History & Development Of Education In Saudi ArabiaUntil the late nineteenth century, education in all parts of what is now Saudi Arabia was traditional restricted to reading, writing and recitation of the Holy book Quran. There were only the higher educations in religious studies in the big cities. The modern education started in late nineteenth century in that times Ottoman Province of Hijaz and Al-Ahsa. In 1920 few private schools began offering non-religious subjects in some of the big cities. But the state- sponsored modern education was started after 1930. There were only four private elementary schools in the entire country. In 1925, the Directorate of Education was established. It was followed later by the Basic Instructions that laid the foundation for a centralized national system. Secondary school system network was spread in 1951. In 1954 the Ministry of education was established and Prince Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz became the first minister. In 1957, the first university was opened by the government which was not wholly religious. Under the establishment of Prince Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz more schools were opened and public education started to expand throughout the country. The expansion in education was so rapid that the Ministry of Education found it necessary to create “School Districts” in different parts of the country to assist the Ministry by distributing some of its responsibilities.
In 1958, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia along with other members of the Arab League agreed upon a uniform educational system that provided for a 6 year elementary, 3 year intermediate and 3 year secondary cycle with a separate higher education program. National development plans stressed a basic philosophy for the successful modernization of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This philosophy is based on following two major principles1) Developing needed human resources through education and training.2) Building a comprehensive economic infrastructure.
The education system in Saudi Arabia Education in Saudi Arabia is segregated by sex and divided into three separately administered systems: general education for boys, education for girls and traditional Islamic education (for boys). The Ministry of Education, established in 1952, presides over general education for boys, and education for girls comes under the jurisdiction of the General Presidency for Girls’ Education. Both sexes follow the same curriculum and take the same annual examinations. Islamic education trains Saudi boys to become members of the Ulema (religious clergy). The religious secondary school curriculum includes the general academic secondary school curriculum but focuses primarily on Islamic and Arabic studies. Religious secondary schools are administered by Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University and the Islamic University of Medinah. These schools, along with religious institutions of higher education, parallel the secular system. PRIMARY EDUCATION :I. Primary SchoolDuration: Six years (ages 6 to 12)Curriculum: Arabic, art education, geography, history, home economics (for girls), mathematics, physical education (for boys), Islamic studies and science II. Intermediate School:Duration: Three years (ages 12 to 15) General Curriculum: Arabic, art education, English, geography, history, home economics (for girls), mathematics, physical education (for boys), religious studies and science SECONDARY EDUCATION :I. General Secondary School:Duration: Three years (ages 15 to 18)Compulsory Subjects: During the first year, students share a common curriculum, and in the final two years are divided into scientific and literary streams. Students scoring 60 percent in all first-year subjects may choose between the two streams. Those who score under 60 percent must opt for the literary stream. General Curriculum: Arabic, biology, chemistry, English, geography, history, home economics (for girls), mathematics, physical.
Educational Systems in Saudi Arabia and United State “A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated” by Horace Mann. Education has been one of the most important things in all nations and it considersone of the main reasons of people and countries development. Self gratification, sensation of accomplishment as well as broadening people’s horizon and providing bright futures for them are some of the endless benefits of education. As there is a huge difference between Saudi Arabia and United States in geography, culture, and society, a lot of dissimilarities in their educational systems can stem as a result of the previously statedfactors.Understanding these differences will help improve the educational system in each country. The first distinctive difference between Saudi Arabia and United States educational systems can be found in the language and the fees of the courses. As English is the mother language in United States, the educational system utilizes English language in teaching; yet, in Saudi Arabia, both Arabic and English are used in teaching. Arabic is considered the mother language and English is the language used in business communication. The other point is that education is free in Saudi Arabia and every student in college or university receives monthly stipend from the government as a reward for being a college or university student. On other hand, American students must pay tuitions for their education. Also, they do not receive monthly stipend. However, the government provides student loans to help students in need get education. Saudi students must decide their major from the first year of study. Consequently, they do not have the right to choose elective classes as they are forced to take subjects related to their majors. Because Americans have the right to choose elective courses they want to study, they can major in the third or fourth year of study.The second difference between Saudi Arabia and.
United States vs. Saudi Arabia Educational SystemEducational Systems in Saudi Arabia and United State“A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated” by Horace Mann. Education has been one of the most important things in all nations and it considersone of the main reasons of people and countries development. Self gratification, sensation of accomplishment as well as broadening people’s horizon and providing bright futures for them are some of the endless benefits of education. As there is a huge difference between Saudi Arabia and United States in geography, culture, and society, a lot of dissimilarities in their educational systems can stem as a result of the previously statedfactors.Understanding these differences will help improve the educational system in each country.The first distinctive difference between Saudi Arabia and United States educational systems can be found in the language and the fees of the courses. As English is the mother language in United States, the educational system utilizes English language in teaching; yet, in Saudi Arabia, both Arabic and English are used in teaching. Arabic is considered the mother language and English is the language used in business communication. The other point is that education is free in Saudi Arabia and every student in college or university receives monthly stipend from the government as a reward for being a college or university student. On other hand, American students must pay tuitions for their education. Also, they do not receive monthly stipend. However, the government provides student loans to help students in need get education. Saudi students must decide their major from the first year of study. Consequently, they do not have the right to choose elective classes as they are forced to take subjects related to their majors. Because Americans have the right to choose elective courses they want to study, they can major in the third or fourth year of study.
Education continues to be the priority of all nations around the world. Countries devote vast resources to ensure equal opportunity to study for their people. In return, the educated segment of the population becomes the wealth of these nations and will more likely meet the social and economic demands of the country. The educational systems are continuously developed to meet not just the local but also the global demands and challenges. It is more appropriate to look at the disparity on the education sector of one country to another in order to determine what needs to be improved and developed in one’s educational system. This paper aims to provide an assessment on the similarities and differences of education in two countries, Saudi Arabia and the United States of America (USA).
The education in Saudi Arabia and the USA are similar in terms of government spending on education, freedom to choose the school where they will attend to, and education for people with special needs, while differ in terms of attitude towards education, literacy rate, religion in school, gender roles, grading scales, and stages of education.
Both the Saudi Arabia and USA government spend immense resources on the education sector. The Saudi Arabia government’s increased awareness on the importance of education to its people paved way to its provision of bountiful support to education. Like the USA government, the Saudi Arabia government finance general education for both boys and girls. It also provides free post-secondary education and offers financial help to students. At cases, meals, books, and transportation are subsidized. In the same way, the USA government offers free general and post-secondary education for all financed by the government.
In both countries, students are also allowed to choose what school they will attend to. They have the options to enroll in public, private, or home school. Most of the parents prefer to send their children in public school practically because they are much “free” from burden. There were also those who prefer private schools thinking that these schools might provide better, quality education to their children especially for those seeking a competitive edge in college admission. A few considers home schooling best for their children for reasons that they can effectively tailor a curriculum that would best suit their children’s academic strengths and weaknesses, especially those with disabilities.
Aside from home schooling, those with disabilities may be sent to schools which will cater to their needs like schools for the blind, deaf, physically and mentally handicapped, among others (Education, 2005). The Saudi Arabia and USA governments have put on these schools to encourage individuals to their full potential and share social and emotional experiences with their peers having the same conditions as themselves. The curricula in the special classes given to the students were tailored fit to their needs. For instance, the educational programs given to the blind and deaf individuals were different. For sure, blind students were thought of using Braille while deaf students do not.
One variation the Saudi Arabia and the USA government have is the attitude towards education. In the USA, school attendance is mandatory and nearly universal at primary and secondary levels. School districts meet to discuss school curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies to further improve the education in the state. On the other hand, in Saudi Arabia, the government does not impose mandatory attendance in school. Although, it is encouraged that the free primary and secondary education are availed since education is given free and open to every citizen.
The literacy rate for the two countries presented, are varied. The USA literacy rate is estimated at 99% for both men and women, whereas, literacy rate in Saudi Arabia is estimated at only 84.7% for men and 70.8% for women (Literacy, 2007). The Saudi Arabia government recognizes the importance of literacy in propelling the economy; hence, one of its objectives for the education sector is to eradicate illiteracy especially among adults and girls through several literacy programs. In the USA, despite the high literacy rate, the government is continually implementing programs to further develop the education sector.
Religion is the main core of education in Saudi Arabia. The curricula developed conform to theShari’ah (Islamic holy law) and the Qur’an. Men were trained of Islamic education to become members of religious clergy. They provide religious secondary education with focus primarily on Islamic and Arabic studies, although, the curriculum also includes general education. The schools which administer these were Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University and the Islamic University of Medinah (Sedgwick, 2001). On the contrary, education in the USA is not focused on religion but there are some schools which may offer religion subjects that are not quite extensive as religion studies in Saudi Arabia.
In Saudi Arabia, education is segregated by sex. Education for boys is different from education for girls. Education is divided into three separately administered systems: general education for boys, education for girls and traditional Islamic education for boys (Sedgwick, 2001). However, in the recent years, education for girls was continuously being developed to meet the growing demands of the country. Unlike in the USA, education is offered to both sexes, giving them equal opportunity to study. The educational programs that were developed cater to both sexes.
Grading scales were prepared to gauge the students’ performance on school. Grading scales in the USA and Saudi Arabia differ. In the USA, marks were given on the scale of A to F. In the criterion-referenced system, the equivalent grades of these to 0 to 100 percentile are as follows: A=95-100 or 90-100, B=85-95 or 80-90, C=75-85 or 70-80, D=65-75 or 60-70, and F is given to marks below 65 or 60. There is also the norm-referenced system where marks are given as follows: A=top 10% of the class, B=next 20% of the class, C=next 30% of the class, D=next 20% of the class, and bottom 20% of the class (Grading systems, n.d). On the contrary, the grading scale in Saudi Arabia was given as follows: 5=90-100, 4=80-89, 3=70-79, 2=60-69, and 1=0-59 (Sedgwick, 2001).
The stages of education in both countries also vary. Education in Saudi Arabia starts with primary, followed by secondary, and higher education. Primary education is for ages 6 to 12. An intermediate education, which is part of primary education, is carried out for ages 12 to 15. Secondary education is divided into three: general, religious, and technical. These are taken by ages 15 to 18. The higher education is also divided into three stages: the baccaloreus(bachelor’s degree-4 years),darajat al majisteer(master’s degree – 2years), and doctoorah (doctorate- minimum of 3 years) (Sedgwick, 2001). On the other hand, education in the USA is composed of these stages: preschool (1 or 2 yrs), elementary/middle/high school (12 yrs), associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees (Structure: General Information, n.d.).
The differences in education in both countries mainly lie on their history, culture, social and economic conditions, whereas, the similarities were bought about by their desire to provide accessible, quality education free and open to all. Education stimulates the people to contribute to its country in addressing the increasing local and global demands. This motivates the countries to improve and further develop its educational system.
References:
Education (2005). Ministry of Education, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Retrieved on 28 December 2007. < http://www.moe.gov.sa/openshare/englishcon/About-Saud/Education.htm_cvt.html>
Grading Systems (n.d). US Network for Education Information. Retrieved on 28 December 2007. < http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-grading.html>
Literacy (2007). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved on 28 December 2007.
< https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2103.html>
Sedgwick, Robert. (2001). Education in Saudi Arabia. World Education Services. Retrieved on 28 December 2007.
Structure: General Information (n.d). US Network for Education Information. Retrieved on 28 December 2007. < http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-struc-geninfo.html>
