Academic entitlement amid social change in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

PurposeThe present field research aimed to assess whether gender differences exist in academic entitlement among college students of a society in rapid transition from a patriarchal system to one fostering gender equity. It then aimed to determine whether particular dimensions of academic entitlement or a simplified one-factor measure can be used as an early indicator of course-related academic difficulties.Design/methodology/approachCollege students completed a questionnaire about academic entitlement. Records of test and assessment performance, as well as attendance, were collected for the first half of an academic semester. Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, instruction was delivered online synchronously.FindingsA few gender differences were found that departed from the largely consistent finding in the extant literature of greater academic entitlement in males. For female students, selected dimensions of academic entitlement, but not class attendance, weakly predicted poor performance. For male students, dimensions of academic entitlement were ineffective predictors of both performance and attendance, thereby suggesting that demographic characteristics may define the sensitivity of academic entitlement measures to early, course-related academic difficulties.Research limitations/implicationsThe current study has limitations to be addressed in future research. For instance, the insensitivity of male students' academic entitlement to early performance measures needs to be investigated further. It may be the byproduct of the weakening of the view of male superiority typical of patriarchal societies, which arises from top-down interventions intended to promote gender equity. Yet, it may also underline males' reluctance to express a view that is counter to institutional messages of gender equity as well as religious and cultural values of modesty (Al-Absi, 2018), and personal responsibility (Asrorovna, 2020; Smither and Khorsandi, 2009). Another limitation is the extent to which specific items or dimensions of academic entitlement map into specific cultural dimensions, such as individualism and collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity and femininity (Hofstede, 2011).Practical implicationsAcademic entitlement is of concern to educators at universities and colleges across the world for several reasons. High levels of stress (Barton and Hirsch, 2016) and frustration (Anderson et al., 2013) usually accompany academic entitlement along with students' self-reports of lower exerted effort (Kopp et al., 2011). In self-reports, academic entitlement is found to be correlated with an external locus of control, lower academic motivation and lower ratings of class attendance (Fromuth et al., 2019). Boswell (2012) has also reported it as linked to lower students' confidence in their ability to complete with success the courses in which they are enrolled (i.e. course self-efficacy). Thus, the availability of early measures of academic risk in core courses, which prepare students for advanced courses in their major, can be particularly valuable to educators and administrators.Social implicationsThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) represents a society in rapid transition (Nowak and Vallacher, 2019) from a gender-segregated system to one in which gender equity in educational as well as occupational opportunities and choices is promoted and sustained through top-down institutional changes (e.g. decrees, declarations, investments, etc.; Mansyuroh, 2019). The study’s findings suggest that college students, the main targets of institutional efforts promoting gender equity, may be responsive to such efforts.Originality/valueThe present study is a snapshot of a moment at which the impact of top-down institutional actions for gender equity has become palpable mostly due to its spreading across the large youth population of KSA (Assaad and Roudi-Fahimi, 2007). In this research, the authors asked how the target recipients (i.e. college students) of institutional gender-equity efforts might react.