application of diversity programs in the Saudi Arabian Early Childhood Education system

application of diversity programs in the Saudi Arabian Early Childhood Education system

Over 60% of the workforce of Saudi Arabia is made up of foreigners constituting over 7 million individuals. There have been attempts to reduce the vast number of foreigners in recent years, but this has been mostly unsuccessful as many Saudi Arabian citizens are unwilling to work in low skilled jobs. There also, remains a shortage of highly qualified individuals in the country. The situation guarantees that Saudi Arabian citizens are highly likely to interact with people from very diverse backgrounds racially and culturally, especially when they enter the workforce. Despite this fact, the Saudi Arabian education system does not prepare students for interaction with members of other cultures both in the learning environment or in general society. This is an essential failure because teaching diversity and introducing diversity programs in schools have been shown to confer significant benefits to students in particular and community in general.

My interest in the topic of diversity programs in Saudi Arabian Early Childhood Education (ECE) emerged during a recent visit to the country. During a trip to a local supermarket, there was an incident where a child of 8-10 years loudly asked his mother about a woman who was of African ancestry. The language the child used indicated a shocking lack of understanding of the diversity of human skin color and culture ( the woman was dressed differently from typical Saudi Arabian dressing styles) and caused both his parent and the woman of African ancestry distress and embarrassment.

The distressing encounter highlighted an apparent failure of the Saudi Arabian education system. The young child showed a shocking lack of understanding of cultural differences and racial diversity that could have been avoided if he had been taught about diversity in school. Diversity programs in ECE have been implemented in the US and have been shown to have critical additional benefits in addition to promoting the acceptance and understanding of cultural and racial differences (Alismail, 2016). Prophet Muhammad, in his teachings, discouraged discrimination based on race, and such a program would be consistent with his instructions. This research seeks to propose the application of diversity programs in the Saudi Arabian Early Childhood Education system by highlighting the success of such programs in the USA and highlighting how such programs can help the country towards the achievement of vision 2030.

Background

Education in Saudi Arabia

Education in Saudi Arabia is free at all levels and is renowned for its focus on Islamic teachings at all levels. Nearly 30% of all lessons in Saudi Primary schools are theological, making religious studies the single most common subject in the primary school system (Ministry of Education, 2019). Education in Saudi Arabia generally falls under the Ministry of Education and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, although other ministries, such as the Ministry of defense, offer specialized education. The government of Saudi Arabia spends about 9% of the GDP on education, one of the highest levels in the world (Ministry of Education, 2019). Gender parity has primarily been achieved in the Saudi Arabian education system, although about two-thirds of university graduates are women. Schools generally fall into three categories; public schools, private schools, and international schools.

Formal education in Saudi Arabia usually starts in primary schools, although recent years have seen an increased prevalence of pre-schooling in Kindergarten. Kindergarten enrolment is about 11%, with the vast majority of students starting their studies in mosques (Ministry of Education, 2019). Children are expected to enter the primary school system at the age of six. Primary education takes six years. Students who pass their grade 6 exams receive an Elementary Education Certificate, a requirement for the next level of education. Primary school education is followed by three years of intermediate school education and three years of secondary school education. The Ministry of Education controls the curriculum for private and public schools while international schools control their curriculum. Higher education is provided by technical and vocational institutions, as well as the 24 universities in the country.

While some universities have instituted diversity programs, no such plans or lessons on multiculturalism exist for early childhood education (Iwai, 2017). This is despite the fact that demographic data indicates a multicultural society (Familara, 2013). Saudi Arabia has a population of 33.5 million individuals. 37% of the population consists of economic migrants who are not citizens and are mainly from Asia and Africa (Familara, 2013). The citizenry of Saudi Arabia is 90% ethnic Arabs and 10% Afro-Asians. Saudi Arabia has often been accused of racism towards Asians and Africans, especially poor migrant workers who are ill-treated and viewed as a low class by the members of the public. There is a need for change, and the best way to change a community is by teaching children.

There is little data on the status of diversity in Saudi Arabian schools. Generally, wealthier immigrants tend to send their children to international schools that are similar to their cultural origins, together with children, the upper classes of Saudi citizenry. For instance, British parents are likely to send their children to international schools that follow a British curriculum. More impoverished immigrants rarely bring their children along, but those that do send them to public schools near their areas of residence.

Diversity in the US

The US is globally renowned as the land of immigrants and the boiling point of nearly all cultures on earth. Immigration has gifted America with some of the most celebrated human beings on earth, including Albert Einstein and Joseph Pulitzer and celebrated Americans such as Dikembe Mutombo (Sleeter, 2017). The United States has sampled cultures from all over the world to develop the most pre-eminent culture on earth ranging from foodstuffs such as pizza to dressing styles (Maddah, 2018). Multiculturalism has presented the United States with challenges such as racism and Islamophobia, but on the whole, most people would agree it has been far more advantageous than disadvantageous.

The United States’ unique position has allowed scientists to study the advantages of diversity and multiculturalism both in general society and in the education system. Studies have shown that immigrants are an essential source of diverse knowledge and experience that leads to innovation and create a better understanding of other cultures, increasing racial and cultural harmony (Sleeter, 2017). Studies in the US have also shown that teaching diversity during Early Childhood Education leads to better racial and cultural relations and peace in later life. Promoting a diverse learning environment in which both students and teachers come from different cultural backgrounds has been found to encourage growth and reflection in students, encourage open-mindedness, creativity, and receptiveness to a different perspective, breed tolerance, and prepare students for diverse workplaces and society (Taylor, Yeboah & Ringlaben, 2015). Promoting diversity both in schools and in community is also consistent with mainstream consensus in the United States. Many local and state governments across the US have instituted school diversification programs that target cultural and economic diversity because they have been shown to improve performance for all students (Manning, Baruth & Lee, 2017).

Problem Statement

Studies have shown that the institution of diversity programs in Early Childhood Education that teach about multiculturalism and racial diversity or encourages diversity both in students and teachers bears essential benefits both for individual students and the society at large (Manning, Baruth & Lee, 2017). However, Saudi Arabia, a country a highly multicultural country because of economic migration, does not have any such program. The implementation of such a program in Saudi Arabia’s education system would promote growth and reflection in students, encourage open-mindedness, creativity and receptiveness to different perspectives, breed tolerance, and racial harmony in society, and prepare students for diverse workplaces and nation as part of the vision to encourage more citizens to join the workforce in vision 2030 (Manning, Baruth & Lee, 2017). The 2020 vision for Early Childhood Education offers a significant opportunity to introduce such a program.

Significance of the Study

Saudi Arabia, like the United States, has a highly diverse population enriched by immigrants from Asia, Africa, Europe, and America. However, unlike the United States, Saudi Arabia has not made any concerted efforts to encourage diversity in its education system despite the benefits that have been documented in the United States and elsewhere. This failure needs to be rectified if Saudi Arabia is to achieve vision 2030 and build a globally competitive workforce.

This study seeks to highlight the potential benefits of a diversity program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study intends to encourage the institution of a diversity program in Saudi Arabia as part of the 2020 vision to transform early childhood education. Saudi Arabia’s education system has faced accusations of failing to produce globally competitive graduates because of its focus on religious teachings, poor quality of teachers and poor teaching standards and techniques (Rabaah, Doaa & Asma, 2016). The Kingdom has, in recent years, tried to improve the quality of its workforce to globally competitive levels as part of vision 2030. Instituting diversity programs for both students and teachers will aide the government towards achieving this goal.

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

Teaching and encouraging multiculturalism early in life has been shown to improve academic outcomes for children and confer essential benefits for society at large. Researchers have shown that children who grow up in multicultural environments or learn about diversity and cultural differences early are more likely to be accepting of different cultures and view them as usual (Banks & Banks, 2019). Researchers also found that multicultural learning environments encourage children to acknowledge different perspectives and adopt complex ways of analyzing and tackling problems. Multiculturalism presents children with challenges at a time when they are adaptable willing to absorb lessons offered by different cultures. It thus improves creativity and promotes cooperation between children of diverse backgrounds with different perspectives (Forrest, Lean & Dunn, 2016). Having teachers from multicultural backgrounds offers children from similarly different cultural backgrounds with role models they can quickly identify with. Being able to identify with teachers has been shown to improve academic outcomes for children from minority cultures or ethnicities.

Study Purpose

The global trend presently is in favor of diverse workforces as these are seen as more creative, productive, and relatable to the general public compared to monocultural workforces. Saudi Arabia is in the process of transforming its workforce to make it globally competitive as part of Vision 2030. The United States has been a global leader in the utilization of diversity programs and has reaped benefits as a result (Banks, 2015). Yet the potential benefits of teaching diversity during early childhood education appear lost a country with a migrant population that is proportionally higher to that of the United States. This study seeks to remedy this scenario and encourage the implementation of diversity programs in early learning so that Saudi Arabia can achieve its goal. The program would also be hugely beneficial to the country socially by improving racial and cultural relations for a country that is considered to be culturally rigid (Banks & Banks, 2019).