LEADERSHIP DYNAMICS IN SAUDI ARABIA UNIVERSITIES

1.      Introduction

The leadership dynamics and associated elements play a major role in supporting education and learning in Saudi Arabia universities. The current system focuses on leadership dynamics and strategies as responsibility for single individual and focuses on maintenance and not developing plus managing the current system. The government policies are focused on implementing collaborative education strategies which in contradiction with Saudi education system but situational demands. The models are oriented to the central decision-making system with are embedded in the educational environment. The leadership dynamics change the philosophy of education in the universities to provide flexibility plus autonomy for leadership dynamics to accommodate persistent changing requirements of education development

1.1.  Topic Articulation

The topic of the proposed research is to investigate the impact of leadership dynamics on change management in Saudi Arabian Universities. During personal tenure as a teaching assistant in a Public University since 2010, there are going to be enormous changes in the Saudi Arabian university system soon and hence the ability to handle change will be a critical skill for senior management of KSA universities.

There are two triggers for this change. The first trigger is the proposed implementation of ‘Saudi Vision 2030’ instituted by the government of KSA (Abalkhail, J. M., 2017). The objectives of Vision 2030 include (i) Improving recruitment, training and development of teachers, (ii) Improving the learning environment to stimulate creativity and innovation, (iii) Improving curricula and teaching methods, (iv) Improving students’ values and core skills, (v) Development of financing methods and improvements in financial efficiency, (vi) Educating students to address national development requirements and labor market demands, (vii) Increasing Private Sector Participation in the Education Sector. The realization was that implementing Vision 2030 will involve significant changes to be made to the current educational system.

The second trigger for change is the current outdated method of education being practiced in KSA universities. Based on my knowledge and experience of the KSA educational system, findings indicate that the quality of education in KSA universities is low by global standards and there is an urgent need for improvement requires paramount consideration (Assalahi, H., & Rich, S., 2016).

Results indicate that the teaching patterns presently resemble those of the 1950’s and hence outdated for current universities. The teaching staff is not motivated to improve their performance, and the learning environment is static, neglecting constantly changing the educational setting. These findings indicate the urgent need for change and implementation of vision 2030.  It is the leaders of KSA universities who will need to drive these changes. Hence, there is a need to investigate whether the current leadership dynamics of senior management at KSA universities will be able to manage change effectively.

1.2. Research Background & Study

Research on KSA universities found that staff suffered from lack of participation and dialogue, no proper direction being given, a lack of recognition, the inconsistency of decision making, ignorance of problems, too much centralization and excessive workload. Staff was demotivated and enthusiastic (Qazi, S., & Nazneen, A., 2016). The leadership styles in these universities were found to be either too autocratic or too laissez-faire. Research on Saudi Arabia higher education institutions find that the dynamic environments that demand innovation, creativity and going beyond strict requirements, traditional leaders typically follow outdated ways of thinking and do not motivate teaching staff to improve their performance.

These findings are corroborated by the personal experience and observations of the researcher about the KSA educational system. The researcher observes that a variety of management styles are practiced in KSA universities including authoritarian/autocratic, bureaucratic, narcissistic and laissez-faire. Most KSA senior management is traditional in their outlook and approach. Given these findings, it is not clear how current leadership in KSA is going to manage the changes that will become inevitable in the university system post implementation of Saudi Vision 2030. Vision 2030 has three main themes including building (i) a vibrant society, (ii) a thriving economy, and (iii) an ambitious nation (Abubakar, I. R., Al-Shihri, F. S., & Ahmed, S. M., 2016).

The vision includes the promotion of culture, the exploitation of alternative national and natural resources, and the achievement of environmental sustainability. Part of this vision also includes educational reform of SA’s universities and institutions of higher learning (Alshuwaikhat, H. M., Adenle, Y. A., & Saghir, B., 2016). Vision 2030 for the SA educational sector mandates (i) development of the SA educational system and making it more sustainable, (ii) eliminating the gap between current educational curriculum and demands of job market, (iii) at last 5 Saudi Arabia universities to enter the league of 200 top universities in the world and (iv) facilitation of student transition between different educational pathways.

According to (Shah, S. R. A., 2016) achieving these objectives entails a considerable change in current organizational practices and operations of SA universities. This research takes the view that the implementation of change in KSA universities can only be possible through appropriate leadership. This inference is underscored by researches point out that just like in other professional organizations; change management in educational institutions can only be facilitated by the leaders of the institution.

Conclusion

The research study indicates that the present leadership dynamics in Saudi Arabia universities are not up to date. It is important for the management to implement the vision 2030 that supports flexibility and incorporation of modern dynamics in order to create a functional adaptive leadership for education institutions.

Reference

Shah, S. R. A. (2016). Teacher leadership: A case study of teacher leaders’ professional development in an EFL institute of a Saudi Arabian university.

Retrieved from https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/handle/10871/24400

Abalkhail, J. M. (2017). Women and leadership: Challenges and opportunities in Saudi higher education. Career Development International, 22(2).

Assalahi, H., & Rich, S. (2016). Reconceptualising the Professional Development of Academic Staff in Saudi Higher Education: A Critical Review of the Literature. In Proceedings of the Eighth Saudi Students Conference in the UK.

Alshuwaikhat, H. M., Adenle, Y. A., & Saghir, B. (2016). Sustainability Assessment of Higher Education Institutions in Saudi Arabia. Sustainability, 8(8).

Qazi, S., & Nazneen, A. (2016). A Comparative Study of Organizational Role Stress and Organizational Commitment Among The University Faculty Members of India and Saudi Arabia. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 12(31).

Abubakar, I. R., Al-Shihri, F. S., & Ahmed, S. M. (2016). Students’ Assessment of campus sustainability at the University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Sustainability, 8(1).