Blended learning in Saudi Arabia girls' secondary schools : an exploratory case study

Bukhari, E

Abstract

Blended learning (BL) has been the subject of much research recently, and the present
dissertation adds to this growing body of knowledge as the first substantial study on BL in
secondary education for girls in Saudi Arabia. Based on field work comprising interviews
and questionnaires this thesis reports the results of an exploratory, empirical case study of a
large-scale programme (Tatweer project) for the introduction of blended learning into 25
traditional secondary girls' schools in Saudi Arabia. Adopting the interpretive research
paradigm the objective of the study is to gain rich insight into blended learning guided by
three interrelated themes:
Effect of BL on female education: The study demonstrates a number of positive effects of
BL on students' engagement and self-development, however, problems with the workloads
of students and the failure of teachers to integrate face-to-face learning with e-learning are
also observed.
Teacher development: Teachers' perceptions of benefits and drawbacks of BL are
presented and analysed. Contrary to suggestions in parts of the literature only a minority of
teachers perceive a change in their role from traditional, instructor-led teaching towards a
facilitator role.
Organisational change in schools: The study identifies implementation problems during
the Tatweer programme. Links to critical success factors of BL and research on effective
management and leadership are investigated.
Throughout the research Sharpe et al.'s (2006) 8-dimensional framework of BL is applied in
a new way to assess the implementation level of BL. This results in the recommendation to
extend this framework with an ethical dimension. Further recommendations of the work are
to actively seek feedback from key stakeholder groups during BL implementation, to use BL
for teacher training in BL, and to measure performance indicators like students' workloads
during the transition of traditional schools to BL.

Citation

Bukhari, E. Blended learning in Saudi Arabia girls' secondary schools : an exploratory case study. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jul 28, 2021
• Award Date: Mar 1, 2012