The Impact of Globalisation in Female Education in Saudi Arabia - Literature review Example

The Impact of Globalisation in Female Education in Saudi Arabia Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: The Impact of Globalisation in Female Education in Saudi Arabia Introduction National culture of a country is great determinant on the policies and direction adopted by a country. This is particularly true in Saudi Arabia where public activities are segregated along gender lines with women on the receiving end where they are allowed albeit limited or in certain circumstances not to engage in certain activities as they are treated as legal minors (Abu-Nasr, 2013). Al Lily (2011, p.119) conceptualises Saudi female population as ‘sheltered, hard-to-reach and conservative’. Such kind of socialisation has had in equal measure impact on the national formal education system which was not officially recognised before 1960s (Al Rawaf & Simmons, 1991, p.287). For instance, Abu-Nasr (2013) observes that before 2011, it at the discretion of male guardian to authorise if Saudi female would get education or not. Nevertheless, with the increased level of interaction with outsiders through globalisation, internal pressure for change and international pressure, things are slowly changing. The aim of this discourse is to assess the impact of globalisation in female education in Saudi Arabia. Background Alamri (2011, p.88) offers a historical timeline in relation to growth of education sector in Saudi Arabia. In his expose, he identifies oil, King Saud and religious scholars as the cornerstone of growth or stagnation of education especially for women. Simmons & Simmons (1994, p.70) notes that after establishment of Saudi Arabia in 1932, the country was poor nation with a lean education system consisting of 12 schools with a population of 700 pupils. Nevertheless, phenomenal growth was experienced after the discovery of oil in 1950 where there 365 schools and attending population of 42, 000 students. After the formation of Ministry of Education in 1954 and with urge to reduce the number of pupils going abroad for studies, King Saud was established in 1957 as the first University in the country. The only tragedy by then was that these schools were offering education to males only hence, leading to female exclusion. Change albeit slow came in 1960 when the King Saud in consultation with religious leaders authorised establishment of girl school (Al Rawaf & Simmons, 1991, p.287). World Educational Revolution among Females Goldin (2006, p.1) conceptualises female education into two distinct eras. These are evolution and revolution era. According to him, in evolution era, women were allowed to go to school because ‘they and their families needed money’ while on evolution era, women education was treated as part of ‘fundamental identity and social worth’. He identifies four phases in regards to the same. The first phase came in 1920s; followed by transition era that came in 1930s to 1950; the third phase which is termed as the root of evolution came in 1950 to mid 1970s and lastly, the quiet revolution that came in late 1970s. The third phase was phase of turnaround owing to the experiences from World Wars where women showed there capability in various spheres of life. In this regard, women and the whole populace recognised that women required ‘fundamental identity and social worth’ which could be attained by education. Cultural Development Changes in Saudi Arabia and Female Education Female education in Saudi Arabia is one of the indicators of the position of women in Saudi society in relation to exclusion from public life. Al Rawaf & Simmons (1991, p.287) observes that while education is not obligatory option in Saudi Arabia, the government offers it free from kindergarten to secondary level. Moreover, the country has experienced expansion in the academic sector in relations to numbers, teaching staff and physical facilities. On the other hand, the formal education sector for female in Saudi Arabia is a relatively young sector since it started getting recognition from early 1960s (Al Rawaf & Simmons, 1991, p.287). There has been discrepancy among gender lines as exhibited in enrolment rates, literacy levels and employability. According to Hamdan (2005, p.42), at 62%, the country has one of the lowest literacy level in the region. For instance, 70% of men are considered literate while 50% women are considered literate. One of the limiting factors relates to the national culture of the country entrenched in the government and the social structures thus, resulting into gender inequality (Hamdan, 2005, p.46). Abu-Nasr (2013) points a finger to what is termed as ‘mahram permission’. In this instance a female needs permission from a male guardian to engage in education. The question that emerges is that what cultural changes have contributed to this significant growth. Saudis as a community are gradually dropping social/ cultural stigmas that relegated women into ‘periphery’ of what is known as ‘legal minors’. There is a paradigm shift in relation to women status in the society and their participation in public life. Abu-Nasr (2013) notes that revocation of guardian’s permission has opened a wider scope for females to access education since they do not require any permission and at the same time the government has ensured that education up to secondary level is free. Nevertheless, this has come as result of deliberate effort by leaders headed by the King and her wife who have been in forefront in inculcating new ideas. Other players include progressive families that have gone beyond traditions to empower their female children through education either locally or internationally. Influence of Globalisation on Female Education in Saudi Arabia The level at which individual within various countries are interacting currently has exponentially expanded. Globalisation has been enhanced as result of improvement in transport and communication thereby enhancing interactions across cultural divides. The position of globalisation in such encounters is through diffusion of ideas from one point/ country to another so as to drive cultural change. Take case example of Saudi women and men who study abroad and come back with new ideas. Hamdan (2005, p.55) observes that Saudis who have been educated outside the country have brought new ideas they have learnt in other progressive economies that appreciates gender equity. A good example is the case of Fatina Amin who was granted scholarship by King Saud and now is greatly contributing positively to Saudi economy (Hamdan, 2005, p.49). Additionally children of influential individuals who have studied in Europe, US and other countries have brought positive ideas in relation to equity in education. The other example in relation to globalisation role is the high presence of immigrant workers in the country who have helped in impacting of new ideas. For instance, Saudi Arabia has an estimated 4.6 million migrant workers out of the 19 million people (Hamdan, 2005, p.42). For instance, the presence of American in large number from 1979 after formation of Arabian American Oil Company has seen infiltration of American ideas even in school environment (Hamdan, 2005, p.43). The other frontier that globalisation has contributed in changing Saudi education sector is the social media where people can engage and exchange ideas. This has created a strong push towards implementation of gender equity in education sector (Prokop, 2003, p.83). Saudi Government Support for Female Education While there has been discrepancy in enrolment rate between females and males at various levels of education in Saudi Arabia, the situation is not as it used to be before 1960. Figures show in 1970, 155 and 2% of women were considered literate. In 1990s, this expanded to 73% and 48% for men and women respectively and in 2002; the literacy level was 90.9% and 70.2% for men and women respectively (Saudi Arabia Embassy, 2002, p.9). This positive trend is expected to continue as is currently being exhibited where there are more girls than boys in school (Saudi Arabia Embassy, 2002, p.4). The same is corroborated by Abu-Nasr (2013) who notes that in 2009, women outnumbered men in higher education since there were 59, 948 women who received post secondary degrees as compared 55, 842 men. The first support to female education dates back to 1960 when King Suad authorised for construction of the first formal school for females (Al Rawaf & Simmons, 1991, p.287). The continued support by the royal family who are the head of the government has Saw King Saud Faisal convince the locals about significance of education. Equally critical to this was his wife Iffat Al Thunayan who had a conviction in educating women. One of such initiative include Dar Al Hanam which aimed at raising good mothers and first girl’s college called Kulliyat Al Banat (Hamdan, 2005, p.49). Ulama who are religious scholars have had a great impact in relation to women education. However, the other paradigm change in female education was occasioned by the 2002 fire tragedy which forced the government to merge ulama dominated General Presidency of Girls Education with Ministry of Education (Hamdan, 2005, p.43; Prokop, 2003, p.78). Equally the government aims at attaining equality by increasing funding allocated to female education. This has seen development of 38 educational institutes for women and 8 universities. In the same breadth, government is expanding the courses that women can undertake such as bachelors of law which they were not initially allowed to partake. Limitation The greatest limitation to implementation of female education in Saudi Arabia largely lies with the powerful and influential Ulama, the conservative Islamic scholar. One is their urge to see female education remain in the department of religious affairs where they can regulate content delivered top women (Hamdan, 2005, p.44). Such has seen the reluctance of religious policy who ought to be the keepers of female students. Moreover, such reluctance has seen firebrand religious scholar’s lebel female schools as places where western influence is being disseminated into Saudi Arabia (Hamdan, 2005, p.46). Conclusion The ultimate focus of the paper was to outline the impact of globalisation on female education in Saudi Arabia. In this regard, the paper examined five themes. These included the background, world educational revolution among females, cultural development changes in Saudi Arabia in relation to female education, influence of globalisation on the same, Saudi government efforts and support of female educational programmes and limitations. The paper found out that globalisation has had tremendous impact on female education by allowing for diffusion of new ideas that drives change especially on gender inequality in education sector. Moreover, the government through deliberate approach has tried to enhance access to education by female students. References Abu-Nasr, D. (June 5, 2013). Saudi women more educated than men are wasted resource. Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Retrieved on 7 November 2013 from: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-04/saudi-women-more-educated-than-men- are-wasted-resource.html. Al Lily, A. E. (2011). On line and under veil: Technology-facilitated communication and Saudi female experience within academia. Technology in Society, 33(1), 119-127. Al Rawaf, H. S., & Simmons, C. (1991). The education of women in Saudi Arabia. Comparative education, 27(3), 287-295. Alamri, M. (2011). Higher Education in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 11(4), 88-91. Altbach, P. G., Reisberg, L., & Rumbley, L. E. (2009). Trends in global higher education: Tracking an academic revolution. Goldin, C. (2006). The quiet revolution that transformed women's employment, education, and family (No. w11953). National Bureau of Economic Research. Hamdan, A. (2005). Women and education in Saudi Arabia: Challenges and achievements. International Education Journal, 6(1), 42-64. Prokop, M. (2003). Saudi Arabia: the politics of education. International Affairs, 79(1), 77-89. Saudi Arabia Embassy (2002). Educating Young Saudis to Contribute to the Nation's Future. Saudi Arabia Embassy Publications - Spring 2002 Magazine. Simmons, C., & Simmons, C. (1994). English, Israeli-Arab and Saudi Arabian adolescent values. Educational Studies, 20(1), 69-87. Read More