Date of Award

9-6-2025

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Languages, Literatures and Cultures

First Advisor

Eurydice Bauer

Abstract

This dissertation examines how Saudi elementary English teachers understand and enact language ideologies in a period of rapid educational change and national reform. Using a comparative case study of five teachers in Al-Ahsa, the study triangulates semi-structured interviews, classroom audio recordings, and teaching materials to compare stated beliefs with observable practice. The analysis is guided by the theories of English hegemony and language and gender ideology, which together illuminate how global linguistic hierarchies are localized through teachers’ beliefs and practices. Findings reveal that teachers occupy an ideologically complex position as they balance the national push for English proficiency under Vision 2030 with the moral and cultural imperative to preserve Arabic and Islamic values. They frame English both as a gateway to modernity and as a potential site of cultural tension. Teachers describe regional and socioeconomic differences in parental attitudes and student motivation, the continuing influence of religious and generational perspectives on English, and the challenge of aligning imported curricula with local sensibilities. Gender also emerges as a key ideological dimension: female teachers often link English to empowerment and educational opportunity, while male teachers emphasize its economic and instrumental value, reflecting distinct gendered moral expectations in Saudi classrooms. Across cases, teachers act as active mediators rather than passive implementers of reform. They reinterpret global pedagogies through local ethical frameworks, adapt content to reflect Saudi identity, and frame English learning as both a practical skill and a morally legitimate pursuit. The study contributes a theoretically grounded account of ideology in early English education, showing how teachers’ beliefs connect classroom practice to broader structures of power, religion, and gender. Implications include the need for teacher preparation that fosters ideological literacy, curriculum localization that respects cultural coherence, and supports that reduce inequities tied to geography, gender, and parental capital.

Rights

© 2025, Ghanem Alghuwainem

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