Volume 11, Issue 10 (October 2024), Pages: 76-82
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Original Research Paper
Women academic leaders in Saudi universities: Educational and psychological vision
Author(s):
Hany Rizk Alalfy 1, *, Hesham Yousef Alaraby 2, Abdalla Sayed Gaballa 3, 4, Salem Said Shalaby 2, Zeyad A. Alrefai 1
Affiliation(s):
1Department of Management Information Systems, Applied Faculty, Hail University, Hail, Saudi Arabia
2Deanship of Quality and Development, Hail University, Hail, Saudi Arabia
3Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education, Hail University, Hail, Saudi Arabia
4Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
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* Corresponding Author.
Corresponding author's ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1582-5502
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2024.10.008
Abstract
There is limited understanding of women's leadership roles in Saudi Arabian university education, leading to a gap in scholarly literature despite significant advancements made by Saudi women in this field. However, they encounter several obstacles when striving for leadership roles at universities. This study seeks to examine the state of women's academic leadership within Saudi universities from an educational and psychological perspective, pinpointing the key challenges they face in obtaining such positions. The findings reveal that women leaders face various challenges, with organizational obstacles being the most significant, receiving a high average score of 4. Additionally, cultural and social barriers scored an average of 3.51, also rated highly, followed by psychological barriers with an average score of 3.26, which received a medium rating. Participants suggested comprehensive reforms to mitigate these challenges, notably implementing Saudi Vision 2030 principles and initiatives, which advocate for women faculty members to take on leadership roles at universities. These insights could not only benefit Saudi Arabia but also the wider Arab Gulf region, the Middle East, and other areas with similar conditions.
© 2024 The Authors. Published by IASE.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords
Women's academic leadership, Saudi universities, Organizational barriers, Cultural and social barriers, Saudi vision 2030
Article history
Received 6 November 2023, Received in revised form 6 March 2024, Accepted 29 September 2024
Acknowledgment
No Acknowledgment.
Compliance with ethical standards
Ethical considerations
This study was conducted in accordance with ethical guidelines to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of all participants. Informed consent was obtained from all respondents, who were assured of their anonymity and the voluntary nature of their participation. The research adhered to ethical standards appropriate to the cultural context and institutional requirements.
Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Citation:
Alalfy HR, Alaraby HY, Gaballa AS, Shalaby SS, and Alrefai ZA (2024). Women academic leaders in Saudi universities: Educational and psychological vision. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 11(10): 76-82
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