The purpose of this study is to explore the use of social media by students in the Faculty of Education, University of Kuwait. The study was conducted within the context of the socio-cultural characteristics of Kuwait, and was underpinned by Alsaied's (2017) Social Media -Learning Performance model, designed for female Arab students. A volunteer sample of 35 Kuwaiti undergraduate students (88.6% female) was interviewed. Students reported frequently using social media informally for socialization and entertainment, but less frequently as a formal educational tool. Most of the students perceived that social media facilitated interaction with peers, interaction with faculty, engagement, and collaborative learning. However, technical difficulties, and certain negative attitudes towards women using social media, were identified. We recommend that Kuwait University needs to harness the full benefits of social media for teaching and learning and to formulate official guidelines to control the use of social media by all faculty members and students.

No abstract

The educational system has been evolving since it was formalized in the 19th century. However, this evolution has reached its peak during the 20th century, when several educational institutions started to launch instructional initiatives that revolve around the student, paving the way for more student-cantered learning that allows students to learn and gain academic knowledge, in a manner through which their independence to use different resources is heightened. This modern approach also emphasizes the concept of interactive communication between students and teachers, and it does not leave students to their own devices (Popova, 2020, p. 196). This is because student-cantered education makes students have more responsibility for the choices they make regarding learning objectives, academic subjects, and developmental strategies needed to enhance their mental capabilities (Das, 2019, p. 157). Accordingly, this student-cantered approach can be represented by several forms and models of education such as distance learning. Therefore, it can be indicated that distance learning is a rather modern form of education that enables students to learn from and communicate with their tutors without having to attend school. This form of education offers an array of strategies such as e-learning that gives students the freedom to learn, communicate, and adjust their schedule by using the internet (Tavukcu, Arap, & Ozcan, 2011, p. 4002). Moreover, it can be indicated that the modern educational system is highly dependent on distance education as a tool that signifies the significance of using the latest scientific and technological The Development of Crisis Distance Education at Kuwait University During the COVID-19 Pandemic Egyptian Journal of Educational Sciences (42) Issue 1 (Part One) 2021 The Development of Crisis Distance Education at Kuwait University During the COVID-19 Pandemic Egyptian Journal of Educational Sciences (44) Issue 1 (Part One) 2021perceptions and experience toward using crisis distance education as an educational alternative during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research Terminologies:The current research investigated the issue of implementing distance education strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the main research terminologies can be defined as follows:Firstly: Crisis Distance Education: Al-Lily, Ismail, Abunasser, and Alqahtani (2020, p. 1) defined crisis distance as "A unique form of education in its philosophies and procedures, being fundamentally different from typical distance education in several ways". The researcher defined crisis distance education as a distinct form of education that can be used mandatorily to assist both teachers and students in teaching and learning from a distance, during any given crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondly: Crisis: Abrashi (2018, p. 21) defined crisis as "A circumstance in which the organization cannot function normally, hindering the achievement of its objectives and threatening survival, and it causes uncertainty, stress, panic, and confusi...