A Vision for the Future: Sustainable Development in Saudi Arabian Educational System

• In Event: Highlighted session: Rethinking citizenship and sustainable development in the Arab region

Proposal

A Vision for the Future: Sustainable Development in Saudi Arabian Educational System
This proposed presentation draws on a critical organizational analysis study that focuses on the opportunities for the Saudi educational system to translate its 2030 vision into practice and work towards a sustainable future. The study examines how the educational change plan was translated into initiatives, and how these initiatives factor into educational activities in the Saudi educational system. More specifically, researchers seek to understand the organizational behavior of the system to plan, implement, and evaluate the change and identify mechanisms that determine and shape a future sustainable development plan.
This presentation aims to identify opportunities for educational reform to make a remarkable future development by applying sustainability and organizational theories.
Rational
Saudi 2030 proposed a new perspective that challenges Saudi citizens, organizations, and systems to work together to revitalize and diversify the national economy. According to the Saudi educational policy, the goal of this vision is to increase opportunities for Saudi nationals and to solidify the country’s role as a global investment powerhouse. For that, researchers argue that educational reform plan will be vital for instituting long-term change from the bottom up and will empower Saudis youth by acknowledging their potential to be active contributors to the 2030 Vision.
Because the educational reform will likely need to revitalize and re-conceptualize the system outcomes and initiatives, sustainability will be the most significant framework for identifying opportunities for improvement within the education system. Researchers argue as the conference called that the adoption of sustainability principles in a flexible and adaptable approach would be crucial for future development. This presentation aims to identify opportunities for educational reform by applying organizational and sustainability theories.
Theoretical framework
The theoretical framework that serves as a foundation for the current study is drawn from the literature of Organizational Change (e.g. Argyris, 1993; Burke, 2017; Pettigrew, 1990), Organizational Analysis (e.g. Bolaman & Deal 2013; Jones, 2012; Powell & DiMaggio, 2012) Policy Studies (e.g. Lilford & Braunholtz, 1996; Sabatier, 1999; Black, 2001, Colebatch, 2006), Knowledge-Based economy (e.g. Foray & Lundvall,1998; Dunning, 2002; Slaughter & Rhoades, 2004).
Bolman and Deal Framework
Bolman and Deal (2013) identified four frames, namely, the structural, human resource, political, and symbolic frames. Each of these frames allows organizational problems to be analyzed from various perspectives, that can enable individuals and organizational leaders to see how their organizations work in a new light. The use of four frame analysis is valuable because the organizational problems are increasingly complex.
Methods and Data Sources
An organizational analysis was used to examine how the educational system as an organization functions in this transition phase. This method was chosen because it was validated as a research tool to evaluate the system performance, identify problem areas, discover opportunities, and develop a plan of action for improving performance.
Data sources include World Education Profiles, Saudi Arabian Education Strategic Plan 2004- 2016, Saudi Arabia 2030 Vision, and some Ministry of education documents.
Analysis
Researchers used an organizational analysis critical approach using Bolman and Deal (2013) frames as a way that connects the organization with sustainability principles. However, a sustainability framework would challenge Saudi educators to be part of the long-term success of the education system. However, a sustainability framework alone cannot address the systemic issues within the Saudi educational system. A combination of organizational analysis for sustainability along with leadership that accounts for all stakeholders is needed.
Preliminary findings
Structural challenges for complex systems
The organizational analysis suggests that the educational system itself is between a rock and a hard place. It seems that there are structural challenges regarding the new policy in term of how an organization would execute its responsibilities and how it would handle the challenges involved. Bolman & Deal (2013) indicate that complexity and formality in an organization would increase based on the organization’s size and age. So, the challenge, in this case, is related to the large size of the Educational Ministry as an organization and its schools, who have large numbers of long-lasting tenured teachers and staff, which crop up problems that lead to “suffocating bureaucratic rigidity” (p.61).
Human resources and duty-bound workers
One of the study findings highlighted the complex role of Saudi educators to implement the change under the traditional culture of bureaucracy within the organization. It seems to be a challenge to organize and manage all kinds of relationships between stakeholders, parents, students, and educational staff in an organization.
Researchers see the human resources frame as a valuable frame to use for enacting educational reforms in Saudi Arabia because it can help question the hiring practice for educators to meet the reform goals. It also revealed that the organization must translate the vision into clear objectives to help educator to buy in for the change.
Political frame
It seems that the Saudi political climate is in favor of a sustainable educational change. Based on the policy language, a good intention might be observed from the vision documents language. It might be an agreement regarding the vision promises, but what tends to become a conflict seems to be related to the ambiguity of its level of communication from the organizational leaders to teachers who implement the policy.
Symbolic frame
Bolman and Deal (2013) indicated that the symbolic frame would focus on how humans make sense of the chaotic, ambiguous world in which they live, so meaning, belief, and faith are its central concerns (p.248). This study found that it might be a challenge regarding changing the organizational culture that educators share, which connect their past with present and future. Since the organizational activity and its meaning are loosely coupled, events of quick fix change have multiple interpretations from educators which might shape the uncertain vision of educators for the future.
Implications and Significance of the Study
This work is essential to the field of comparative international education since the conference call for highlighting the role of education on sustainability. This analysis is an attempt to bring this Saudi voice reform in this dialogue.

Authors

• Walaa Bunaiyan, University of Denver

• Ahmed M. Mukhtar, University of Missouri