Literature Review
Acquiring education has become more of a basic need than just a stage that one has to pass through while growing. The value of education can never be overemphasized as it literary affects all the faculties of life. To bring out this fact, the definition of education needs to be examined critically. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, education is portrayed to have many meanings but the following are particularly of significance in the context of this paper: “the action or process of educating or being educated; also: a stage of such a process” (Merriam Webster dictionary, 2011, p. 1), and the second definition, “the knowledge and development resulting from an educational process” (Merriam Webster dictionary, 2011, p. 1). This article is a review of literature on education among Saudi females and therefore the above definition brings out the significance of examining Saudi females in the context of acquiring education.
Education literature affects all areas of life; it is a development of the mind. It can be argued that it prepares the mind for the world. It can also be referred to as the tool of survival in this world that is continuously growing competitive where staying ignorant is costly than being educated. Education enables one to acquire information and truly information is power. Information is more enriching than any other treasure and with this background of knowledge on the significance of education that this paper reviews literature on Saudi female education. In this review, several issues are examined from a neutral point, and ample evidence is given to back up the information.
This review will make a concerted effort to delve deep into the background, current, and future state of education in Saudi Arabia in the light of girls’ education. The review will examine in detail the background to female education, the challenges that females have had to confront in pursuing education, the present status, and the way forward for Saudi females.
Background Information
An examination of the history of the female educational system in Saudi Arabia is significant in bringing out the current status of the education system. Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932. The ministry of education in Saudi Arabia was established in 1952. At this time both boys and girls were allowed to study through three options made available: “general education for boys, education for girls and traditional Islamic education (for boys)” (Sedgwick, 2001, p. 1). Both boys and girls were allowed to learn and follow the same curriculum and sat for the same examinations. The only difference was that education for girls was under the jurisdiction of the General Presidency for Girls’ Education. The ministry of education was in charge of the boys’ education (Wilson & Graham, 1994). The placing of girl education under the jurisdiction of the General Presidency for Girls’ Education might seem to be contradictory and probably trigger discrimination alarms. The fact is that Saudi Arabia is an Islamic nation and there is a need for the girl child to be educated by Islamic values. Women have been given enough space to pursue education: it is noted that between 1970 and 1982 there were 11 colleges established exclusively for women to pursue bachelor’s degrees. Some of the colleges have capacities to offer master’s degrees in “education, science, humanities, and social work” (Sedgwick, 2001, p. 1). One of the colleges offers a doctorate in education (Sedgwick, 2001). The charts below show the progress of girls’ education in Saudi Arabia.
As of 2003, Saudi Arabia had the lowest literacy rate (62%) among the Gulf nations. The literacy rate of men and women was 72% and 50% respectively. Taking into consideration the rates of literacy of men and women (15% and 2% respectively) in 1970, it is clear that the literacy levels have continuously been rising. It is expected that by 2015 the rates will be much higher if the trends are to be followed (Hamdan, 2005).
It is observed that the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia in 1930 made it possible for schools to be set up as funds were made available. The discovery of oil in the nation is particularly associated with much of the changes associated with women and education. Of great impact was the establishment of the ARAMCO (Arabian American Oil Company) which brought many American families working with the companies to Saudi Arabia; this was in the 1970s. Schools had to be built to educate the children of ARAMCO employees. The American Iraq war is also viewed to have made some significant impact on the way education (for women) was viewed in Saudi Arabia. It was until recently that Saudi Arabia started tolerating to some extent women driving cars. But during the American Iraq war, American servicewomen were seen driving cars in Riyadh and Dammam. Saudi Arabia Women were observing all these and the Saudi Arabia society was probably being softened towards the idea of educating women freely (Hamdan, 2005).
The effect of placing the girl’s education under the jurisdiction of the General Presidency for Girls’ Education can be said to have altered the way girls and women in general viewed education. Hamdan (2005) claimed that girl’s education was to be monitored to:
Ensure that women’s education did not deviate from the original purpose of female education, which was to make women good wives and mothers, and to prepare them for ‘acceptable’ jobs such as teaching and nursing that were believed to suit their nature. The General Presidency for Girls Education, which has not enjoyed the same prestige as the ministry of education, was heavily influenced by religious conservative scholars. (Hamdan, 2005, p. 44)
In 2002, the Ministry of Education and the General Presidency for Girls’ Education were merged.
Challenges Confronted
The kind of information that one is exposed to determines the ability of such a person. As much as the education system was established in the early 1950s, it can be argued that it has been more of a psychological conditioning kind of education for females. Psychological conditioning can be defined as “a process of behavior modification in which a subject is encouraged to behave in a desired manner through positive or negative reinforcement so that the subject comes to associate the pleasure or displeasure of the reinforcement with the behavior” (Farlex, 2011, p. 1). The conditioning of girl child education to fit some set measures can be said to be one of the biggest challenges. Hamdan (2005) noted that girls’ education was strictly streamlined to educate girls into being “good mothers, nurses or teachers” (p. 44). This was the aim of the General Presidency for Girls Education and thus girls who went through the education system became mothers primarily and either teachers or nurses. Technically, by not being empowered education-wise, they were barred from the pursuit of other areas of interest. The effect of this kind of conditioning will likely lead to the following three effects:
- Negative perception towards education
- Lack of confidence in oneself
- Lack of role models in education
Negative Perception towards Education
Though there is a clear indication that the government is willing to support girls’ education, there are too many indicators that the efforts put in are too little to create any difference, and if anything they just elicit negative perception toward girl education (Budhwar & Mellahi, n.d.). It is recognized that despite the law making it clear that women and men are entitled to fair treatment just like men, it is not practical. This has been due to the societal system as AlMunajjed (n.d.) described:
A mixture of local norms and traditions, social beliefs, and principles emanating from the patriarchal system stand in the way, exerting a considerable influence on women’s lives and limiting their opportunity to acquire or complete their education; they are linked to gender discrepancies, i.e., the traditional roles of men and women in society, which often favor boys over girls (AlMunajjed, n.d., p. 9).
The net effect that this kind of treatment has on the girls and women, in general, is the creation of negative perception towards education. It stands out clearly to women that even with education, there is not much that can be changed about their position in society.
Lack of Self Confidence
Early marriages are still practiced in Saudi Arabia whereby young girls are married off to older men. This can be viewed as an act that degrades their self-image and reduces their self-confidence. Such early marriages bar young girls from pursuing education (AlMunajjed, n.d.).
The system of educating boys and girls differently also contributes to degrading the self-confidence of girls. This is because by all measures the system that boys go through is better as compared to the one that girls are taken through. There have been complaints aired concerning the resources allocated to girl education; the resources are said to be less by far compared to those allocated to boy education. Members of the teaching staff that is posted to the boy’s schools are of higher qualifications as compared to those posted to the girl’s schools. This is outright discrimination and a clear indication that females are not worth investing in. This critically examined is a degradation of the female dignity which in the long run erodes the self-confidence of females (Jerichow, 1998).
Physical education is not allowed in girls’ schools. Physical exercises are very important for the better development of the physical body and the mind. Cases of girls growing obese and suffering from osteoporosis are growing. Taking into consideration that most of the girls are usually in their teen years, growing obese can pose psychological torture to them and consequently make them lose their self-confidence.
Lack of Role Models in Education
Due to the nature of education in Saudi Arabia, it is very hard for a female student to excel in education. This implies that girls who would wish to look up to role models in education may not have one to imitate. This can be quite discouraging as role models from other countries can not be admired by the Saudi girls because they do not incur similar challenges as those incurred by female students in Saudi Arabia (AlMunajjed, n.d.).
Present Status
Higher Education and Female Students
For several years Saudi women have been marginalized and it was their legal guardians mainly their husbands and fathers who could define the destiny of Saudi women. Behind all these denials of liberties, there are huge strides that have been made in the field of higher education. There has been growing access for women into higher institutions of learning and particularly universities. This has been dubbed as a monumental step that could lay the foundation for the rights of women and their future empowerment especially in accessing employment. It is considered that any effort to emancipate and to empower the Saudi woman should be focused on education (Ramady, 2010).
There have been women education in Saudi Arabia since 1960 but the efforts of King Abdullah has further extended the education system for women and his reign has been considered a golden era for women higher education; the King made women higher education his top priority in 2005 that the education of Saudi woman is his important objective. The efforts of the king are paying off, currently, women account for 58 percent of all the university students in Saudi Arabia and the rate is expected to rise (Elliott, 2008). Consequently, to ensure that women access higher education from tertiary to the university, he has constructed at least 300 colleges for women, these efforts have been recognized by the international community and currently, Saudi Arabia ranks 25th in the world in the population of women enrolled in universities and Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman University is the world’s number one women-only institution and it accommodates approximately 50,000 female students (World Policy, 2011).
Since Saudi Arabia is a religiously conservative country; the enhancement of women’s access to higher education has raised a lot of tension between the government and the Wahhabi religious establishment, particularly regarding gender-integrated classes. Despite the expanded opportunities for higher education for women, they still have to seek legal permission from their fathers or their husbands. Consequently, there are some courses that women are not allowed to undertake like engineering, construction, and aviation. Women are only allowed to study law at the undergraduate level but they are not allowed to practice it. There are some cases also where women are not allowed to study, programs like general surgery, orthopedic surgery, and pediatrics, this has been witnessed in King Fahd Teaching Hospital in Al-Khobar where females are not admitted to these programs (World Policy, 2011).
Females Participation in Distance Education
Distance education has been necessitated by the increased demand for education, the presence of a modern advanced system of telecommunication and information technology, and the need to minimize costs in achieving an education. The decentralization of education to reach a critical mass of the population and the need to ensure education for all has been applied in Saudi Arabia to target the women population in particular those who have been marginalized. Distance education is gaining prominence in Saudi Arabia. This has been made possible by the good distribution of the student population. Distance education in Saudi Arabia is only applied due to gender segregation in tertiary education where male lecturers are not allowed to teach female students and they can only teach them by use of Closed Circuit Television, one-way video, and two-way audio broadcast.
Higher education has been used to enhance women’s access to education and to increase their opportunities. This has been realized by the use of VSAT broadcasting technology and the internet. In girls’ colleges, for example, which operated under General Presidency for Girls Education, a subsidiary of the Ministry of education has been elevated to Princess Noura University and had its lectures transmitted from Riyadh to all-female student institutions in the kingdom. The lectures and tutorials are made available through DVDs and video streaming (Al-Khalifa, 2009).
Technology learning on females’ public school
Technology-aided learning in Saudi Arabia has been applied as a motivation to utilize computer abilities in various education domains and to promote the activities of the learners. This system has been dubbed e-learning. In this system, education content is delivered by the use of television, Videotape, CD-ROM, and computer-based training. E-Learning in higher education was launched by GOTEVOT, which is the official government authority in charge of technical and vocational training. The ministry of education recognizes E-learning in learning institutions to address the issue of the shortage of female lecturers in gender-segregated institutions.
Way Forward
Distance Education Barriers
The barriers facing students pursuing distance education fall in the following categories: costs and motivators, feedback and the teacher contact, students support services, alienation, isolation, and training.
Cost and Motivators
Distant learning students have a lot of insecurities regarding their learning. They are afraid of the disruption of family life and perceived irrelevance of their studies and limited support from their employers.
Lack of Feedback or Response from the Teachers
Students do not have contact with their teachers hence leading to self-evaluation trouble. This may lead to a risk of limited academic and social integration into a complete institutional life.
Alienation and Isolation Problem
There is also a feeling of alienation and isolation by the students and they will lack the feeling that they are part of an education system. Consequently, distance education will take away the normal social interactions which are associated with the traditional learning environment.
Comprehensive Training
There is also the problem of lack of maximum training particularly with regards to technical training. There may be some cases where the majority of the students are well conversant with technological issues like the use of computers and the internet. Using technology has the risk of excluding some students who lack computer skills (Galusha, 2008).
Saudi Women Scholars
There are very few Saudi women scholars. This has been probably due to the kind of societal conditioning towards women’s education. As noted above, there are too many factors that inhibit the pursuit of education by Saudi women.
There is a need to encourage the few Saudi women scholars to speak up. It has been a challenge to get the Saudi women scholars to speak up in public forums where they can be reached by those seeking inspiration. There is a need to encourage more women to participate in the job market where they can showcase their talents and abilities. This will enable them to come out clearly and be icons for young Saudi girls who might be eager to pursue educations to higher levels (Sidiya, 2010).
The launch of inspirational dialogue forums like the one in Jeddah is quite significant. Such inspirational talks will encourage young Saudi girls to brave the education system and come out successfully (Sabbagh, 1996). Such inspirational dialogue should be hosting successful women in entrepreneurship, artists, and academic scholars. The Jeddah program was initiated by Unilever as part of its corporate social responsibility to create role models for young Saudi women and to achieve positive contributions from women (Banga, 2011).
Conclusion
The education of females in Saudi has empowered women in the society and helped reduce the gender gap; the greatest impediment to the education of females is the primitive social norms and traditions that have served to prevent the empowerment of girls and women and have remained the main constraint to the access to opportunities by women. This has prompted the government to reform the education system to address the challenges. This has been realized through the development of educational infrastructures like schools for women and distance education to enable rural women to access education opportunities. The King has particularly played a huge role in furthering education for women. From 11 colleges in the 1970s, the number of women colleges have drastically increased to 300. There is a need for more efforts to be channeled towards ensuring that the girl child has equal chances to education as the male child. Early marrying off of young girls should be discouraged.
References
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