Professional identity and professionalism in prison education: are prison educators’ perceptions of their professional identity influenced by the policies and politics of the penal system?

Research Proposal
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Abstract
The purpose of this research will be an investigation into the benefits of technological advancements in Saudi Arabia’s education. The study is rooted in whether the Saudis gain by advancing their educational systems through technological lenses. The research will be guided with the multiple intelligence theoretical framework. The framework defines the scope and influence that technology can have on any educational system. The participants will be chosen systematically with stakeholders in education in Saudi Arabia’s Al Ula remote areas accorded the necessary priorities. As a professional in education, my knowledge will be necessary for enhancing the quality of outcomes in this study without any biases.
Research Proposal
Benefits of technology involvements in education: Does technology play a decisive part in education in Saudi Arabia to enhance the educational process, especially in the schools of the remote areas?
Introduction
Technology is fast becoming a valuable component of almost every industry in the world bearing the transformation by which it is characterized. Organizations and institutions rely on technology to enhance their productivity and efficiency. Technology has also been considered as an important component in innovation. Partly, it is for such reasons that most people have considered technological growth as viable for all industries. One of the industries that are beginning to adopt technological growth is education. To some people, education has grown to a point where it needs technological inputs. That has raised questions about the validity of technology in education for countries that are just beginning to adopt changes such as Saudi Arabia. The biggest issue that modern education faces are the need to expand its scope. Knowledge, through education, should reach more learners with higher efficiency and low costs. Technology offers the best avenue of reaching the objectives. This research will address some of the questions by exploring the benefits of technology in Saudi Arabia’s education with more emphasis put on whether technology plays a decisive part in education to enhance the processes in remote areas of the nation. This analysis will be integral in defining the future of technology in Saudi Arabia’s education especially in remote areas with options to address the ensuing challenges accorded the necessary attention.
Research Questions
The primary research question in the study will explore whether technology plays a decisive part in education in Saudi Arabia to enhance the educational process, especially in the schools of the remote areas. The principal question should be accompanied with auxiliary questions including:
* Is Saudi Arabia prepared to implement educational technology in its remote regions?
* What feelings do stakeholders have in the prospective changes in Saudi Arabia with technological advancements?
Conceptualization
The concept of educational technology is becoming dominant and has attracted the attention of multiple stakeholders on its capabilities. Principally, educational technology implies the technology, materials, and systems needed to facilitate learning in various institutions (Khorsheed & Al-Fawzan, 2014). Technological education must occur after the stakeholders have understood the principles of modern learning. While designing technology for education, educators must first understand what they intend to achieve (Sulaymani, Fleer, & Chapman, 2018). Often, the knowledge gaps are analyzed before designing the systems, tools, and materials to be used. The institutions must also be structured in such a manner that they have procedures, systems, and networks to execute the technological advancements. With all the above considerations in place, it becomes possible to implement technological education in any context. Currently, Saudi Arabia is a nation that is anchored on an upward thrust to achieve the best educational outcomes through any possible avenues (Almutairi, 2015). Technology provides the ideal avenue to address some of the educational needs that Saudi Arabia’s learners face in some of its remote areas.
Theoretical Framework
The theory of multiple intelligences explains the need for technology in modern education in various ways. The theory of multiple intelligence asserts that each individual has his/her unique intelligence. That is, even in learning, people tend to manifest different abilities and skills (Daun & Arjmand, 2018). The traditional education system, which is dominant in Saudi Arabia, has naturally emphasized collectivism. That is, learners are subjected to common tends and techniques of learning. While such learning approaches befitted settings with scarce resources, it limited individuals whose diverse skills were never captured in the curriculum. In the theory of multiple intelligence, an ideal educational system is one that explores the abilities of individual learners and capitalizes on the identified strengths. The theory of multiple intelligence insists that the learning environment must be structured in such a way that it befits all individuals. Using the theory of multiple intelligence, some of the prospects that modern and ideal educational system must focus include existentialist intelligence, naturalistic intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, bodily intelligence, and bodily-kinesthetic intelligence (Daun & Arjmand, 2018). The other areas of intelligence worth exploring include spatial intelligence, logic-mathematical intelligence, and linguistic intelligence. An educational system that takes all the above pieces of intelligence into consideration stands a chance of befitting the needs of all the learners. Put forward by Howard Gardner in 1943, the theory of multiple intelligence insists that educators should never focus on science alone while there are multiple areas of intelligence that remain unexplored.
Technology triggers an effective realization of the theory of multiple intelligence in various ways. Through technology, learners are easily exposed to various prospects of globalization that have consistently evaded learning in Saudi Arabia (Smith& Abū, 2013). Learning anchored on technology is marked with socio-economic and political prospects of globalization, something that advances the achievement of multiple intelligence factors. Technology is also resource-efficient. It is worth remarking that lack of resources is one of the reasons why education, especially in remote areas of Saudi Arabia has not succeeded as expected. With technology, access is made more efficient and learners are exposed to what they appreciate more. Without technology, chances are high that people will remain reliant on the traditional linear educational system that barely explored the intelligence of all the learners.
Professional Context
My inputs on technological advancements in education are anchored on my experience as a teacher. I have been a teacher for the past five years. My experience has led me into understanding that educational philosophy is dynamic and people need to adopt the associated changes. I have experienced traditional educational techniques where learning is purely rooted in published curricular prospects. Looking at a country like Saudi Arabia, a professional teacher would tell that the system is skewed to befit the needs of some intelligence at the expense of the others. One wonders why Saudi’s football does not match that of the developed nations. Also, it is intriguing to understand that Saudi Arabia still lacks behind in the number of technology developers that the world boasts. Possibly, it is time that the nation adopted more flexible learning platforms that benefitted the diverse learner needs. Hence, this research will attempt to explore the inputs from more teachers in the remote Al Ula areas that have been lacking in technological advancements. Te...