Introduction
The topic that is planned to be researched in the current project is the impact that social media can have when used as a part of teaching techniques for kindergarten teachers in Saudi Arabia. The working title for the project will therefore be The Impact of Social Media on Instructional Practices for Kindergarten Teachers in Saudi Arabia.
Statement of Research Question
Social media is increasingly being used in education, and kindergarten education is not an exception. Teachers are integrating various social media networks and resources to engage children to participate more actively in discussions and learning process in general (Albahar & Alammari, 2022). However, there is a lack of information on the integration of social media technologies in educational techniques used by kindergarten teachers in Saudi Arabia, which will be the focus of the forthcoming project. Research question for that project will therefore ask: “What is the impact of social media on instructional practices for kindergarten teachers in Saudi Arabia?”.
Overview of Literature
While the existing research has not presented a significant body of literature on the topic of the forthcoming project, there is a number of relevant studies, two of which will be reviewed in this section. The first study was conducted by Alghamdi et al. (2022) and aimed to “explore kindergarten student teachers’ readiness to integrate technology into their future classrooms”, as well as factors that affected this integration (par. 1). The study was undertaken in Saudi Arabia, and to achieve the purpose of the research, Alghamdi et al. utilized a mixed-methods, sequential explanatory research design that involved two stages (Alghamdi et al., 2022). The first stage included a survey that researchers used to assess teachers’ and students’ readiness to learn about new technologies and integrate them to enrich the educational processes.
The second stage involved a number of interviews conducted as follow-up activities to gain a more profound insight into the participants’ intentions and views on the ways to transform their expectation and ideas into practice. In addition, participants were asked to identify possible factors that may contribute to or negatively affect the technology integration (Alghamdi et al., 2022). The results of both phases revealed key findings that can be grouped into several themes. Technical readiness was one of the aspects analyzed, showing that the vast majority of the participants demonstrated the skills necessary to integrate new technology into learning. According to the results, “63% strongly agreed that they were able to use devices connected to the Internet, 51% knew how to use social networking platforms, and 49% said they could communicate using e-mail” (Alghamdi et al., 2022, par. 26). Pedagogical readiness to technology integration was another aspect assessed in this study, which indicated that most educators were aware of the basic principles and “pedagogical practices of integrating technology in learning and teaching processes” (Alghamdi et al., 2022, par. 29).
The second relevant study was conducted by Al-Hezam (2017) and focused on the ways of using technology to facilitate children’s transition from early childhood education to primary education. This study has adopted a mixed methods approach, using surveys as a primary source of data collection. According to the findings, teachers’ perceptions regarding the role of technology are generally positive, as most of them are aware of the benefits digital technology can bring to the learning process. Nevertheless, this study has indicated that curriculums for kindergartens in Saudi Arabia do not “demonstrate a uniform and consistent policy and practice on the use of digital technology” (Al-Hezam, 2017, p. 50). Many teachers have reported facing problems such as a lack of cooperation from the students’ parents and a lack of adequate resources.
Based on the overview of these two studies, it can be stated that the integration of social media in the instructional practices of kindergarten teachers in Saudi Arabia is still poorly studied and underutilized. One of the areas that the future research will need to focus on is the study of children’s experiences and perceptions of technology used in learning. That way, researchers will gain understanding about the recipients’ perspective on the question, as well as get an opportunity to tailor instructional practices to fit students’ needs more effectively. The second aspect to take into consideration in the further research is encouraging parents to provide their views on the influence of different types of social media on the learning process.
Brief Summary of Method
Since studies so far have mainly used interviews and surveys, further research will benefit from using additional data collection methods to obtain richer qualitative data. To ensure that a comprehensive strategy is applied, the future project proposed by the present outline will utilize a mixed-methods approach. The combination of methods used will include observation, surveys, interviews, and secondary data analysis. While there has been evidence that demonstrated both students’ and teachers’ readiness to integrate technology, the information on the impact, advantages, and disadvantages of this integration is lacking. The project plan will therefore consist of the literature review, the analysis of findings, surveys, and interviews conducted both with parents and kindergarten students who have participated in the studying program that involved technology integration.
References
Albahar, M., & Alammari, A. (2022). STEAM Education in Saudi Arabia: Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceptions. International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management, & Applied Sciences & Technologies, 13(5), 1-10. Web.
Alghamdi, J., Mostafa, F., & Abubshait, A. (2022). Exploring technology readiness and practices of kindergarten student-teachers in Saudi Arabia: A mixed-methods study. SpringerLink. Web.
Al-Hezam, D. M. (2017). The impact of digital technology on children’s transition from kindergarten to primary school: Bringing concepts from international research and practice to Saudi Arabia. Waikato Journal of Education, 22(2), 47-52. Web.