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Society and Social Change

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Education System in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The society in Saudi Arabia has undergone significant transformations due to the political, religious, economic and geopolitical factors over the past hundred years. While the establishment and institutionalisation of the Al-Saud monarchy had a serious impact on the sociopolitical milieu, it was the discovery of oil and the influx of oil wealth that had the biggest influence in terms of demography, urbanization and imparting of education. The chapter provides a detailed background on the society and social transformation the kingdom has undergone since its establishment in 1932. It describes the specific context for understanding the Saudi education system and how various important events in the course of Saudi history have nurtured society and impacted the education system.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For example, in the Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2019, six Saudi universities—King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Alfaisal University (AU), King Saud University (KSU), King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAUHS), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), and Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAFU)—featured among the top 1000 universities in the world. More importantly, of the top five universities in the Arab world, Saudi universities—KAU and AU—held the top two positions (Times Higher Education, 2019).

  2. 2.

    A number of majlises were part of the daily schedule of the King for various purposes and duration, such as the al-Majlis al-Aam (public congregation), al-Majlis al-Khas (congregation with close associates), and Majlis al-Dars (congregation with ulema), which helped him in taking decisions.

  3. 3.

    It was mainly as a result of these multiple marriages and the large number of offspring he left behind that the composition of the royal family gradually changed to comprise only his sons and grandsons, while the lateral branches were pushed to the periphery (Khoury and Kostiner 1990).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Md. Muddassir Quamar

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  1. Md. Muddassir Quamar
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Quamar, M.M. (2021). Society and Social Change. In: Education System in Saudi Arabia. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9173-0_2

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