COVID-19 has changed the field of education. This paper aimed to re-envision the post-pandemic higher education landscape in Saudi Arabia. This study employed descriptive-qualitative research design. Twenty postgraduates completed a journal task at a public university in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The responses revealed their first-hand experience of multi-sectorial communities caused by the COVID-19 lockdown, including students, parents and teachers. Results showed that there are seven positive and eight negative impacts of emergency distance education caused by the pandemic lockdown and various themes have emerged, including Social and Educational. To succeed in the post-pandemic era, teachers need to acquire online pedagogical content knowledge and teaching strategies, conduct effective student evaluation and engage students in both virtual and in-person labs and classrooms. This study contributes to quality access of students toward online learning in countries, where distance education is still in its infant stage, such as Saudi Arabia. Keywords: Distance education, post-secondary education, teacher training, teaching strategies, networked learning

Education for sustainable development (ESD) flourishes with student-centered learning methods, including project-based learning (PBL). These methods are still new to Saudi Arabian university students who tend to experience teacher-centered approaches. Saudi Arabia’s recent policy decision to shift to a knowledge-based economy that respects sustainability will benefit from PBL-enhanced learning. This small-scale qualitative study investigated faculty and students’ feedback on their experience with PBL. Four faculty members (three female, one male in accounting, sports management, and information management) and six female students (financial sciences or accounting) from an Eastern Province university college were interviewed (45 minutes) in 2020–2021 using Zoom. Without exception, the instructors were in favor of PBL as a teaching strategy, and students’ overall experience could be described as positive. A thematic analysis (89 % inter-rater reliability coefficient) generated three themes: (a) beneficial learning strategy, (b) beneficial but challenging learning strategy with room for improvement, and (c) sustained student support over the semester with exceptions. Saudi universities are encouraged to employ PBL in all courses and use assessment methods conducive to student-centered learning. Universities are encouraged to streamline the project approval process, which was quite involved herein. Communications with community partnerships are important, and faculty and students should be thoroughly in-serviced and oriented to PBL.

There was a dearth of research documenting the Arab World’s educational response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, female Saudi elementary teachers’ views on distance education during those unprecedented times were under-explored in the research literature. In the wake of the outbreak in Saudi Arabia, concerns have been raised about education disruption at the elementary school level and its impact on instilling and developing 21st-century skills. Conducted at a college of education in Saudi’s Eastern Province, a qualitative exploratory study examined 20 Saudi postgraduate female students’ written responses to a journal question concerning teaching elementary pupils online about the pandemic while 21st-century skills were being inculcated. A critical finding was that the participants expressed a sense of ample scope for personal and pedagogical transformation despite the enormity of the challenge. Suggestions for future research, pre-service, and in-service teacher training, and professional development were recommended around pedagogical adjustments for teaching elementary learners online while ensuring they still learn and develop their 21st-century skills.

: Wisdom holds that healthy and fit citizens ensure more successful national development plans. In its transition to a knowledge-based economy (Vision 2030), Saudi Arabia is depending on women’s co...