This study sought to explore the current school climate in secondary schools for boys in Saudi Arabia. Its main focus was on factors relating to school climate, such as: interrelationships, school organisation and decision-making, school buildings and facilities, and school security. Questionnaire data were collect from a sample of teachers (n=400) and students (n= 1,860). Supporting data were collected from interviews with 20 headteachers and 35 teacher-supervisors. Teachers, students, headteachers and teacher-supervisors were found to be largely satisfied with the interrelationships in schools, although most agreed that these were rather formal, particularly those between students and teachers. Both headteachers and teacher-supervisors considered that the teacher-student relationship began and ended with the delivery of the syllabus. Teacher-student relationships were conditioned by an information transmission process, which gave students little or no opportunity to contribute. School operations were largely governed by regulations, handed down from the top, and which were seen as inviolable. A formal school administration style was dominant in secondary schools. Many factors associated with this style loomed large in the interviews with headteachers and teacher-supervisors. Such a traditional approach to administration, it is argued, hindered the creation of an effective school climate. Heavy teaching loads adversely affected teacher effectiveness and morale. The majority of teachers expressed dissatisfaction with their workload. In-service training was considered limited. However, neither teachers, headteachers, nor teacher-supervisors complained about their salaries. It was found that the physical conditions under which teachers taught limited their teaching strategies. Quite apart from class-sizes, facilities, such as reprographics and audio-visual aids, were either not available or insufficient. Headteachers and teacher-supervisors broadly agreed that newly built schools were well equipped, although this was not the case in the older ones. Standards of maintenance of buildings and equipment (especially air-conditioning) and cleaning were poor. Students complained about the quality of the school cafes, as well as toilets. There were few concerns about security and safety in school, although there was some carelessness on the part of students, and school property sometimes subject to vandalism. Chapters One to Three establish the context. Chapter One introduces the study. Chapter Two considers the Saudi Education System and secondary schools in particular. Chapter Three reviews literature on school climate. Chapter Four considers the research design, including theoretical and practical factors influencing the construction of the fieldwork. It also reports on instrumentation and sampling, and the conduct of the fieldwork and data analysis. Chapter Five presents the student and teacher questionnaire findings, Chapter Six the interview findings. Chapter Seven offers an interpretation of the findings, relating these to the research questions. A series of recommendations, addressed to the Saudi Ministry of Education among other parties, are presented in Chapter Eight, together with ideas for further related research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:535525 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Al-Afnan, Ali Abdullah |
| Publisher | University of Manchester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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