Attitudes and Perceptions of Saudi EFL Teachers in Implementing Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030

Abstract

The study aimed at exploring the attitudes and perceptions of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers at public schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in achieving the Kingdom"s "2030 Vision" which relates to the development of education in general and to the EFL discipline in particular. The study adopted the descriptive approach by utilizing a survey tool for the study which consisted of nineteen items divided into four constructs. The study sample consisted of 550 female and 450 male, Saudi government schools EFL teachers from the main regions of the Kingdom. The results of the statistical analysis of the responses of the participants indicated overwhelmingly a high level of positive attitude towards professional development in the teaching of English Language (EL), reaching 91% as well as a near unanimity in the responses of the participants which was reflected in the lack of statistically significant relationship between the responses of the participants towards implementing 2030 vision through the achievement of professional development as well as working towards establishing international networking with teachers of English in various countries around the ISSN 2325-0887 2017 www.macrothink.org/ijele 84 world. The results also indicated that there are still certain obstacles that may adversely affect the implementation of the vision of Saudi Arabia in 2030. Thus, the researchers have made several recommendations including conducting future research studies that will look into further areas not covered by this study.International Journal of English Language Education

Changes Required in Saudi Universities Curriculum to Meet the Demands of 2030 Vision

“…The development of English language teaching skills was presented at the First International Conference on teaching English language. Different issues regarding improvement in learning English language skills according to 2030 vision were discussed in the conference (Al-Zahrani et al, 2017). The basic aim of the conference was to establish association between different experiences and cultures, which would reflect the objectives of vision 2030.…”

“…There is a lack of educational competence for the teachers as they face many obstacles in their teaching practices (Al-Zahrani et al, 2017). Therefore, there is a need to develop a foundation of consistent English language teaching with vision 2030 for achieving higher levels in educational system of Saudi Arabia.…”

“…The Saudi vision of 2030 has also aimed to search for common grounds to create association between Saudi Arabia and different countries of the world in the educational, economic, and medical fields. According to vision 2030, the improvement and advancement in the educational environment of Saudi Arabia's government schools are associated with development of English language teachings (Al-Zahrani et al, 2017). The effective implementation of vision 2030 depends on effective training of different educational cadres, which are required for teaching English language.…”

“…Among different countries, ethnicities, and races across the world, English language has been regarded as a common source of communication. Moreover, different factors are responsible for the prosperity of countries worldwide, and it depends on effective communications (Al-Zahrani et al, 2017). His Royal Highness (HRH) Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin AbdulAziz is the deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia instigated "The Saudi Vision of 2030".…”

“…The effective communication between different nations and people across the world is helpful in cultural exchange, peace prevalence, and good welfare. It is necessary to learn foreign languages, particularly English to carry out successful communication (Al-Zahrani et al, 2017). Among different countries, ethnicities, and races across the world, English language has been regarded as a common source of communication.…”