ACADEMIC RESEARCH ENGAGEMENT IN THE ARABIAN GULF: PREDICTORS AND CROSS-COUNTRY COMPARISON
Abstract
Challenges remain in achieving world-class standards in teaching and research while higher education has recently developed rapidly in Arabian Gulf countries. This mixed-methods study compared research engagement among academics in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about demographics, institutional support, and collaborative practices. Data were collected through an online survey sent to 44 university academics. The quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed statistically and thematically. KSA universities had a balanced gender distribution while the UAE’s had a slight male majority. UAE academics reported being more motivated to conduct research than those in KSA. Regression analysis showed that forms of institutional support significantly predict research engagement in KSA but not in the UAE. Paired-sample t-tests revealed significant differences in research motivation and co-authorship with UAE academics collaborating more frequently. However, these countries had no significant differences in research engagement or institutional support. Thematic analysis indicated KSA academics were motivated more by extrinsic than intrinsic motivators. These findings suggest KSA universities need tailored policies to improve support mechanisms while UAE universities should sustain collaborative initiatives. Future research should use larger samples and longitudinal designs to explore more factors
Keywords:
Collaboration', Gulf countries, Higher education, Motivation, Research engagementDownloads
Published
Issue
Section
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Alharbi Noura Saleh , Mohebi Laila Farahnaz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Al-Ghamdi, S., & Tight, M. (2013). Selecting and developing high-quality academic staff. In Higher education in Saudi Arabia: Achievements, challenges and opportunities. In (pp. 83-93). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
Al-Kahtani, N. K., Ryan, J. J., & Jefferson, T. I. (2006). How Saudi female faculty perceive internet technology usage and potential. Information Knowledge Systems Management, 5(4), 227-243.
Al-Khalifa, H. S. (2014). Scientometric assessment of Saudi publication productivity in computer science in the period of 1978–2012 International Journal of Web Information Systems, 10(1), 194–208.
Alghanim, S. A., & Alhamali, R. M. (2011). Research productivity among faculty members at medical and health schools in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Medical Journal, 32(12), 1297-1303.
Alhassan, A., & Ali, H. (2020). EFL teacher research engagement: Towards a research-pedagogy nexus. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 7(1), 1-15.
Alrahlah, A. A. (2016). The impact of motivational factors on research productivity of dental faculty members: A qualitative study. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 11(5), 448-455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtumed.2016.06.006
Alsharari, N. M. (2018). Internationalization of the higher education system: An interpretive analysis. International Journal of Educational Management, 32(3), 359-381. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijem-04-2017-0082
Alshihri, B. A. (2017). Using google applications as part of cloud computing to improve knowledge and teaching skills of faculty members at the university of Bisha, Bisha, Saudi Arabia. Ph.D. Thesis, Wayne State University.
Alturise, F., & Alojaiman, B. (2013). Benefits and challenges of using ICT in Saudi Arabia universities: A literature review. Paper presented at the In Proceedings of the International Conference on Advances in Computing, Engineering and Learning Technologies (pp. 2–46). Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Alzuman, A. (2015). Faculty research productivity in Saudi Arabian public universities: A human capital investment perspective. Ph.D. Thesis, Virginia Commonwealth University.
Austin, A. E., Chapman, D. W., Farah, S., Wilson, E., & Ridge, N. (2014). Expatriate academic staff in the United Arab Emirates: The nature of their work experiences in higher education institutions. Higher Education, 68(4), 541-557. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-0149727-z
Babbie, E. (2010). The practice of social research (12th ed.). Belmont, CA, London: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Bales, S., Hubbard, D. E., Sare, L., & Olivarez, J. (2019). The use of departmental journal lists in promotion and tenure decisions at American research universities. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 45(2), 153-161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2019.02.005 Borg, S. (2010). Language teacher research engagement. Language Teaching, 43(4), 391-429.
Borg, S., & Alshumaimeri, Y. (2012). University teacher teachers' research engagement: Perspectives from Saudi Arabia. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(3), 347-356.
Borg, S., & Liu, Y. (2013). Chinese college English teachers' research engagement. TESOL Quarterly, 47(2), 270-299.
Boufarss, M., & Laakso, M. (2020). Open sesame? Open access priorities, incentives, and policies among higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates. Scientometrics, 124(2), 1553-1577. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03529-y
Chapman, D., Austin, A., Farah, S., Wilson, E., & Ridge, N. (2014). Academic staff in the UAE: Unsettled journey. Higher Education Policy, 27, 131-151. https://doi.org/10.1057/hep.2013.19
Chau, N. N. T., & Pham, H. C. (2022). Investigating language teachers’ agentive practices in their research engagement. English Scholars Beyond Borders, 8(1), 3–31.
Chen, K., Zhang, Y., & Fu, X. (2019). International research collaboration: An emerging domain of innovation studies? Research Policy, 48(1), 149-168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.08.005
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., & Christian, L. M. (2014). Internet, phone, mail, and mixed-mode surveys: The tailored design method (4th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Dornyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Eid, M., & Nuhu, N. A. (2011). Impact of learning culture and information technology use on knowledge sharing of Saudi students. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 9(1), 48-57. https://doi.org/10.1057/kmrp.2010.25 Ellis, R. (2009). Corrective feedback and teacher development. L2 Journal, 1(1), 3–18.
Fernandez, A. I., Al Radaideh, A., Singh Sisodia, G., Mathew, A., & Jimber del Río, J. A. (2022). Managing university e-learning environments and academic achievement in the United Arab Emirates: An instructor and student perspective. PloS One, 17(5), e0268338. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268338
Fink, A. (2003). The survey handbook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Fowler, F. J. (2013). Survey research methods. New York: SAGE Publications. GFH. (2016). GCC education: Sector report. Retrieved from https://gfh.com/
Ghabban, F., Selamat, A., Ibrahim, R., Krejcar, O., Maresova, P., & Herrera-Viedma, E. (2019). The influence of personal and organizational factors on researchers’ attitudes towards sustainable research productivity in Saudi universities. Sustainability, 11(17), 4804. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11174804
Guraya, S. Y., Khoshhal, K. I., Yusoff, M. S. B., & Khan, M. A. (2018). Why research productivity of medical faculty declines after attaining professor rank? A multi-center study from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Pakistan. Medical Teacher, 40(sup1), S83-S89. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159x.2018.1465532
Huang, S. Y., Huang, C.-H., & Chang, T.-W. (2022). A new concept of work engagement theory in cognitive engagement, emotional engagement, and physical engagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 663440. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.663440
Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692-724. https://doi.org/10.5465/256287
Kahn, W. A., & Fellows, S. (2013). Employee engagement and meaningful work. In B. J. Dik, Z. S. Byrne, & M. F. Steger (Eds.), Purpose and meaning in the workplace. In (pp. 105–126): American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14183-006.
Kahn, W. A., & Heaphy, E. D. (2013). Relational contexts of personal engagement at work. In C.Truss, R. Delbridge, K.Alfes, A.Shantz, & E. Soane (Eds.), Employee engagement in theory and practice. In (pp. 82–96). London: Routledge.
Karabchuk, T., Shomotova, A., & Chmel, K. (2022). Paradox of research productivity of higher education institutions in Arab Gulf countries: The case of the UAE. Higher Education Quarterly, 76(4), 759-785. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12347
Khan, I., Khan, N., Jazim, F., Al-Mamary, Y. H., Abdulrab, M., & Al-Ghurbani, A. M. (2022). The effect of external factors in use of technology among Ha’il university academic faculty: Evidence from Saudi Arabia. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 14(4), 1319-1339. https://doi.org/10.1108/jarhe-04-2021-0140
Kostoulas, A. (2018). A language school as a complex system: Complex systems theory and English language teaching. Berlin: Peter Lang.
Kubota, R. (2023). Linking research to transforming the real world: Critical language studies for the next 20 years. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 20(1), 1-16.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2016). The decolonial option in English teaching: Can the subaltern act? TESOL Quarterly, 50(1), 66-85.
Kuwaiti, A. A., Bicak, H. A., & Wahass, S. (2020). Factors predicting job satisfaction among faculty members of a Saudi higher education institution. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 12(2), 296-310. https://doi.org/10.1108/jarhe-07-2018-0128
Kwon, K., & Park, J. (2019). The life cycle of employee engagement theory in HRD research. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 21(3), 352-370. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422319851443
Leite, C., Sousa-Pereira, F., & Marinho, P. (2023). Teacher educators in Portugal: what is the research profile? what are the research conditions? El Profesorado, 27(1), 301–320.
Miller, J. C., Coble, K. H., & Lusk, J. L. (2013). Evaluating top faculty researchers and the incentives that motivate them. Scientometrics, 97(3), 519–533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-013-0987-7
Ministry of Education Higher Education Saudi Arabia. (2018). Ministry of education higher education, Saudi Arabia. Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.sa/en/Pages/default.aspx
Mitterlehner, B. (2013). Quality enhancement in tertiary education in the United Arab Emirates: An assessment of an international knowledge hub. Saarbrucken: Akademiker Verlag.
Moher, D., Naudet, F., Cristea, I. A., Miedema, F., Ioannidis, J. P., & Goodman, S. N. (2018). Assessing scientists for hiring, promotion, and tenure. PLoS Biology, 16(3), e2004089. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2004089
Nguyen, L., & Marjoribanks, T. (2021). Developing a university research culture in Vietnam: A leadership conceptual framework. In J.
Gillen, L. C. Kelley, & L. H. Phan (Eds.), Vietnam at the vanguard: New perspectives across time, space, and community. In (pp. 209-233): Springer.
Peng, J. E., & Gao, X. (2019). Understanding TEFL academics’ research motivation and its relations with research productivity. Sage Open, 9(3), 2158244019866295.
Pham, C., Chau, N., & Nguyen, K. (2023). Follow your research career or choose your family: Female language teachers’ agency in their research engagement. Cogent Education, 10(2), 2236456.
Pudovkin, A. I. (2018). Comments on the use of the journal impact factor for assessing the research contributions of individual authors. Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics, 3(2), 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/frma.2018.00002
Ryan, J. (2017). Unleash power of scientific research to stimulate the UAE knowledge economy. Retrieved from https://www.thenational.ae/business/unleash-power-of-scientific-research-to-stimulate-the-uae-knowledge-economy-1.68716
Ryan, J. C., & Daly, T. M. (2019). Barriers to innovation and knowledge generation: The challenges of conducting business and social research in an emerging country context. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 4(1), 47-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2017.10.004
Sanderson, D., & Khan, S. (2019). Ghadan 21: Abu Dhabi to boost business and ecotourism with major new reforms. Retrieved from https://www.thenational.ae/uae/government/ghadan-21abu-dhabi-to-boost-business-and-ecotourism-with-major-new-reforms-1.878805#14
Schmoch, U., Fardoun, H. M., & Mashat, A. S. (2016). Establishing a world-class University in Saudi Arabia: Intended and unintended effects. Scientometrics, 109, 1191-1207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-016-2089-9
Sellami, A., Arar, K., & Sawalhi, R. (2022). Higher education and scientific research in the Arabian Gulf states: Opportunities, aspirations, and challenges. London: Routledge.
Spender, T., & Bardsley, D. (2009). University study faults lack of tenure. Retrieved from https://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/university-study-faults-lack-of-tenure-1.489374
Subbarayalu, A. V., & Al Kuwaiti, A. (2018). Quality of work life of teaching staff working at a higher education institution in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Social Service Research, 45(4), 530–542.
Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2003). Handbook of mixed methods in social and behavioral research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Tien, F. F. (2000). To what degree does the desire for promotion motivate faculty to perform research? Testing the expectancy theory. Research in Higher Education, 41, 723-752.
UAE PMO. (2015). UAE national innovation strategy. Retrieved from
https://www.moei.gov.ae/assets/download/1d2d6460/National%20Innovation%20Strategy.pdf.aspx
UAE PMO. (2019). Share of the UAE nationals in the workforce. The Prime Minister's Office. Retrieved from https://uaecabinet.ae/en/primeministers-office
Xu, X. (2014). Becoming researchers: A narrative study of Chinese university EFL teachers' research practice and their professional identity construction. Language Teaching Research, 18(2), 242-259.
Yassin, F., Salim, J., & Sahari, N. (2013). The influence of organizational factors on knowledge sharing using ICT among teachers. Procedia Technology, 11, 272-280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.protcy.2013.12.191
