Saudi Arabia's rapid economic and social development has led to an increasing demand for higher education to meet the skills and knowledge demands of globalisation and the knowledge economy. In order to cater effectively for the increased demand for higher education, the government has expanded the private sector. However, higher education in Saudi Arabia is facing a range of different challenges related to, for example, its educational policies and regulations, the management of universities, funding, and the maintenance of quality standards in higher education institutions. Although the role of the senior management in private universities in Saudi Arabia has always been important to university management and performance, the increasing significance that is being given to bureaucracy, academic performance and productivity, and government intervention and accountability has greatly elevated the significance of this position. Previous research and anecdotal evidence suggest that strong academic leadership is paramount to the effective running of educational institutions and that professional measurement is needed to analyse the current management of these institutions. Using a qualitative and exploratory approach that is in line with social constructivism, this thesis explores the factors underlying the opportunities and challenges encountered by the senior management teams at three private universities in Saudi Arabia. The interviewees comprise 20 senior management members who represent the three case studies at three private universities in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. The research addresses the opportunities and challenges to contribute to the development of academic leadership in private universities in Saudi Arabia. The data collected and analyzed generate recommendations for improving the performance of the presidents, vice presidents, and deans of these institutions to attain the desired level that the institutions were established to achieve.

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Saudi Arabia is keen to develop higher education through continuous financial support and encouragement to students, not only to master English but also to engage in its associated culture and practices even though this may involve disregarding some Islamic objections to the Western world. Hence, the Preparatory Year Programme (PYP) was established which is a qualifying year for students to I) bridge the gap between secondary and higher education where the language of instruction moves from Arabic to English; 2) prepare them to obtain a position in the labour market. The Intensive English Programme (IEP) forms part of the PYP at King Saud University (KSU). The purpose of the present study is to explore the extent to which the IEP meets its goals of preparing students for university and work by equipping them with academic English and the necessary study skills. This research focuses on the 1EP female section of which no evaluation studies have so far been carried out. Furthermore, it considers the extent to which cultural diversity affects the implementation of the 1EP. The participants are female IEP and KSU students, instructors and administrators of the 2013-14 academic year. A mixed methods approach is implemented in which data are qualitatively collected through 41 interviews, 6 observations and document analysis and are quantitatively gathered through 642 questionnaires. The researcher employs a model developed by Stufflebeam (1971, 2007) that evaluates programmes according to their context, input, process and product (CIPP), allowing recommendations for changes and improvements to the IEP. Findings show that 1) the IEP positively enhances students’ personal and educational skills; 2) the IEP does not suffice in terms of preparing students academically for university study; 3) there are incompatibilities between IEP textbooks, assessments and teaching approaches; 4) cultural diversity has both positive and negative impacts on individuals.

This study explores women’s views and attitudes towards the traditionally masculine subjects in higher education in a Saudi Arabian context. It investigates the factors that influence women’s subject choices. It also addresses the implications of limited subject choices in women’s experiences in higher education. The study adopted an inquiry approach to understand women’s experiences in relation to their educational choices. The study was conducted at two universities located in two major cities in Saudi Arabia. The data in this study were collected through interviews with women. Snowball sampling was used to recruit 100 female students and lecturers. The findings of this study demonstrate how the internalisation of gender norms and gender stereotypes shapes women’s views and attitudes towards these subjects. It also shows how patriarchal structures influence women’s subject choices and how such influences vary depending on the father. Women who come from traditional families are more likely to accommodate the patriarchal influences, whilst those who come from non-traditional families are more likely to bargain or negotiate with the patriarchal system. This study reveals how fathers’ influences on women’s education differ according to their attitudes towards Ikhtilat. The study addresses the sensitivity of the Ikhtilat issue in the Saudi context and how the prohibition of Ikhtilat has shaped women’s experiences in Saudi higher education. It shows how women exercise their agency through bargaining, resisting and negotiating with the patriarchal system. Furthermore, it identifies factors that influence women’s subject choices and how these factors differ amongst women.

This research explores and identifies factors that may influence the effective use of the Online Collaborative Learning (OCL) environment in the Saudi higher education context. Within this setting, the current OCL is in its early stages of adoption. Therefore, this study is a platform to assess how this environment can be used more effectively to improve teaching and learning, as well as identifying any underlying factors that may affect the students‘ overall learning experience when using the OCL environment. In doing so, the study provides an important contribution for educational institutes and policy makers, by drawing attention to factors that could be addressed to improve pedagogy and the effectiveness of the learning environment. In order to gain a clear insight into both the potential and the challenges that ensue when using OCL setting in Saudi higher education, the study investigates the experience of students: the participants (n=729) are Saudi male undergraduate distance students in their preparatory year, attending King Abdulaziz University (KAU). The participants have been exposed to the OCL environment and therefore are in a position to provide incisive information pertaining to its overall use, including underlying factors and challenges. The research methodology for this study adopts a sequential mixed-methods approach. The data reveals certain factors that are significantly influencing how effectively the OCL setting can be used within this context. Among those factors identified, the technology related aspects (i.e. Internet speed and technical support), the student characteristics (i.e. their awareness and willingness) and the tutors‘ roles (i.e. their attitudes towards a collaborative learning environment as well as their ICT skills) were viewed as significant. It is envisaged that the findings from this study may be used to assist in the development and implementation of OCL environments, not only in this context, but also within diverse contexts and environments found in developing countries.

A great expansion is underway in the Saudi higher education system as it moves from an elite to a mass form of higher education. The number of universities, for example, has jumped from eight universities in 2000 to more than 24 in 2011. Given the scale of investment called for, questions are being increasingly asked about the effectiveness of the higher education system. As a contribution to those processes of greater scrutiny, the present study explores the perceptions of Saudi students of learning and teaching in translation studies. The broad aim of the study is to throw some light on how students learn and regulate their learning in translation studies, and how they are influenced by the course design. While the strongest emphasis of this study was on students’ self-regulation of their learning, this is presented as one aspect of their approaches to learning, and in order to illuminate these self-regulated approaches to learning, students’ perceptions of the teaching and learning environments (TLEs), and their orientations to learning were examined as well. Three contrasting undergraduate courses were examined using a mixed method approach combining Likert-style questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. A total of 352 students were surveyed using an adapted version of Vermunt’s Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS). This was complemented by interviews with 34 students. Six case studies were drawn out from the interview data for indepth analysis of students’ experience of studying in this particular context. In order to capture the richness and distinctiveness of the learning in translation studies, it was necessary to distinguish two contrasting approaches; one of them is a deep self-regulated approach, and the other is a surface unregulated approach to studying. Each of these approaches is contextualised within the learning in translation studies. There were some important environmental influences on these approaches including: course characteristics, classroom teaching, and feedback and assessment. In addition to this, four types of orientations were discerned among those group of students; academic, personal, vocational, and social. All of these types have intrinsic and extrinsic forms except the personal and the social which had intrinsic forms only. The study concludes with conceptual, methodological, and practical implications drawn from the findings. Perhaps the most important implication is the need to improve students’ skills in self-regulation over the course of their studies. This research provides insights into the experience of learning of this group of students, at the same time it emphasises the need for more studies on this under-researched group of students.

In 2004, the Saudi Higher Education Supreme Council (HESC) established the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA). According to the Secretary General of the NCAAA, introducing this system at the national level was essential for economic and social development in Saudi Arabia. The emergence of the NCAAA represents the central focus of this thesis, specifically in relation to the NCAAA’s role in improving the educational process in Saudi higher education institutions (HEIs). The overarching objective was to explore and describe the present engagement within Saudi higher education with the recommendations made by the NCAAA directed towards the enhancement of the quality of student learning, with the intention of identifying whether the attributes of the Saudi higher education system were consistent with these recommendations. This overarching objective was further divided into the following three more specific objectives: a) To explore administrators’ (i.e. faculty deans’) perceptions of the extent to which the recommendations made by the NCAAA have been adopted in two public Saudi universities. b) To explore teachers’ perceptions of their practice, considering comparisons between the two institutions. c) To explore the students’ experiences, again considering comparisons between the two institutions. The above objectives drove the data collection process, and these data constituted the empirical base of the study. The research was conducted in two public universities located in two geographically distinct provinces of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from three groups of stakeholders, including senior administrators, teachers and students. This was done by means of individual interviews with 11 senior administrators and the collection of survey data from 78 teachers and 430 students, who were recruited from 11 faculties across the two institutions. Semi-structured interviews with senior administrators focused on their personal views and opinions of the educational process with respect to student learning, in order to identify the extent to which their faculty/unit was engaged with the NCAAA recommendations. The questions in the teacher and student surveys were derived from the recommendations published by the NCAAA with regard to the improvement of the educational process, and focused on their teaching practice and learning experiences respectively. The qualitative analysis of the administrators’ data suggested some differences in terms of how the two institutions engaged with the NCAAA’s recommendations and thus I adopted a comparative approach to the analysis of the teachers’ and students’ responses. A factor analysis was carried out to further clarify the themes present in the surveys from the perspectives of both teachers and students, and descriptive analyses were then used to explore the extent of resonance with the recommendations of the NCAAA. Inferential statistics were applied to investigate any differences between the two institutions against the outlined themes. The administrators’ responses at both institutions indicated that there was room for improvement in adopting the NCAAA’s recommendations. While the perceptions of teachers at both institutions seemed to suggest compliance with these recommendations, the statements of the students were more congruent with those of the administrators. The findings of the study indicate that there is yet some way to go towards the realisation of the aspirations of the NCAAA. They further suggest the desirability of a greater degree of student involvement in the evaluation of the quality of the educational process. Finally, the transformation of a series of recommendations for quality enhancement into a culture of quality within an individual institution is a process that can be expected to take some time. The study, while indicating a degree of commitment to, and espousal of, the recommendations of the NCAAA, suggests that there is some considerable way to go before this will be seen to impact directly and significantly on the student experience.