Design Learning Space with the Culture of Modesty - Research Paper Example

The reign of King Abdullah signified a chance of growth in the KSA, specifically in the areas of education, culture, and dogma. He pioneered a stand to promote what was mostly seen as the innovative and radical opening up of the Kingdom meant for the realization of greater welfare of the Saudis. Since his reign began in 2005, a significantly radical change in the Saudi educational policy has taken place along with a revival of the intellectual and cultural thoughts for the younger generation, and increasingly lenient enforcement of the strict religious rules.

All these factors have increased the number and variety of opportunities for both genders in the country.The King also overhauled the education policy and increased the number of available universities. Among the changes he wished to pursue was hiring experts from the West to help develop a relevant Saudi educational system with a changed and improved building design so that more students could be enrolled. Following its western counterparts in the same footsteps, it became necessary to diversify and change the method of instruction while teaching a westernized curriculum.

These were big changes in the educational system that were welcomed by the people of the KSA. However, it also created some problems for the people; while the Western learning style is based on a co-educational setup, Saudi universities were religiously obliged to have separate learning spaces for the two genders. This resulted in a mismatch between the adopted educational system and technology and the norms of the Saudi culture. The end result was the creation of a massive negative culture and a collision of customs.

Needless to say, Western experts had no clue as to how their educational processes differed from those of the Saudis. This is an observation that I made as the said operation had affected my learning aims during my undergraduate studies. Traditions in Arabic culture are highly valued and are integrated into the routine lifestyle. Some rules are considered controversial and affect the learning space. One of the most important issues that concern this study is the relationship between men and women in terms of modesty.