No abstract

Definitions of a sustainable higher education focus on the different factors that are critical to the continued existence of the institution, the people it serves, and the surrounding society. If higher education is assumed to be a conduit for the acquisition of knowledge and skills that can contribute to a healthy, ethical, and sustainable society, then it has to be able to induce lasting behavioral change in its primary beneficiaries (i.e., students). In the age of fake news, misrepresentation, and rejection of scientific principles and facts, we identified cognitive operations that are key to scientific reasoning (i.e., apply, analyze and evaluate), and offered sustainable practice to students enrolled in a course devoted to scientific writing. Students were classified as possessing an inclination towards a reproductive mode of learning, which could increase their vulnerability to absorb fabrications and distortions of information. The research first asked whether practice in applying, evaluating, and analyzing induces an information processing change (as measured by the content of scientific writing). Then, it asked whether environmental disruptions (e.g., shifting from face-to-face instruction, a mode familiar to students, to online instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic) would affect the likelihood of change. We found that this type of practice was an effective propeller of change in students’ scientific reasoning. A disposition towards reproductive learning did not impair scientific reasoning, whereas engagement and practice made a positive contribution. We concluded that behavioral change is blocked by neither the availability of technology, nor the learner’s use, but rather by one’s motivation to make use of opportunities for change. A sudden alteration in the learning environment may create uncertainty but does not substantially alter this motivation. The findings of the present study can be useful to the development of a sustainable education in the Middle East and beyond.

PurposeThe present field research aimed to assess whether gender differences exist in academic entitlement among college students of a society in rapid transition from a patriarchal system to one fostering gender equity. It then aimed to determine whether particular dimensions of academic entitlement or a simplified one-factor measure can be used as an early indicator of course-related academic difficulties.Design/methodology/approachCollege students completed a questionnaire about academic entitlement. Records of test and assessment performance, as well as attendance, were collected for the first half of an academic semester. Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, instruction was delivered online synchronously.FindingsA few gender differences were found that departed from the largely consistent finding in the extant literature of greater academic entitlement in males. For female students, selected dimensions of academic entitlement, but not class attendance, weakly predicted poor performance. For male students, dimensions of academic entitlement were ineffective predictors of both performance and attendance, thereby suggesting that demographic characteristics may define the sensitivity of academic entitlement measures to early, course-related academic difficulties.Research limitations/implicationsThe current study has limitations to be addressed in future research. For instance, the insensitivity of male students' academic entitlement to early performance measures needs to be investigated further. It may be the byproduct of the weakening of the view of male superiority typical of patriarchal societies, which arises from top-down interventions intended to promote gender equity. Yet, it may also underline males' reluctance to express a view that is counter to institutional messages of gender equity as well as religious and cultural values of modesty (Al-Absi, 2018), and personal responsibility (Asrorovna, 2020; Smither and Khorsandi, 2009). Another limitation is the extent to which specific items or dimensions of academic entitlement map into specific cultural dimensions, such as individualism and collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity and femininity (Hofstede, 2011).Practical implicationsAcademic entitlement is of concern to educators at universities and colleges across the world for several reasons. High levels of stress (Barton and Hirsch, 2016) and frustration (Anderson et al., 2013) usually accompany academic entitlement along with students' self-reports of lower exerted effort (Kopp et al., 2011). In self-reports, academic entitlement is found to be correlated with an external locus of control, lower academic motivation and lower ratings of class attendance (Fromuth et al., 2019). Boswell (2012) has also reported it as linked to lower students' confidence in their ability to complete with success the courses in which they are enrolled (i.e. course self-efficacy). Thus, the availability of early measures of academic risk in core courses, which prepare students for advanced courses in their major, can be particularly valuable to educators and administrators.Social implicationsThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) represents a society in rapid transition (Nowak and Vallacher, 2019) from a gender-segregated system to one in which gender equity in educational as well as occupational opportunities and choices is promoted and sustained through top-down institutional changes (e.g. decrees, declarations, investments, etc.; Mansyuroh, 2019). The study’s findings suggest that college students, the main targets of institutional efforts promoting gender equity, may be responsive to such efforts.Originality/valueThe present study is a snapshot of a moment at which the impact of top-down institutional actions for gender equity has become palpable mostly due to its spreading across the large youth population of KSA (Assaad and Roudi-Fahimi, 2007). In this research, the authors asked how the target recipients (i.e. college students) of institutional gender-equity efforts might react.

PurposeIn the present study, the authors examined whether academic performance [grade point average (GPA)] can be predicted by self-reported frequency of memorization and recitation, verbatim memory performance, and self-efficacy in a sample of college students from Saudi Arabia.Design/methodology/approachStudents' verse memory, word memory, experience with memorization and recitation, as well as general self-efficacy were measured. GPA was provided by the Office of the Registrar.FindingsVerbatim memory performance for individual words and verses moderately predicted GPA.Research limitations/implicationsTo be determined is the extent to which memory skills for different materials are related to memorization and recitation practice as well as encoding preferences.Practical implicationsThe findings indicate that even though in college a premium is placed on activities that transform the format of the materials to be learned, activities that replicate materials may still be helpful.Social implicationsIn Western pedagogy, memorization and recitation are considered counterproductive modes of information acquisition. The findings of this study illustrate that retention is an essential processing step upon which the complex cognitive activities that are embedded in college-level curricula rely.Originality/valueThe extant literature illustrates the benefits of exceptional memorization and recitation training. The findings suggest that academic success is positively related to what would be judged as moderate practice, thereby supporting the notion that benefits exist.

Evidence exists that Westerners rely on similarities to organize their perceptual experiences (descriptive style) and on dispositions to explain human behavior, whereas Far East Asians rely on functional relationships (relational style) and situational details. The present research challenged this dichotomy by investigating perceptual organization and causal attribution in bicultural women of Middle Eastern descent. In Experiment 1, participants were given three items from which to pick two that would go together (e.g., shampoo, conditioner, hair). In Experiment 2, participants were asked to explain desirable and undesirable outcomes (i.e., grades). In both studies, cultural orientation was assessed. When participants were given three items from which to pick two that would go together, they emulated the Westerners' descriptive approach to perception, selecting choices based on similarities (e.g., shampoo and conditioner) rather than on functional relationships (e.g., shampoo and hair). When participants explained desirable outcomes, they preferred internal causes, whereas when they explained undesirable outcomes, they preferred external causes, thereby expressing the self-serving bias often attributed to people from the West. Yet, they also exhibited a hybrid cultural orientation, which included both collectivistic and individualistic inclinations. Although these findings support a polycultural viewpoint, according to which people can manage coherent lives informed by multiple legacies, they also indicate that cultural mindsets do not evenly influence information processing.