Art Teacher Preparation Programs in Saudi Arabia and the United States of America - A Benchmarking Study

Abstract

This study aims to develop the pre-service art education preparation programs in Saudi Arabia by examining the content of the nine programs offered by Saudi universities and compare them with a sample of five peer programs in America. The content analysis approach was followed and an analysis tool was used to analyze the content of those programs. The results showed a large gap between the Saudi pre-service art education preparation programs and their counterparts in America in the areas of educational preparation, art production, and art interpretation courses. Although the average number of hours of art courses between Saudi and American programs is close, it is still less than its counterparts in American universities. The study recommended to review the current Saudi pre-service art teacher preparation programs in light of quality standards, programs accreditation, and the corresponding programs in countries with good education, such as the United States of America.