How Have Policy Makers Responded to the Current State of ICT in Schools in Saudi Arabia? A Qualitative Investigation

Abdulwahab Alharbi

2017

Abstract

Previous research into Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Saudi schools has not considered the role of the Ministry of Education or the Education Authority (EA). As a researcher, I decided to study their role in an attempt to understand the current state of ICT in Saudi schools from the perspectives of policy makers from both bodies. The aim of the study resulted in the generation of the following research question: What are the policy makers’ views about the current state of ICT in education in Saudi Arabia? As this research aims to discover and understand the current state of ICT in schools from the views and perspectives of policy makers, a qualitative methodology has been employed and interviews were used to collect the data. In total, five policy makers from both the Ministry of Education in KSA and the local education authority in Ar-Rass city participated. The findings show that the Ministry of Education and the education authority are significant factors in the failure of ICT in schools. The study concludes that, in order to handle issues that affect the successful use of ICT in education, departments of education need to develop their policies, strategies, plans and frameworks.

References

  1. Al Mulhim, E. 2014. The Barriers to the Use of ICT in Teaching in Saudi Arabia: A Review of Literature. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 2 (6), pp. 487-493.
  2. Albugami, S., and Ahmed, V. 2015. Success factors for ICT implementation in Saudi secondary schools: From the perspective of ICT directors, head teachers, teachers and Students. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology, 11 (1), pp. 36-54.
  3. Alenezi. A. 2015. Influences of the Mandated Presence of ICT in Saudi Arabia Secondary Schools. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 5 (8), pp. 638-644.
  4. Alissa, A. (2009). Educational reform in Saudi Arabia. Beirut: Dar al-saqi publishing.
  5. Almalki, G., Finger, G., and Zagami, J. 2013. Introducing SMART Table Technology in Saudi Arabia Education System. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 4 (2), pp. 46-52.
  6. Alsulaimani, A. (2012). What Impedes Saudi Science Teachers from Using ICT? Journal of Education and Practice, 3 (12), pp. 146-155.
  7. Amoudi1, K., and Sulaymani, O. 2014. The integration of educational technology in girls' classrooms in Saudi Arabia. European Journal of Training and Development Studies, 1 (2), pp.14-19.
  8. Bhagwati, J. (2004). In defense of globalization. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  9. Jaiya, A. 2015. ICT and teachers education. Golden Research Thoughts, 4 (12), pp. 1-8.
  10. Koehler, M., & Mishra, P. 2009. What is technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9 (1), pp. 60-70.
  11. Kozma, R. 2005. National policies that connect ICT- based education reform to economic and social development. An Interdisciplinary Journal on Humans in ICT Environments, 1 (2), pp. 117-156.
  12. Sachs, J. (2005). The end of poverty: Economic possibilities of our time. New York: Penguin Press.
  13. Salem, A. (2004). Educational technology and e-learning. Riyadh: Alrushd Publication.
  14. Soros, G. (2002). On globalization. New York: Public Affairs.
  15. Stiglitz, J. (2002). Globalization and its discontents. New York: Norton.
  16. The World Bank. (2015). Education overview. Available at: http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/pubdocs/publicdoc/2015 /9/53191442946249039/Education-OverviewSEP22.pdf [Accessed 13 May 2016].
  17. UNESCO. (2005). Teacher involvement in educational change. PRELAC Journal.
Download


Paper Citation


in Harvard Style

Alharbi A. (2017). How Have Policy Makers Responded to the Current State of ICT in Schools in Saudi Arabia? A Qualitative Investigation . In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU, ISBN 978-989-758-239-4, pages 537-542. DOI: 10.5220/0006376405370542


in Bibtex Style

@conference{csedu17,
author={Abdulwahab Alharbi},
title={How Have Policy Makers Responded to the Current State of ICT in Schools in Saudi Arabia? A Qualitative Investigation},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU,},
year={2017},
pages={537-542},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0006376405370542},
isbn={978-989-758-239-4},
}


in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU,
TI - How Have Policy Makers Responded to the Current State of ICT in Schools in Saudi Arabia? A Qualitative Investigation
SN - 978-989-758-239-4
AU - Alharbi A.
PY - 2017
SP - 537
EP - 542
DO - 10.5220/0006376405370542