The Difficulties Faced by Teachers in High School in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example

DIFFICULTIES FACED BY TEACHERS IN HIGH SCHOOL IN SAUDI ARABIA Name Professor Course Date THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY TEACHERS IN HIGH SCHOOL IN SAUDI ARABIA Introduction This paper provides an analysis of the difficulties that high school teachers face in their practice. It aims at looking at challenges they face in handling high school students in Saudi Arabia. The causes of these challenges are many and this paper seeks to look at all of them. However, the main cause of these difficulties is the relationship between theory and practice of teaching in these high schools (Alharbi 2008). The paper will look at all these challenges that teachers face as they deal with adult education in this country. Teachers here face so many difficulties because this is a very crucial stage in the growth and development of the students and they have to find ways of dealing with them. It shall look at adult education in details and what it entails basing on the teaching bit of it. Teachers in this country are facing difficulties as they handle adult education in high schools because of some factors that are shown below in details. We shall also look at the difficulties that teachers are facing and their causes in terms of the theory taught and the practical bit of teaching. The paper will discuss in details adult learning and education in schools and how teachers in this area deal with it. There are different areas in adult education and each area has its own difficulties and challenges that both teachers and students face (Alharbi 2008). However, the aim of this paper is to look at the challenges that teachers face in this area and specifically in Saudi Arabia. There are also tensions existing between the purpose of this adult education and the reality of it in terms of the real practice far from the theory bit of it. This paper will look at all this and provide some possible solutions to it. Adult education Adult education entails teaching adults in schools and making sure that they all get education after a certain period of years. It does not involve teaching skills for the workforce but involves equipping the learners with basic education in high schools. It is a challenge for teachers who teach adults because of the many difficulties that they experience. This is all about making people literate and letting people learn and achieve their goals in terms of fulfilling themselves personally. The commencement of adult education in Saudi Arabia was in 1960 by the government to ensure that education reaches to all its citizens. Education programs were set to ensure that literacy spread to all adults in the country (Alharbi 2008). There was also training of teachers who would teach all adults these programs. This initiative by the government led to an increase in the literacy levels in the country because education among the adults spread all over the country. There exists a difference between adult education and education among children. Teaching adults is different from teaching children because of the skills that teachers need to handle the two groups. The method of teaching adults is different from the methods that teachers use in teaching children (Sun & Carter 2006). For instance, teaching computer studies in adults require more than teaching the same in children. This is because there is a common believe that the minds of adults are older hence; difficulty in understanding lessons. This calls for more efforts by the teachers in this area so that the adults get the necessary knowledge. Relationship between theory and practice of adult education There is a rather contrasting relationship between theory and practice for adult education because teaching in reality differs from the theory put in place for it. This is to mean that the guidelines given to teachers on how to teach adults are different from the real teaching (Mezirow & Taylor 2009). The theory that teachers are given does not entail everything that they will face in reality when teaching them. This raises the concern of many people because they argue that teachers do not have all the necessary training on how to handle adult education in the classroom level. Therefore, the training and theory is deemed not completely helpful. The theory is seen not to equip teachers with skills on how to handle adult education in schools especially on the part of how to deal with the difficulties and challenges that will encounter in teaching adults. This has left many teachers helpless when they encounter some of these difficulties in their teaching profession (Mertens & Wilson 2012). This weakness in the theory of adult education leaves teachers with the option of seeking their own solutions to the difficulties. The theory does not contain some of the solutions that they find hence; tend to contrast each other. There is the requirement for teachers to follow the theory and guidelines given to them during their training on how to handle adult education. For instance, the teacher is given a certain duration of time to cover the syllabus in the adult education. Teachers end up finding the time given not enough for covering the syllabus because they have to move at a slow pace when teaching the adults. This is because adults do not get concepts easily and fast like other younger students because of their age. The methods that theory gives to teachers are different from the practical bit of teaching. For instance, the theory may state that teachers should teach a certain topic in the classroom but in practice the adults need to take experiments on the topic in order to understand. Therefore, the teacher finds it best to have practical lessons for the adults to understand the topic best than to have theoretical lectures (Mertens & Wilson 2012). Therefore, teachers find themselves practicing some teaching skills that are not in the theory and guidelines given. Difficulties teachers face in adult education in Saudi Arabia There are many difficulties that teachers face in the adult education. This is because of the many complexities that adult education comes along with and teachers have to face them. Teaching high schools in Saudi Arabia poses a challenge for teachers, especially where they have to handle adults (Campbell & Burnaby 2001). This is because special attention has to be given to adults when teaching them. For instance, when it comes to new concepts like technology proper teaching is needed. Below are some of the many challenges they face as they teach adults in schools. In Saudi Arabia education among adults is not very popular. Therefore, very few adults go back to school to attain some education on basic things. They do not embrace education for the adults with much importance because they do not find its value. Therefore, teachers who handle adult education have the difficult of teaching them because some of the adults never find education at their age of any importance (Minton 2005). This means that they do not have the motivation to learn so it seems like teachers are forcing education into them. This is a very big challenge for teachers in Saudi Arabia because people in this area do not value adult education so much. It is only in the recent years that they have begun valuing education among the young people. They view education for the old not very important. Teachers in this area lack motivation to teach adults because they do not have the will to learn. Another difficult for teachers teaching adult education in this country is language barrier and communication. The old people are not very familiar with languages that are taught in school so teachers have to find alternative languages to teach with. This calls for the teachers in such areas to look for translators who can help them in teaching the adults. Adults in this country are not familiar with English as a language hence; the difficulty in teaching them. Teachers in this case have to get language translators to help them in the teaching so that there is proper communication between the teacher and the students. Sometimes it also demands that they learn the language that the adults are familiar with so that it becomes essay for them to teach (Campbell & Burnaby 2001). This is difficult for the teachers because the adults first have to learn a common language like English so that they are taught other subjects. Adults have to first to learn English so that they can be taught any other subject in schools. This poses a challenge to the teachers because the whole exercise is tiresome and time consuming. It means that they are not able to the cover the syllabus in due time as per the requirements of the curriculum. Religion and traditions is also another challenge for teachers teaching adults in this country. This is because they have to use the Quran as they teach the old people. It means that they have to incorporate the Quran in their lessons (Minton 2005). It is difficult especially for the teachers who are not familiar with this Holy book. That means that teachers have to first learn this book so that they teach the adults. This is a difficulty for teachers who are in the country are not familiar with the book and their norms and cultures. Cultures in Saudi Arabia do not encourage female leadership which poses a challenge to the teachers especially the female ones. Female teachers sometimes find it difficult to teach the adult students, especially the male students because of their cultures (Minton 2005). They feel that a female teacher cannot lead them by teaching them because of the culture that demands that a female cannot know more than the male gender. That leads to a negative attitude towards the teacher because at times they cannot pay attention to lessons because they have that attitude of feminism in them. Female adult students in this area are also not into education so much like the male students because of their cultures. Therefore, there are very few adult students who are of the female gender. It is not encouraging especially to the few adult students who are learning because they do not get the motivation to get education. In this country, they do not value education for women because their culture shows that women have other duties to perform other than being in class (Minton 2005). Teachers find it a challenge encouraging them to learn but they give up somewhere on the way. This is a discouraging trend for teachers because they do not get the attention of the importance of education for the female gender. Some social factors in this country also pose a challenge for teachers as they teach adult in high schools. Some of these factors include the spread of HIV and other diseases in the country among the adults. These diseases have led to a reduction of the population among the adults who should be in the classroom for education (Campbell & Burnaby 2001). This demoralizes teachers in this country because the population keeps on reducing due to the high death rates among this age bracket hence; few adults can attend classes. These diseases are also a challenge to teachers because they have to introduce lessons to teach them on how to reduce and avoid them. Teachers in this country have an extra responsibility of ensuring that the adults get the relevant knowledge concerning these diseases including how to avoid contracting the disease. They also have to make them aware of the dangers of the diseases and how to deal with them in case they contract them. The challenge for these teachers arises when creating awareness to them because they are arrogant about the diseases and have their own believes on them. For instance, they have believes about HIV/ AIDS that its causes are from witchcraft powers or it is as a result of curses. It becomes difficult for teachers here to remove that mentality from the adults, especially because they are old and follow traditions more than the younger generation (Minton 2005). These believe is a challenge to the teachers because they have to struggle and they proving to the adult students that there are causes of this diseases and not curses of witchcraft. Frustrations among adults is a difficult that teachers face. Frustration here means that adults are so cautious about some aspects in their learning environment. This is an aspect in adults that is not so common in children hence; teachers in this area have to know how to deal with frustrations in adults (Campbell & Burnaby 2001). For instance, they are very cautious of how they pronounce their words especially in language classes. If they find that they do not pronounce correctly, they feel shame hence; low esteem. This is because they feel that they are not the best. Teachers who handle adults have to learn how to keep on motivating them so that they understand that it is a learning process. Adults tend to get frustrations if they keep on making trials in their school work but they are still not making any progress. Their patience is not like that of younger people. Adult students become hard on themselves such that they expect so much from themselves because they feel that they should do so much (Campbell & Burnaby 2001). This ends up causing frustration because they might not meet all these expectations from themselves. These frustrations may cause several drop outs among adults because they feel that they cannot make it to learn any concept in the classroom. This is a challenge to the teachers because they have to deal with some of them who already have frustrations, which is a difficult to them. Lack of enough time among adults is another difficult teacher are facing while handling adult education in schools. Adult students have other commitments other than school work hence; get little time for their class work. Some of the adult students have other responsibilities to take care of like family matters (Minton 2005). It is important to note that these other matters are equally important but they hinder them from attending some lessons. It poses as a difficult time for the teachers because they have to move at a slow pace, yet they have little time to do this. They also have to complete the syllabus within the given time. Most adult students fail to attend classes hence; difficulties for the teacher to complete the syllabus. Lack of time also means that it is difficult for teachers to assign them homework because they might end up not doing them due to the many other responsibilities that wait them. This is unlike teaching in younger education that has so much free time hence; teachers here can assign them homework. This helps teachers to make their work easy and fast in terms of completing their syllabus in the duration given by the curriculum. Another difficult that a teacher in adult education face is the introduction of new technology to the adult students. This is difficult to teachers because they have to tech them how to use technology, which is not an easy task. This is because most of the adult students have not been using technology unlike the young students who have grown up with technology. This becomes easy to teach the young because they are familiar with some of the terms that are in use by technology (Campbell & Burnaby 2001). This is different for the adults because the terms in use are unfamiliar to them hence; need a lot of time and effort to teach them. Adults also sometimes view learning technology not a necessity and that they can do without it, therefore become arrogant towards learning. Intimidation by technology among the adults causes difficulties in teaching them because they feel that they cannot get the concept being taught by the teachers on technology (Minton 2005). They also view technology to be too complex for them hence; a challenge for the teachers as they teach on them on that area. This calls for teachers to handle them with care and try educating and encouraging them to learn. The teacher also has to use materials that are not too complex for them so that they find technology easy and interesting to learn. Inferiority complex among the adult students poses a difficult for teachers as they teach them. This is because they feel intimidation for being in the classroom environment at an old age, which discourages both the students and the teacher. It makes the teacher feel unmotivated to teach them because they lack the morale in them (Campbell & Burnaby 2001). They also feel inferior because most of the times the teachers are far much younger than them, therefore, the feeling of being out of place. They also feel inferior because they do not that knowledge, especially when they are going back to school after a long time like 10 years. Some possible solutions There are some solutions that teachers could adopt to solve the difficulties of adult education above. Teachers would apply these solutions so that they curb the difficulties they face in teaching adults. Some of these solutions include conducting lessons and lectures when it is appropriate for the adults rather than for the teacher (Hiller 2005). Teachers should consider the time that they hold classes for the adults. This is because of the life problems that they face. They should consult with the students the most appropriate time for lectures so that they ensure there is total concentration among the adults. Another solution would be teachers using appropriate styles to teach the adults. For instance, the teacher would use such styles as using presentations that are attractive and interesting to the adults so that they understand best. The teacher could also post his lessons in an online account where the students will get the information about his lessons. This helps those students who did not attend the class to get the notes or those who did not understand to read more. This also saves on time because students can get notes online instead of copying them while in class. To enhance the understanding of adults in class, teachers need to connect the topic with life experiences. This is because adults have a tendency of relating their life experiences with lessons that they are taught. Teachers will improve the understanding and memory of the topic they are learning in class (Reddy 2003). Avoiding disruptions in class could be another solution. Teachers should set some rules that will ensure no distractions during lesson time, like being punctual for lessons. Teachers could also set rules that require adults to put off their phones during class hours so that there is no disturbance. This will ensure full concentration in the classroom. Conclusion In conclusion, adult education needs so much attention and care both from the teachers and the curriculum that sets out the guidelines. This is because of the challenges that adult education faces. Teaching adults requires more time and more skills than teaching younger students because of the difference in their ages (Sun & Carter 2006). It is easier for younger people to concentrate and understand topics than it is for the adults. This is because of their age and other factors like responsibilities so that their minds are occupied by other matters. The curriculum should find solutions for these problems and make sure that the theory does not have a contradicting relationship with the practical bit of teaching. This means that they have to incorporate changes in the theory so that it considers the practical challenges that teachers face in this profession. Schools should also motivate these teachers so that they have the morale to handle the adults and the difficulties that they face. References Alharbi, L. A. (2008): The effectiveness of using cooperative learning methods on ESL reading comprehension and student’s motivation: West Virginia University. Campbell, P & Burnaby, B. (2001): Participatory practices in adult education: Routlegde. Hiller, Y. (2005): Reflective teaching in further and adult education: Continuum International Publishing Group. Sun, D & Carter, R. C. (2006): Education for library cataloging: international perspectives, part 2: Routlegde. Mertens, D. M & Wilson, A. T. (2012): Program evaluation theory and practice: a comprehensive guide: Guilford press. Mezirow, J & Taylor, E. W. (2009): Transformative learning in practice: insights from community, workplace and higher education: John Wiley & Sons. Reddy, G. L. (2003): Role performance of adult education Teachers’ problems and prospects: Discovery Publishing House. Minton, D. (2005): Teaching skills in further and adult education: Cengage Learning EMEA. Read More