The area of concern for this paper is how to enhance the quality of education in secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. The Critical Systemic Approach addresses the challenges that students face in achieving their learning and life goals and then makes policy suggestions based on 12 is/ought questions (Ulrich, 1983). The analysis draws on the ‘capabilities approach’ (Nussbaum, 2011) to provide policy recommendations that can be used to enhance the role of education in human development. The findings suggest that schools emphasise academic achievement in terms of a standard curriculum, but not in terms of producing well-rounded graduates. The critical systemic analysis suggests that the normative approach for education needs to be based on the development of students’ capabilities (Nussbaum, 2011). The Critical Systems Heuristics (CHS) analysis stresses the importance of working with different stakeholders and across different disciplines in order to enhance the quality of education. The process needs to be based on an inclusive approach to shaping and implementing policies to make sure all stakeholders can contribute to the process.
Saad Algraini holds a Ph.D. Degree from the School of Social and Policy Studies at Flinders University in Australia. His research project examines public policy for human development in education. Saad has an M.A. in public administration and a B. A. in management and organizational... Read More →
