Collage of Family Science

This is a reflective article that looks my experiences as an international PhD student from Saudi Arabia at the University of East Anglia in the UK. Coming from a completely different learning context, several learning issues emerged through my postgraduate study. These issues, even though they were not directly linked to the course materials, had a huge impact on my learning experience. In this article, I reflect on critical thinking and the use of two languages in the learning process, as well as on some aspects of my personal life that

This study explores the parental choices of introducing children to English in the pre-primary stage. The study took place in a private kindergarten in Al-Madinah, KSA. The study looks at mothers as an active agent; their strategical choices were investigated through a qualitative approach. In which the researcher, observed several English as a foreign language [EFL] classes in the kindergarten, interviewed mothers in two phases and initiated a blog in which mothers were invited to take part. Pre-primary education is a non-compulsory stage in KSA. Hence, the decision made to enrol children in this type of education is a parental choice. Moreover, the number of enrolment in pre-primary schools in KSA is lower comparing to its neighbour countries. Therefore, parents who decide to introduce their children to this type of education are a minority. Having said that, there is a governmental movement toward encouraging children to enrol in this stage. Three mothers who were involved during the whole period of the study were presented as case studies. Their decisions for introducing their children to English at an early stage were highly linked to their cultural and social capital, their educational experiences and social interaction.

The global spread of COVID-19 has caused disruptions in many aspects of our lives. Education systems worldwide have changed dramatically. Numerous countries have encouraged schools to shift to e-learning and, as a result, parental involvement in their children's education has changed. This study focused on parental involvement in children's education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study applied a qualitative phenomenological approach following a constructive social framework, whereby the researcher pursued an understanding of the world in which she lives and works. The primary tool employed to collect relevant data was in-depth interviews with six parents who voluntarily participated in the study in the western province of Saudi Arabia. Thematic analysis is applied to analyse the collected data. The study found that parental involvement in children's schooling has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the interviews revealed that parents would prefer to keep to their chosen role rather than fulfil the teaching role imposed on them by COVID-19. This paper contributes to the application of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's model of parental involvement in children's schooling, illustrating that an external force drives parental involvement. More specifically, many parents have been forced to change the form of their participation due to the unforeseen shift to e-learning.

Transitioning from secondary to higher education is not a natural step for many first-year university students. Most female students who join Taibah University did not have the chance to visit the university and get to know the programs offered there before they applied. Therefore, the Childhood Studies Department within the College of Family Sciences has initiated the present program-My Uni-Buddy. The program was applied on a small scale to create connection between first-year students and their fellow students in the third year. The aim of the program is to support new students and help them adjust quickly to their new life. The study employs a qualitative approach in which interviews were carried out to collect the relevant data. The findings show that first-year students hughly benefited from the program in the academic and social aspects.

Technology is surrounding children, and they are engaging with it from an early stage. This reality raises concerns among professionals and educators. Several recommendations have been published regarding children’s time spent in front of the screen based on their age. Such daily involvement of technology among kids created a new type of intelligence: Digital intelligence (DQ). This research aims to delve into the DQ arena and explore its awarenessamong professionals in the early childhood sector. Concurrently, the study explores to what extent professionals in the early years use DQ during their daily work schemes with children. This study took place in AL-Madinah, Saudi Arabia, and was conducted under the qualitative approach with four in-depth interviews with professionals. The key finding of this study is that the term DQ is still not well established among early childhood professionals and, hence there is a need to carry future studies on this topic. To the best of the author&#...