| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this quantitative study was to describe the perceptions of students pursuing an Adult Education graduate degree at King Saud University; the students’ perception was examined regarding the teaching practices they received in the classroom. Participants for this study were males and females pursuing Adult Education degrees at King Saud University. It aimed to determine the strengths and weakness of the program’s instructional practices in the classroom from graduate students' perceptions. The study’s theoretical framework came from adult learning theory and the six assumptions of andragogy: the learners’ need to know, self-concept, prior experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learning, and motivation to learn. The theoretical framework came from the five aspects of Islamic teachings: experience, collaboration, learners’ interest, seeking knowledge, and practice and application. Through andragogical assumptions and Islamic teachings, graduate students provided their perceptions about instructional practices students received in the classroom. A survey was used to collect data to evaluate the program. To analyze the data, descriptive analysis, including means, standard deviation, and a T-test, was used. A correlation matrix was also used to investigate the relationship among students’ perceptions of their educational experiences between andragogical practices and Islamic teachings. The result of the analysis demonstrated correlation. However, the learning activities, one of the andragogical process design elements, showed no significant relationships with the rest of process design elements (climate setting, designing the learning experience, evaluating, preparing the learner, and setting the learning objectives). The essential results of this study were that andragogical principles, andragogical-process design elements, the Islamic-principle teachings, and students' perceptions about the Islamic teachings were applied in the classroom for the adult-education program at King Saud University. There was no statistically significant difference of perception based on gender. Students indicated strengths of the program were self-development including classroom activities and course content. In term of weaknesses, students mentioned using traditional methods (including focus on a test and the lack of human relationships) and a teacher shortage. One fundamental recommendation was that both Islamic teachings and andragogy assumptions should be applied in the graduate classrooms because both methods achieve the university’s objective. | en_US |
