Self-Efficacy Experiences and Attitudes of Saudi Female English Language Learners in Australia Towards Learning with Technology Use

Abstract

Saudi women who travel to Western countries for postgraduate study cross physical, cultural, and gender boundaries and are frequently faced with new and sometimes challenging practices with digital technology in education. While there have been recent changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Saudi education system, students traditionally have limited, if any, exposure to technology in the classroom. This makes it difficult for Saudi students to embrace a new educational domain such as the Australian classroom where digital devices are ever present. Despite many studies on student attitudes towards the use of technology in education, the experiences of Saudi students are largely absent. Even fewer studies have focused specifically on Saudi female students studying abroad and their attitudes towards using technology for learning while immersed in digitally rich learning environments. In this qualitative study, ten female Saudi students who had studied English language and postgraduate study in Australia for at least two years were interviewed to understand their attitudes towards digital technologies in education, with a particular focus on changes in attitude. Bandura’s (1997) concept of self-efficacy as a component of social learning theory was used as a lens to examine, interpret, and explain the students’ recalled attitudes toward digital technology in education, and to assess the impact of Australian educational experiences on changing their attitudes. This examination of cultural immersion on the attitudes of Saudi female students suggests that, in stark contrast to their reported perception that they are not beneficial in education, the use of digital technology in education became an important resource for them that enabled autonomous learning experiences. Vicarious learning and social persuasion experiences were highly influential in changing attitudes, and in the Australian context, led to mastery experiences which cemented attitude change. The positive impact of their experiences in the use of digital technology to enhance education was evident not only in their adoption of digital technologies to learn English language, but also in their ongoing cross-discipline postgraduate studies.