Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cultural challenges eLearners from the GCC countries face when enrolled in Western educational institutions: A thematic literature review

  • Published:
Education and Information Technologies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study provides an in-depth assessment of the cultural challenges eLearners from the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries face when enrolled in Western higher education institutions. The study adopts an analytical approach by identifying two themes that incorporate reviewing some of the most significant literature related to this area of study. As theoretical frameworks, Hofstede’s popular cultural dimensions and Hall’s (1976) concept of low and high context cultures are considered. The purpose of this thematic review of the literature is to better understand challenges related to eLearning that eLearners from the GCC countries face when enrolled in Western educational institutions. In view of that, this study sheds light on two main questions: What are some of the challenges eLearners from the GCC countries face when enrolled in Western educational institutions? And what considerations should be taken into account when designing instructional materials for online courses targeting eLearners from the GCC Countries? The analysis revealed that GCC students face different types of eLearning barriers that are divided into two broad categories. The first is the general barriers and inconveniences, and the second is the challenges they face when enrolled in Western universities. This study also concluded that Western universities targeting students from the Arab countries in general, and the GCC countries in particular, need to place suitable inter-cultural plans to prepare for and effectively deal with the challenges analysed in the study. Recommendations on how to implement these preparatory plans for the GCC eLearners enrolled in Western programmes are also presented and highlighted.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Details about Hofstede’s cultural dimensions for the GCC countries are listed under the heading: The Theoretical Context of the Study

  2. Details about high-context and low-context cultures are listed under the heading: The Theoretical Context of the Study

References

  • Ahmed, I., Sutton, A. J., & Riley, R. D. (2012). Assessment of publication bias, selection bias, and unavailable data in meta-analyses using individual participant data: A database survey. British Medical Journal (International Ed.), 344, d7762. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d7762.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Doub, E., Goodwin, R., & Al-Hunaiyyan, A. (2008). Students’ attitudes toward E-learning in Kuwait’s higher education institutions. Proceedings - ICCE 2008: 16th International Conference on Computers in Education. Taipei, Taiwan, Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c6e3/52989a3088b5d333f4ff14eb50d48bf5bbe7.pdf. Accessed 27 August 2020.

  • Al-Harthi, A. S. (2005). Distance higher education experiences of Arab gulf students in the United States: A cultural perspective. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 6(3). Retrieved from http://ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/login?url=https://www-proquestcom.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/1634504230?accountid=1215

  • Al-Hunaiyyan, A., & Al-Sharhan, S. (2009). The design of multimedia blended e-learning systems: Cultural considerations. 2009 3rd international conference on signals, circuits and systems (SCS), 1–5.

  • Al-Hunaiyyan, A., Salah, A.-S., & Al-Huwail, N. (2008). Blended e-learning design: Discussion of cultural issues. International Journal of Cyber Society and Education, 1(1), 17–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alkhatnai, M. (2009). Evaluating the Use of E-Learning at KSU Using the E-learning Maturity Model. Paper presented at the World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2009, Vancouver, Canada. http://www.editlib.org/p/32557

  • At-Twaijri, M. (1990). Language effects in cross-cultural management research: An empirical investigation. International Journal of Value-Based Management, 3(1), 137–146. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01560530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • At-Twaijri, M., & Al-Muhaiza, I. (1996). Hofstede's cultural dimensions in the GCC countries: An empirical investigation. International Journal of Value-Based Management, 9(2), 121–131. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00440149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baburajan, P. K. (2011). Impact of globalization of higher education in the UAE. Delhi Business Review, 12(1), 29–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barakat, H. (1993). The Arab world - society, culture and state. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Behl, D., Fitzgerald, J., & Vrazalic, L. (2007). Barriers to e-learning for students in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Paper presented at the World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2007, Quebec City, Canada. http://www.editlib.org/p/26707

  • Bubtana, A.R. (2007). WTO/GATS: Possible Implications for Higher Education and Research in the Arab States pp., in UNESCO “the impact of globalization on higher education and research in the Arab states”, selected proceedings of regional research seminar, Rabat, Morocco, 25-26 may 2007, pp.95-134.

  • Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed., International ed.). Boston: Pearson.

  • Haj-Yahia, M. M. (1997). Culturally sensitive supervision of Arab social work students in Western universities. Social Work, 42(2), 166–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond culture. New York: Anchor Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hashem, M. E.. (2009). Perceptions of e-learning and social readiness to accept virtual degrees in the Middle East: A case study. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the First Kuwait Conference on e-Services and e-Systems, Kuwait.

  • Hofstede, G. H. (2001). Culture's consequences : comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede Insights. (n.d.). [cross cultural management]. Hofstede Insights. Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country/the-united-arab-emirates/

  • Mercado, S., Parboteeah, K. P., & Zhao, Y. (2004). On-line course design and delivery: Cross-national considerations. Strategic Change, 13, 183–192. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.677.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., for the PRISMA Group, & PRISMA Group. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. British Medical Journal, 339, b2535. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b2535

  • Palaiologou, N. (2009). Needs for developing culturally oriented supportive learning with the aid of information and communication technologies. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 17(2), 189–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681360902934434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, M. M. (2011). The experience of Gulf Arab students new to e-learning [PhD Thesis].

  • Shaker, M. (1986). The Arabian Peninsula - Al-Hassa, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar (Arabic). Beirut: Islamic Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taha, A. (2007). Networked e-information services to support the e-learning process at UAE University. The Electronic Library. 25(3), 349–362. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470710754850.

  • Vrazalic, L., MacGregor, R., Behl, D., & Fitzgerald, J. (2009). E-learning barriers in the United Arab Emirates: Preliminary results from an empirical investigation. IBIMA Business Review, 4(1), 1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkins, S. (2011). Who benefits from foreign universities in the Arab Gulf States? Australian Universities Review, 53(1), 73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Würtz, E. (2005). A cross-cultural analysis of websites from high-context cultures and low-context cultures. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(1), 13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computer and Information Science Department, Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Abu Dhabi, UAE

    Nafeth Al Hashlamoun

Authors
  1. Nafeth Al Hashlamoun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nafeth Al Hashlamoun.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Al Hashlamoun, N. Cultural challenges eLearners from the GCC countries face when enrolled in Western educational institutions: A thematic literature review. Educ Inf Technol 26, 1409–1422 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10313-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10313-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation