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Schools offer unique insight into the lives of Saudi Arabia’s predominantly youth population, as 24% of the population is enrolled in one of the country’s education establishments. As Saudi Arabia moves away from its dependence on oil and foreign labour, developing its future workforce is central to the country’s economic and social reform policy, Vision 2030. The Human Capability Development Programme, one of the Vision Realisation Programmes, launched in 2021 with a mission to enable the country’s economy to compete globally by developing skills from an early age through its education system.
Within schools, students are part of a microcosm of Saudi society, developing an understanding of their social standing and the skills necessary to navigate through their social and professional lives in varying capacities and with varying access to resources. There is limited research into the role classrooms play in reproducing status and opportunity as it relates to class, gender and citizenship as well as on the tensions between family and student aspirations in light of education opportunities. However, focusing on the functional role of citizens in economic development is problematic in the Saudi context considering the contradicting goals of economically driven policies versus those of the education establishments.
This project examines the sociology of schooling in Saudi Arabia through a thematic analysis of the knowledge production, school organisation and social divisions, looking at the student experience and how they participate within the schools. It will also discuss how the schooling journey and the transition from education to work in the new Saudi economy may fall short without first addressing the current schooling process and the tension that exists between state and classroom goals.
Dr Hanaa Almoaibed
Hanaa is a Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. Her research explores the influence of social dynamics on work and education amongst youth in the GCC.