Higher Educational Institutes of Saudi Arabia - Literature review Example

1. Introduction With the rapid advancement in every field of technology and professional careers, the demand for high quality education has increased greatly in the higher educational institutes. Today, the professional demands of a career have increased to such an extent that graduates are required to have some practical skills demonstrative of knowledge acquired before they enter into a professional field. However, despite the benefits of incorporating newer technology and knowledge in the learning and development curriculum of higher education institutes, there are still many dilemmas that are faced in this process. In various countries of the world, higher education leaders are faced with many challenges in the process of trying to upgrade knowledge and skills and incorporating newer technology to enhance the learning of students (Biesta, 2006). Students need a more sophisticated range of knowledge and skills because as Pellegrino and Hilton (2012, p. 14) note, the competitive nature of the current globalised society means that the human resource from one country has to compete with others from different countries. Additionally, the knowledge and skills attained by students contribute to the social common good in a country since they equip students to act as good entrepreneurs, managers, employees, or citizens in their adulthood (Pellegrino & Hilton, 2012, p.14; Slaughter & Rhoades 2004, p. 55). Among the vital skills which Pellegrino and Hilton (2012, p.14) refer to as “21st century skills”, and which students need to acquire include: communication skills, team-working skills, problem-solving skills, self-management skills and critical thinking skills. Another reason why students need a sophisticated range of knowledge and skills is underscored by Reich (1991, p. 264), who notes that the uniqueness of a country in the world economy is partially dependent on the skills of its workforce. de Silva (1997, p. 4) also notes that a country whose knowledgeable and skilled workforce does complex things will most likely entice earnings from the global marketplace, as more countries seek the expertise in the subject country. The foregoing argument is supported by de Silva (1997, p. 4) who notes that knowledge workers are important players in knowledge economies. Notably, knowledge economies use knowledge as input and output to grow their respective economies. Moreover, it has been noted that knowledge workers possess high levels of theoretical knowledge, which is acquired through formal education. Additionally, such workers specialise in a specific line of work and are highly mobile. Furthermore, they do not get tired of acquiring more knowledge if their jobs or future career plans demand so (de Silva 1997, p. 4). In other words, they are ready and willing to engage in lifelong learning. Laal and Salamati (2012, p. 399) underscore the importance of lifelong learning by indicating that in the current changing world, people who refuse to grow or develop through learning will no doubt be left behind. The two authors further note that if people want to lead fulfilling and rich lives, they must be willing to adapt to changes, and the only way to easily adapt to such changes is by acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills. Saudi Arabia’s economy has registered significant growth in the past four decades (Westelius 2013, p. 4). Most of the aforementioned growth, however, has its genesis in the export of crude oil. With rising export revenues, the Kingdom has in the past decades increasingly been relying on imported labour. However, Westelius (2013, p. 8) notes that Saudi Arabia has a development strategy that was developed in the 1970s in place. The development strategy consists of five-year strategic plans whose main aim was to transform the country into an industrialised economy. While the initial focus was on improving the infrastructure in the kingdom, Westelius (2013, p. 8) notes that education became relevant as the government became aware of the need to stop relying on foreign labour. According to Westelius (2013, p. 4), Saudi Arabia’s reliance on imported labour is partially explained by its culture, where women were not perceived as part of the labour force. Based on such cultural beliefs, women could only attain knowledge and skills at the behest of male family members, and working females could not interact with men not related to them. By 2013, one-third of Saudi Arabia’s workforce was imported (Westelius 2013, p. 5). In addition to the Saudi Arabian culture, the lack of qualified and trained personnel has also resulted to the kingdom’s overreliance on human capital from other countries. The education and employment sectors in Saudi Arabia are arguably an enigma. While there are many Saudi Arabian graduates who are unemployed or underemployed, companies still value and rely on imported labour. Murphy (2011, p. 4) for example notes that 90% of the entire workforce in the private sector is sourced from other countries. Notably, the Saudi Arabian government has in the past four decades invested in the education sector. As a result, there are more graduates in Saudi Arabia than there have ever been in the past (Murphy 2011, p. 4). The only problem with the kingdom’s education strategy is that it does not equip learners with marketable skills. This argument is underscored by Murphy (2011, p. 4), who notes that many of the underemployed graduates indicate that the education offered by the Saudi Arabian government does not fully prepare them for the job market. In a study conducted by Al-Jabri and Fraihat (2005), it was revealed that there exists a knowledge gap because graduates do not necessarily acquire skills that are of importance in the job market. Al-Jabri and Fraihat (2005, p. 73) for example found out that while the labour market needed employees who could accomplish assignments within given timelines, most of the graduates could not meet this requirement. Additionally, Saudi Arabian graduates scored poorly in their ability to maintain good working relationships with customers. Furthermore, they were not able or prepared to acquire newer technological skills, and also, they lacked the ability or willingness to work in teams (Al-Jabri & Fraihat 2005, p. 73). Some of the marketable skills that the two authors identified include: understanding and learning about the use of new technology; using information technology knowledge in solving problems that arise in the organisation; the ability to lead and organise; the ability to communicate effectively through memos, reports or spoken word; and the ability to work as part of a team (Al-Jabri & Fraihat 2005, p. 73). The implication of the foregoing revelation on higher education institutions (HEIs) is that they (the institutions) would need to conduct an analysis of the job market or perform a job market forecasting in order to understand what skills the students need, and then incorporate them in their courses. For example, HEIs can choose to incorporate a communication course in every program of study. In Saudi Arabia, female candidates face employment restrictions, which are based on the guardianship system. In the system, women’s education, working outside their homes and even further education are only done with the express permission of a male guardian (Murphy 2011, p. 7). In other words, half of Saudi Arabia’s population (assuming women make half of the population) is considered as limited in its contribution to the workforce. In 2008 for example, Murphy (2011, p.7) indicates that 78 percent of women who had a bachelor’s degree in the kingdom were unemployed. While the details in the preceding paragraphs above provide a deeper understanding of Saudi Arabia’s situation in regard to development, education, and the knowledge society, it is still important to remember that the leaders of higher education institutes play a significant role in the process and their involvement can help greatly in improving such situations. But it must also be noted that leaders can only play a positive role in this process if they are empowered to bring about desired changes in the educational system (Pillay, 2004). The dilemmas that are faced by higher educational leaders in the professional context in the higher education institutes of Saudi Arabia, with reference of previous literature of various authors in the same subjects, shall be discussed in detail in this part of the paper. Furthermore, the strategies that are adopted by leaders to face and overcome these dilemmas effectively and work on their motive to improve the level of education in higher education institutes shall be reviewed. For this purpose, it is first essential to have an insight about the existing conditions of higher educational institutes in Saudi Arabia. 2. Higher educational institutes of Saudi Arabia In addition to free primary and secondary school education, higher education in Saudi Arabia is also offered by the government without any charges (Ramady 2010, p. 21). Most of the universities in the Middle East and Asia are making efforts to join ranks in some of the western standards. Such competitive industry is education sector of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has the largest market in the education sector among all the Gulf States and has been successful in attracting a large student base. Thus, most of the universities operating in kingdom are successful and aim to follow the benchmark standards set within the international industry (Al-Medlej, 1997). Yet, benchmarking the Saudi Universities against international standards is seen as problematic. Florida (2004, p. 31) and Araya (2010, p. 226) note that each education system needs to reflect and reinforce the requirements, values and priorities of the community it is targeting. Arguably, the demands of different societies across the world vary. By ‘aping’ the West, therefore, Saudi Arabia could be perceived to be neglecting the needs, priorities and values of the Saudi Arabian society. Notably, the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) (2010, p.12) in Saudi Arabia does not oppose the aping of western curricula even without any modifications. The ministry argues that such importation of curricula enable universities in the kingdom to benefit “from the experience of international universities” (MoHE 2010, p. 12). However, Hamdan (2013, p. 39) argues that failure to modify the curriculum to fit Saudi Arabian needs, values, and culture is a questionable trend. A major trend that has not changed despite replicating western curricula and adopting them for use in Saudi Arabian universities is the segregation of women (Hamdan 2013, p. 41). In most Saudi universities, women are not considered for high faculty positions. Additionally, and as is evident from the table below, private investors still invest more in male education than they do for females. Figure 1: Private universities Source: Hamdan (2013, p. 36). Probably, the tendency to respond to market needs (e.g. where the demand for more male graduates is higher compared to demand for female graduates) has led to the private sector investing more in male universities. Additionally, it is worth noting that the demand for western education standards could explain the development of private universities, which use western curricula and accreditation. Hamdan (2013, p. 41) argues that although superior in some areas, the western standards in higher education are clamoured for based on a colonial mentality that has led some stakeholders in Saudi Arabia’s education system to believe that the west is always better. According to Rees and Porter (2009) marketers in education segment are always able to selling their academic institutes Saudi academic sector has faced expansion in form of new universities- both private and public and research centres to face the rapid growing competition in different sectors of the kingdom. This rapid development in both economic and educational sector in Saudi Arabia has forced the academic institutions to adopt modem management techniques (Al- Karni 1999, KSA 2010) in order to ensure enhanced and effective outcomes. Despite of any sector, even in educational sector it is essential for organisations to be consumer oriented by focusing on consumer needs and demands. In Saudi Arabia, universities for females are separate from males and thus demand for separate and customised management of design. Saudi Arabia is one of the GCC countries that have faced rapid growth and development in most all the sector like education, technology, infrastructure etc. Development in educational sector is essential element for growth in economy and trade of Saudi Arabia. Reason behind ignorance is that separate academic institutes are not widely available globally, only few countries like Saudi Arabia have separate institutes for females and males (Wandi, Andrew and Baruch, 2007). Moreover, recent awareness and change in society of Saudi Arabia has resulted in huge demand for education among females thus increase in demand for separate institutes. Presently government is working towards the construction of better colleges and universities for females. Recently, greatest women’s university was inaugurated by King Abdullah named Nora Bint Abdurrahman University (PNU), project for five billion dollar and can cater up to 50000 female students. Moreover, growth in different sector of the economy demands for development and improvement of the structure that can compete at international level (Ikhfan, 2012). Many measures will help Saudi Arabia tackle cultural issues and provide growth prospects to Saudi citizen in best possible manner. There is demand for incorporation of better design management solutions in order to have enhanced, useful built design within universities (Hanan, 2010). References Al-Jabri, IM & Fraihat, HM 2005 , ‘Assessing skills and knowledge of IT professionals in Saudi Arabia’, Communications of the IIMA, vol. 5, no.3, pp. 63-76. Araya, D 2010, ‘Cultural democracy: universities in the creative economy’, Policy Future in Education, Vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 217-231. De Silva, S1997, Human resources development for competitiveness: a priority for employers. Paper Presented at the ILO Workshop on Employers’ organisations in Asia-Pacific in the Twenty-First Century, Turin, Italy, pp. 1-18. Florida, R 2004, ‘Creative class war’, Washington Monthly, vol. 36, no. 1/2, pp. 15-38. Hamdan, A 2013, An exploration into “private” higher education in Saudi Arabia: improving quality and accessibility’, ACPET Journal for Private Higher Education, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 33-44. Laal, M & Salamati, P 2012, ‘Lifelong learning: why do we need it?’ Procedia _ Social and Behavioural Sciences, vol. 31, pp. 399-403. Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) 2012, Ministry of Higher Education national report, Riyadh, pp. 1-74. Murphy, C 2011, ‘Saudi Arabia’s youth and the kingdom’s future’, Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars-Occasional Paper Series, no. 2, pp. 1-10. Pellegrino, J & Hilton, M 2012, Education for life and work: developing transferable knowledge and skills in the 21st century, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. Ramady, MA 2010, ‘Reforms and economic planning’, The Saudi Arabian Economy, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 15-42. Reich, R, 1991, The work of nations: preparing ourselves for 21st century capitalism, Alfred A. Knopf, New York. Slaughter, S & Rhoades, G 2004, Academic capitalism and the new economy: markets, state and higher education. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Westelius, NJ 2013, ‘External linkages and policy constraints in Saudi Arabia’, IMF Working Paper, WP/13/59, pp. 1-29. Read More