A Narrative Inquiry Into Academic Experiences of Female Saudi Graduate Students at a Comprehensive Doctoral University

Abstract

Saudi student enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities has nearly tripled since 2009-2010, in large part due to the King Abdullah Scholarship Program. The representation of Saudi females is also increasing due to the loosening of Saudi Arabia's long-standing restrictions on women's travel and acceptable fields of study and careers. This constructivist study highlights some of the academic experiences of female Saudi graduate students at a Comprehensive Doctoral University in the western United States. Challenges related to students' insufficient English language skills, differences in their comfort levels interacting with American and Saudi men, positive relationships with both male and female faculty members, and generally positive feelings about their experiences at their university of choice emerged as themes within the data. The participants' varied prior experiences with mixedgendered educational environments led to differing levels of comfort with developing relationships with men.

Development and Validation of Academic Moral Authority Scale for Secondary School Heads (AcMAS-SSH)

“…Since learning takes some time, learners needs and benefit from teachers who exhibited the patience in situations that allows students and other colleagues the period they need for the self-paced professional learning (Barth & Rieckmann, 2012). It is believed that a head teacher would cease to exist as a teacher if he stops updating his knowledge and skill sets to meet the emerging evolutions in things that are to be taught (Sandekian et al, 2015). A head teacher, therefore is a continuous learner, if having patience as a dominant skill in academic matters, and above all passion towards teaching to experience the sheer joy of his students learning and getting benefited in life (Stylianou & Zembylas, 2019).…”

Reading Activities in Blended Learning: Recommendations for University Language Preparatory Course Teachers

“…EFL reading is also very important for academic achievement of those students who study at international programs at home or especially abroad. Hirano (2015), Sandekian, Weddington, Birnbaum and Keen (2015), as well as Young and Schartner (2014) studied through interviews, questionnaires and observations the problems that learners from non-English-speaking countries encounter while studying in the USA and the UK. On the other hand, some countries, such as Malaysia, are providing international education in English.…”

“She Needs to Be Shy!”: Gender, Culture, and Nonparticipation Among Saudi Arabian Female Students

“…The presence of Saudi men intensifies this worry and may prevent female students’ participation or pressure them to be silent. For these reasons, some women favor women‐only institutions and women‐only spaces during their study abroad (Sandekian, Weddington, Birnbaum, & Keen, ). Discussion of Saudi women's participation or nonparticipation in L2 classrooms should take into account their cultural–religious socialization with respect to mixed‐gender interactions in order to understand how challenges to traditional gender identity can best be negotiated.…”