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Running head: USING SMARTPHONES IN EDUCATION IN SAUDI ARABIA

Using Smartphones in Education in Saudi Arabia

Name:

Institution

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Using Smartphones in Education in Saudi Arabia

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Abstract
The aim of this study is to research on the use of smartphones among Saudi Arabian
university students for educational purposes. The survey was conducted by use of questionnaires.
These questionnaires were distributed to 52 students undertaking different disciplines in different
universities. This survey notices that desktops have been replaced with smartphones. The
students mainly used smartphones for social media and to gain access to the university’s
clipboard. The study as well revealed that 76.9% of the respondents admitted being using their
smartphones always while none responded to not using their smartphones.
Introduction
To-date, every part of an individual’s life has been dominated by smartphones. Around
the globe, individuals have adopted the technology as being among the most prerequisite
necessary facility in their daily life. There is no doubt that smartphones are capable of changing
an individual’s life. These gadgets have been adopted thus replacing video recorders, digital
cameras, and watches. Smartphones have been used to make calls and send messages as well as
accessing the internet to send emails and buy or sell goods. Increase in social media users has
been due to growth in smartphone users.
Google’s recent survey in countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
have smartphone’s adoption rate of above 50%. The smartphones are equipped with applications
for accessing the social media such as Twitter and WhatsApp. Also, studies have been conducted
to discover smartphones’ use and effects for education purposes among university students.
Some researchers have reported on students’ nature of using smartphones including their

Using Smartphones in Education in Saudi Arabia

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attitudes towards smartphones use for learning. Researchers have reported that smartphones have
severe effects on learning.
Nonetheless, many surveys have been conducted to reveal the use of smartphones among
university students. The aim of this survey is to clearly elaborate the use of smartphones for
education purposes in Saudi Arabia.
Literature Review
As demonstrated by Alsloom (1991), Saudi Arabia’s education’s development passed
through significant stages. The first stage was the Establishment Stage which is viewed as the
Saudi Arabia’s formal education during the establishment of Knowledge Directorate in 1925.
This Directorate was mandated to manage all levels and types of education (Smith &
Abouammoh, 2013). Later, this Directorate became the Ministry of Education in 1953 and was
Saudi Arabia’s second education phase, also termed as the growth stage. This saw an increase in
the number of schools. In 1975, the Ministry of Higher Education was founded to foresee
university education (Elyas & Picard, 2013). Additionally, in 1980, Technical and Vocational
Training Corporation was formed to oversee technical education.
From an observer’s point of view, a lot has been achieved in the education system of
Saudi Arabia within a bracket of ten years (ur Rahman & Alhaisoni, 2013). Saudi Arabia’s
higher education is experiencing a golden period because it receives enough attention from
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (Al Rajhi, et al., 2012). There are different ways of
translating the attention: first, there was a rise in the number of universities from 7 to 24 in 1998
and 2010 respectively (Aljabre, 2012). The increase in public universities was 140% and 9
private universities (Nassuora, 2012). Also, there was the opening of Princess Nora bint

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Abdurrahman University having a capacity of 50,000 students (Seliaman & Al-Turki, 2012).
This university is considered as the world’s largest women university. Additionally, there was an
increase in study abroad programs. Students were sent to France, Malaysia, Canada, and other
nations by The Kingdom’s scholarship program (Taylor & Albasri, 2014). Thousands of students
attend higher-education annually. Lastly, there has been a rise in the adoption of e-learning and
long-distance education.
As some authors have argued, social media sites have continuously gained popularity
among university students. Usually, the student uses the smartphones to gain access to this sites
(Alwagait, Shahzad, & Alim, 2015). The social media sites have facilitated an interaction of the
students with their teachers, encouraging communication and sharing of topics. However, the
survey conducted indicates that there is “habit forming” among people in possession of
smartphones (Alsanie, 2015). These individuals are observed to check their smartphones
frequently either to view a mail or a social media application. Nonetheless, research conducted
reveals a relationship between the intrusion of smartphones and balance of education among
university students.
Methodology
Participants
In this survey, a sample of 52 students studying different courses from different
universities is involved. The survey involved 18 males and 34 females. Among the 52
respondents, they ranked as follo...