The future for education in Saudi Arabia – Social Reconstructionist Philosophy?

Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of Curriculum and InstructionKay Ann TaylorThe Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has made it a priority to improve the quality of Saudi education. Research has shown that the prevailing philosophy of education in Saudi Arabia places the teacher at the center of the learning process, not the student. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-participant case study was to examine the teaching philosophy of Saudi teachers in the Educational Diploma Program (EDP) to determine if Social Reconstructionist Philosophy (SRP) was viable for teaching and learning in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five teachers in the EDP to illustrate the teaching philosophy’s influence on the participants’ teaching methods and how those methods impacted students’ learning. Analysis of the information collected revealed that the majority of the participants followed a teacher-centered philosophy of education because that was the only philosophy to which they had been exposed. As a result, most of the participants utilized traditional teaching methods. However, based on the goals the KSA has set for cultural and educational growth in the country, traditional teaching methods based on teacher-centered philosophies will not help to build a society ready to rise up and enact the change outlined in the KSA’s Vision 2030. Consequently, explanation is given for why SRP would be a viable option for the KSA

Quartz Tuning Fork Sensor-Based Dosimetry for Sensitive Detection of Gamma Radiation

This study generally relates to nuclear sensors and specifically to detecting nuclear and electromagnetic radiation using an ultrasensitive quartz tuning fork (QTF) sensor. We aim to detect low doses of gamma radiation with fast response time using QTF. Three different types of QTFs (uncoated and gold coated) were used in this study in order to investigate their sensitivity to gamma radiations. Our results show that a thick gold coating on QTF can enhance the quality factor and increase the resonance frequency from 32.7 to 32.9 kHz as compared to uncoated QTF. The results also show that increasing the surface area of the gold coating on the QTF can significantly enhance the sensitivity of the QTF to radiation. We investigated the properties of gold-coated and uncoated QTFs before and after irradiation by scanning electron microscopy. We further investigated the optical properties of SiO2 wafers (quartz) by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). The SE studies revealed that even a small change in the microstructure of the material caused by gamma radiation would have an impact on mechanical properties of QTF, resulting in a shift in resonance frequency. Overall, the results of the experiments demonstrated the feasibility of using QTF sensors as an easy to use, low-cost, and sensitive radiation detector