Qualitative Study of Distance Learning in Saudi Arabia Universities

Abstract

Saudi Arabian education system has aimed at joining the international trend in the move to distance-learning as the new educational process. This study aims at investigating the challenges and perspectives that are encountered by the Saudi Universities while implementing the distance-learning approach. The paper has included a background study on blended learning and how it has benefited learning in higher institutions. The paper has researched on the challenges and perspectives in distance-learning through data obtained from among the universities in Saudi Arabia.  Therefore, the case study was Qassim University. This paper has presented real reason which has led brought constraints of distance-learning in Saudi Arabian Universities.

 

 

Qualitative Study of Distance Learning in Saudi Arabia Universities

 Challenges and Perspectives

Background of the Study

Due to the penetration of computer networks, advanced technology and communication technology in many sectors, technology has made it easier in the implementation of most tasks in the current world (Alebaikan et al., 2010). E-learning has been considered to be one of the influences that technology has posed in higher education.  This is considered as a method of distance learning that is defined as a method that utilizes advanced technologies. This includes software, network, electronic library, and multimedia (Al-Asmari et al., 2014). This has been considered important in the delivery of information through the easiest way, and that has enabled save time and resources (Pavan,2013).  Due to speedy development in information technologies, the higher education has to be more responsive to rapid changes and dramatic developments in Saudi Arabian higher education ministry.

Distance-learning has introduced a new form of learning and getting knowledge shared around the world (Al-Fahad,2009). This has supported education to the people that live in the remote areas. To continue investing in their university studies.  This has been enabled through the application of computer networks that have facilitated distance-learning (Alhomod et al.,2013). This has also led to amazing prospects in most nations. Distance-learning has developed rapidly in the previous few years in KSA due to some reasons (Al-Furaydi,2013). It has enabled the universities to teach and train a scattered geographical workforce and has also increased their eligibility in skills and knowledge demand with greater efficiency with a reduced cost.

Introduction

There is an international move by the universities to grant learning environments that are important in the 21^st century. Universities have appreciated the significance of distance-learning as a new way of developing educational processes (Fleck,2012). The rapid developments have led to the Saudi Arabian Universities and Higher education to join the International trend. (Altameem,2013). The advantages of distance-learning were familiar by the Saudi Arabian Higher Education Ministry as a resolution to their lasting challenge in the provision of the education to the increasing population of students (Mirza et al., 201). This move was considered as an essential modification in the system of education in Saudi Arabia.

This study has therefore been conducted to investigate the challenges and perspective of qualitative distance learning in the Saudi Arabian Universities. The study will rely on information gathered from Qassim University. This will be the case of study in the research. The research will include a conceptual framework that will reveal the design in which the research will be carried and data collected and analyzed. A literature review will offer previous studies of the issues related to Saudi Arabian Universities and the distance learning. Qualitative research will be carried through a questionnaire-interview based study as the method of data collection. Therefore, the study has used a sample of 3 instructors from Qassim University.

Conceptual Framework

The impact measurement/ IS-Success framework was selected to take into consideration the four scopes of impact in IT models. In this case, the E-learning is considered as the model in the systems of IT.  The model is important and has been utilized in most of the IS research. As illustrated below the IS-success / measurement dimensions can be classified regarding; the system performance from a technical viewpoint, the quality of information, the individual and the organizational impact. In this case, the conceptual framework aims at the individual and organizational impact of the distance-learning systems to the students and the Universities of Saudi Arabia (Mirza,2007). This will, therefore, lay out the challenges and perspectives of distance learning in Saudi Arabia.

Research Objective

The main objective of this study is to comprehend the challenges and perspectives of distance learning and its future effect on Saudi Arabian Universities.  Also, the study also aims at identifying how the lecturers explore the distance-learning educational process.  Identification of challenges and perspectives of the distance-learning users through interviews and questionnaires will offer insight on how the lectures need to be supported to adopt the new learning environment.

Research Questions

-How do lectures perceive distance-learning in their classrooms?

-What are the concerns about distance-learning in Saudi Arabian Universities?

Literature Review

With the purpose of contributing to the focus of distance learning in the Saudi Arabia universities, the research evaluated and researched a sample of previous researches that were related to distance-learning. These researches were from Saudi Arabia and all over the world.

Moore Dickson-Deane and Galyen (2011) had set out to reveal if there was a difference between online learning and e-learning which were labeled as distance learning.  The authors defined e-learning as instructional materials and content that were delivered through the internet. This means therefore that the students receive instructional content from their professors through the internet such as the discussion boards, online lessons, and online exams. These are termed as the self-paced distance learning. This means that the students work on the course at their own pace without deadlines.

Reem Alabamian; Salah Troudi, (2010) have concluded the long studies and researchers that have been conducted in the evaluation of educator and learner perceptions of e-learning.  They have conducted studies on internet use both to the university students and the lecturers in Saudi Arabia. They found that it is necessary to train the instructors in the eLearning to increase their knowledge on integration with the internet and e-learning. The instructors also contributed that the idea of distance-learning would be effective and improve the teaching and curricular methods (Ushioda, 2013). This, therefore, means that e-learning would supplement the learning methods rather than replacing them. It was also found that there were various challenges that Saudi Arabia is facing in the implementation of e-learning (Ibrahim et al., 2007). These challenges were seen to have occurred form the general perceptions of the instructors and the learners due to the existing learning methods in that time. Other studies have included the Saudi Arabia instructor’s perceptions on e-learning.

Al-Furaydi (2013) researched by selecting randomly 71 teachers from public and private intermediate schools. The researcher was concern about how the teachers felt about the administration of the e-learning in their school. The finding was that the teachers were positive about the e-learning and that they supported the e-learning system as a way of motivating their students (Alkhattabi et al., 2010). They looked at distance-learning as a substitute to web-based learning. They were concerned with the reliability of internet that was poor and lack of time in learning how to conduct the e-learning with their students.

Methods of Data Collection

Qualitative study

The study has utilized qualitative research study which is richer and has closer perception into the question under study (Maxwell,2008). It creates openness through allowing people to voice their feelings and responses. It has an increased greater stretch onto the research and offers refined details on the problem outlined for research.

Interview-Questionnaire Based Study

The method of data collection involved qualitative methods of data collection which were based on the questionnaire and interview-based study. In this case, the researcher was able to sample some individuals at the University of Qassim. This includes 3 instructors from the University. The instructors were informed about the research and the purpose of the interview in order to acquire information willingly. They were also assured about their confidentiality in the information they provided to the researcher.

Questionnaire

The questionnaire method was involved because it was efficient and quick in obtaining data from large amounts of people. The questionnaire was important as a method of the collection because it was able to reveal what the survey looked like. The questions were in an open-ended format that would have allowed the instructors to voice their notions and feelings freely.  These questions were important in giving the respondent the chance to express their feelings in what they felt is right or wrong.  This was a relevant method of drawing out accurate information and feedback as well as suggestions from the respondents. This method was efficient to the researcher because the answers were relatively easy to analyze. This method is conversant to most of the respondents and therefore is simple and quick for them to respond.

Interview

Interviews are important for educational studies to acquire an opportunity for enabling the researcher to have a detailed investigation of the instructor’s perspectives.  (AlMegren et al., 2013). An interview can give the researcher a clear direction of the points of the interviewee. This is because the interviewee can give their interpretations of their view. An interview was used in this research as a way of obtaining detailed information about this topic. The interview was carried in such a way that each interviewee was able to give their descriptions with more devoted time and willingness to do so.

Interviews were carried out in an informal and convenient atmosphere in the campus. They were carried out inside enclosed rooms in the university premises. They were offered refreshments to continuously engage them in the interview.  A digital recorder was used to capture data accurately and enhance the focus of the interviewee on the interview.

The main method of collection of data through interview was a semi-structured in-depth interview that enabled them to give the exploration of the participants in their perceptions about e-learning. The interview included six questions that were clear to the interviewee about the concept of distance-learning and lasted for about an hour. The interviews for the lectures were carried out to enhance understanding about their views on distance-learning and the challenge that they face during implementation of distance-learning in Universities.

Findings/Results

Instructors’ Perceptions

A large quantity of data was collected from the students and lectures used in the collection of data. Data obtained was classified into three categories which included, the advantages of distance-learning, the challenges of e-learning and understanding in distance-learning (Aljabre,2012). The following is presentation of the results and findings after collection of data.

Category	Challenges	Understanding	advantages
Lectures	70%	60%	60%

 

Challenges in distance learning in Saudi Arabia

Category	Internet availability	Students skills	Online discussion	E-plagiarism	Students’ performance	Online activities
Lecturers	Agree	Agree	Agree	Agree	Disagree	Agree

 

Analysis

According to CITC, Saudi Arabia has the fastest growing country regarding distance-learning (Khan et al.,2001). The number of lecturers that have been enrolled has increased dramatically in the current years. The lectures perceptions have been presented in two sections in the findings.

lectures perceptions on distance-learning

The instructors expressed satisfaction and expressed positive perceptions about distance-learning experiences.  The instructors expressed satisfaction in availability and flexibility because they consider that distance-learning has eliminated barricades of space and time. The instructors have been able to post their lecture notes, give assignments and course announcements through distance. According to them, this has reduced time spent in classrooms (Ali et al.,2003). They also argued that content they provided online was more advantageous compared to the learning method used before. A number of the lecturers that participated in the research, 86% of them have acknowledged the positive effect of the distance learning in the universities (Moore et al.,2011). They expressed satisfaction and positive impression. They appreciated the pedagogy, flexibility and technical skills improvements in distance learning. They described it as a suitable method of learning in Saudi Arabia.

They argued that the distance learning can influence the appreciation of the society in engaging in learning technologies. This is because the students can improve and become more efficient regarding computer literacy. The findings have revealed that distance learning flexibility is advantageous to the lectures. This is because they have revealed that it is a valuable approach that has promoted flexibility and sufficient guidance in distance learning as compared to the traditional methods of learning.

Challenges of Distance-Learning

One major challenge that the lectures claim is difficult is the implementation of the distance learning.  This is because of the traditional university culture (Hamdan,2014). These issues will be related to the adoption of technology use in education, managerial and organizational support (Arkorful et al., 2015). It is a difficult strategy for the universities to enforce the establishment of new strategies in the education system when they have been used to the traditional methods.

The time required for the application of the distance learning will increase because the instructors have to develop a digital content that will require the instructors more time than developing the traditional materials for the courses (Bates, 2009). They will require more time to ensure that they develop quality information with the new techniques and skills to interact fully with the students.

Internet availability at home has been considered as a major challenge due to the shortage of internet labs hence causing unacceptable grades in distance learning (Mirza,2007). The shortage of internet affects the peers that are not capable of gaining internet access while at home. Some students have been faced with challenges related to their computer knowledge. Due to lack of computer skills, they have had negative perceptions about the use of distance learning (Asiri,2012). This is because they have poor performance on the courses and spend a lot of time trying to browse the internet. According to the instructors, students have lacked digital materials that enable their participation in the discussion topics online (Alebaikan et al., 2010). The study has demonstrated that some students have failed to understand the e-plagiarism in cases that they have been offered with rich resources that they can easily copy. It is also evident that some of the organizations  do not acknowledge e-learning degrees hence less opportunities to the students that pursue distance learning courses.

Limitations

Due to distance learning in the universities, there has been reduced time for face-to-face interaction. Moreover, it has been a challenge to acquire detailed information form participants. Most of the students did not express opinions and feelings freely.  This was due to the education system in Saudi that does not allow the students the chance to express opinions and feelings. This has affected the qualitative research that has rarely been used in the Arabic educational studies.

Conclusions

This study asserts that distance learning could grant excellent experience learning to the students in Saudi Arabia.  The instructors have expressed positive attitudes and impressions towards distance learning. However, distance learning has been faced with some challenges that require being looked into to blend successful factors of distance learning. This study has utilized instructors from Qassim University who have facilitated in understanding of distance learning in the universities. This study has shown the perceptions of the lectures and has also shown the challenges of distance learning in Saudi Arabia. This, therefore, has contributed to the relevance of this research paper for future research.

 

 

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