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J01XA GLICOPEPTÍDICOS ANTIBACTERIANOS
The hierarchal educational system in Saudi Arabia has had a profound influence on school culture, posing many challenges to the role of CTs during STs’ practicum. The data suggests that all twelve participants held their educational culture in great respect, but identified a number of issues at many different levels of
operation within practicum, including: decision making, authority/stature, teachers’ learning, pupils’ learning and how society views the practicum.
All twelve participants acknowledged decision-making to be central and that it should not be questioned. Thus, CTs are restricted in their decision-making due to occupying the lower levels of the hierarchy. They are expected to follow their HTs’ instructions, who, in turn, follow those of the USs.
There is a real power struggle, I think, during practicum. I think it’s quite easy for us to take over the decision-making from the CT, because we in the MOE contact both HTs and US directly with our latest decisions. Another reason maybe is that normally USs and MOE officials have higher degrees. (MOE official 2)
All six CTs indicated that they followed the rules, rather than actively participating in the practicum. Moreover, they felt they were unable to dispute any specific aspects, as this is considered disrespectful in the school culture and could directly influence their annual review:
I agree to do it because my HT asked me, and, you know, I want to get a good annual review. (CT 2)
They simply don’t say no. They CAN’T, because they fear that their annual evaluation would be affected. (MOE official 2)
Refuse? No, no. I’ve never faced that with my teachers. They never object to supervising STs. (HT 2)
Similarly, CTs’ authority over their STs is also evident, because they expect their STs to follow their instructions without question. Therefore, ideas can be passed on from a higher level, but tend to be shared and discussed within the same level (i.e. CT to CT, ST to ST) because it is culturally inappropriate to question someone’s knowledge in a higher position in the chain of command:
My STs always listen to my ideas. They are so cooperative and polite, unlike the US, who doesn’t even meet with us CTs! (CT 1)
I help my STs by telling them what they’ve got to teach and how they’re going to teach it. (CT 2)
These statements indicate a highly restricted approach to STs’ professional training, in which a CT holds a higher position than CTs and STs. However, these form important components of adult learning and thus impact on the practicum the ST. None of the twelve participants described collegial relationships between HTs and UTs or.
Furthermore, the data revealed that none of the twelve participants considered the practicum a professional learning experience. Instead, they viewed it as simply a training opportunity for STs to enact what they learned in university, using observation of CTs as a guide for practice. In the interviews, all twelve participants separated ITE for STs from PD for CTs. Neither were considered a learning activity, but rather forms of training taking place at different points of teachers’ careers. Thus, some participants in this study (one MOE official and three CTs) considered that the low annual evaluations of newly appointed teachers implied that the school practicum was not beneficial to ITE. This leads to the conclusion that one of the main aims of the country’s national educational reform is enhancing the quality of ITE practicum:
I believe that unless the ITE programmes go back to how they were fifteen years ago, these school placements are only a waste of everyone’s time. ITE programmes used to send us well-prepared teachers. They knew everything they needed to know in theory (such as lesson planning, methods of teaching, etc.) and the practicum lasted for two whole semesters divided across two years. But now they send them for three or four weeks. Clueless! This creates a burden for our teachers, whom I appreciate for doing this job, but honestly one hand can’t clap alone! (MOE official 2)
Moreover, all three HTs were under the impression that STs were sent to their schools to ‘teach’ rather than learn, so they criticised their lack of experience and knowledge of practicum:
They come to the school with no experience whatsoever! (HT 1) First of all, they do not have knowledge of teaching (pause) nor do they have practice. (HT 3)
The CT hands them the schedules, and see which grades they want to teach, because sometimes they ask to teach certain grades, based on their major. (HT 2)
This misconceived idea about the practicum is not restricted to a few professionals in the field of ITE in Saudi Arabia. The data also reveals a culture of rejection and distrust of the practicum process from the wider society, which can act to deprive STs of many learning opportunities:
Parents hate STs’ practicum. They start phoning to try and move their children to classes that don’t have STs scheduled to teach them. While those who agree to their child being taught by a ST tend to call complaining about their child’s grade, demanding that it be changed, or that the weekly tests get marked by the class original teacher. It’s a headache, I’m telling you. (HT1)
Sometimes, STs bribe the pupils by giving them candy and prizes to make them quiet or get them to do the assignments … (laughs) My daughter kept coming with candy from school and when I asked her where she got it from, she said that their ST gave them because they were good. STs are so scared of the pupils and their parents. (MOE
official 1)
I feel so sad for them (STs). Even the school guard doesn’t let them in or out of school without a clearance from the HT, and the cleaning staff refuse to clean their room or move desks and chairs to it, so STs normally do it themselves. (CT 3)
I think the problem starts with how we address STs in our Saudi schools. We call them ‘college girls’, which indicates right away that they are not teachers. This makes students and their parents (and in many cases school staff) fail to act respectfully towards them, or take them seriously. I believe we should call them teachers and give them real control of grades, so that pupils and their parents show them more respect. (MOE official 3)
This reveals the low status of STs in Saudi Arabian school culture during their practicum, shedding light on how their superiors, including their CTs, view that status in relation to Saudi society’s educational culture.
The data revealed that the major focus of the participants is on pupils’ learning. All three HTs and six CTs expressed concerns related to the potential for STs’ practicum to negatively impact on the education of pupils, resulting in a tendency
to minimise STs’ participation in classroom teaching. None of these nine participants demonstrated any understanding of how STs’ practicum could have a positive impact on their pupils’ learning. By contrast, all three MOE officials acknowledged the importance of STs’ practicum in developing their ITE, linking it to positive outcomes for pupils.
A CT explained that she always gave her STs specific teaching instructions on how to teach, with the aim of guaranteeing that they did not jeopardise her pupils’ learning:
I…sometimes have to make sure that the ST is actually teaching the right thing, because, at the end of the day, it’s still my class and I’m held accountable for their education. (CT 2)
The data indicates that decision making in Saudi Arabian education is centralised, being passed from the MOE to both schools and universities. USs and HTs then pass this to CTs who finally pass the instructions on to STs. However, the data also appears to suggest a problematic relationship between CTs and the STs in this study, and in particular that it tends to be hierarchal, thus implying an inability to question authority. As previously noted, the participating CTs demonstrated little sense of STs being equal, but rather used the phrase “when we were like them” in a way that reflected a feeling of superiority. None the less, a sense of professional identity can, at times, be seen in CTs. However, CTs continue to feel little sense of professional responsibility for STs.