, strategy and practice are provided. Qualitative methods were used to gain rich descriptive data to facilitate the exploration of the phenomena. Three qualitative approaches were used to gather the data: observations, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews. The three different techniques made it possible to gather diverse forms of information. Three universities were selected to be investigated in this study: Umm Al-Qura University, King Saud University and Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University. Using an interpretative approach, the data was analysed in the form of explanation and interpretation of the participants’ perceptions of active learning. v The findings of this study indicate that there were many factors that impacted (both positively and/or negatively) on the process of using AL in Saudi Universities. The main factors identified by this investigation were leadership, national culture, training, and technology, and these influenced the adoption of AL both directly and/or indirectly. The results of this study reveal a distinct pattern in the adoption and use of AL in the participating universities, although the processes of implementation varied between them. A particular emphasis of this project was that AL offered heightened learning experiences and improved students’ understanding of their courses. The results of the data analysis, also, show that AL has not yet been fully or adequately implemented in Saudi universities, and so far, it has not received official endorsement as educational policies at other levels of the educational system. As there are always challenges of adaptation when a new method is employed, this research offers vision into how the challenges of implementing AL in Saudi Higher Education could be addressed. An AL model is introduced to offer the factors that affect the implementation of active learning. vi List of Contents Copyright Statement ............................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements.............................................................................................. iii Author’s Declaration ........................................................................................... iv Abstract ............................................................................................................... v List of Figures ..................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ...................................................................................................... vi Acronyms ........................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introduction of thesis .......................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Learning and Active Learning approach ..................................................... 2 1.3 Significance of the Research .................................................................... 17 1.4 Purpose of the Research .......................................................................... 19 1.5 Personal motivation for embarking on this work. ...................................... 20 1.6 Research Questions ................................................................................. 21 1.7 Research methodology ............................................................................ 22 1.8The Structure of The Thesis ...................................................................... 24 Chapter 2: Context of the Study ......................................................................... 26 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 26 2.2 The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ................................................................... 26 2.3 Saudi Higher Education ............................................................................ 29 2.4 University Lecturers.................................................................................. 37 2.5 Active Learning in Saudi Arabia ............................................................... 39 2.6 Active Learning methods applied in the College of Business Administration ....................................................................................................................... 41 2.7 National Transformation Programme (NTP) ............................................

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