Saudi Arabian Educational Reforms: A Road from Traditionalism to Modernization (Published)
People are the true wealth of any nation. Adequately prepared and well educated, they can push a country towards development and prosperity. With this in mind, the Saudi Arabian government has always believed that developing the nation’s citizens is not only an investment but a sacred duty too. Yet, it has faced social resistance in implementing change for fear of losing national identity to globalization, which is felt through the current debates in the media and official arenas. But the country is working hard to reach a platform of modernized ideas and beliefs that the majority can agree on. Then Saudi Arabia will be able to rise to the level of the developed countries without losing its culture nor identity. In this Study, the author utilized a descriptive method in order to provide a brief description of the country’s demographic characteristics, trends in education before and after 1953, and indicated the Saudi philosophy of education upon which everything else in the educational system is built through presenting the structure of the educational system including policies. Issues related to general education, special education and post-school education are presented. Major developments in the Saudi educational system after 1953 in general, and 1990 in specific will be discussed. Finally, government efforts to overcome current educational issues will be delineated to demonstrate how the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be able to move forward towards modernization without jeopardizing its religion, language, culture, or identity.
Keywords: Educational Reforms, Modernization, Saudi Arabia, Traditionalism