Saudi Arabia is experiencing an era of policy reform across different government departments, including the education system. However, these plans have attracted criticism from those who see these new educational paradigms as a threat to the vitality of the Islamic identity that characterizes conservative members of Saudi society. Adopting a descriptive discursive approach, this paper sheds light on the objections raised to the changes and considers whether fears that such reforms constitute attempts to reconstruct the religious ident, ity of the younger generation via the public-school curriculum are justified. The analysis shows that these reconstructive attempts can be seen as a way of exposing children to an unfamiliar culture by supplying teaching materials laden with ideological content, allowing a new policy of mixed-sex education, and reintroducing the teaching of previously banned subjects.
Citation: Khalid Hudhayri (2021) Identity Loss in the Strict Religious Context of Saudi Arabian Schools, British Journal of Education, Vol. 9, Issue 11, pp.16-22
Keywords: English Language, Identity, Islam, Music, Saudi Arabia, gender-mixed education
