Faculty Practices and Digital Integration of 21st-Century Skills: A Comparative Study of Saudi Arabia and South Africa

Abstract

This study presents a comparative investigation into faculty teaching practices, information literacy, indigenous knowledge, and the application of digital tools in the integration of 21st-century skills at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa (SA). To facilitate this comparison, data were gathered from two independent samples representing each institution. Specifically, a valid sample of 211 respondents was obtained from the KSA university, while 191 valid responses were collected from the SA counterpart. The empirical analysis employed both independent sample t-tests and structural equation modelling (SEM). The results indicate a statistically significant disparity in faculty teaching practices between the two universities. Conversely, no significant variation was identified in relation to information literacy and the use of digital tools across the institutions. However, a marked difference was observed regarding the incorporation of indigenous knowledge into teaching practices. SEM analysis further demonstrates that, within the KSA context, information literacy and digital tools exert a significant and positive influence on the enhancement of faculty teaching practices in alignment with 21st-century skills. In contrast, the SA findings reveal that information literacy, digital tools, and indigenous knowledge collectively serve as meaningful contributors to the advancement of faculty teaching methods. These outcomes offer valuable policy implications for educational administrators and policymakers in both KSA and SA. The study also acknowledges certain limitations, which inform recommendations for future research directions.