In Saudi Arabia, it is generally perceived that private special education institutes (SEIs) provide a higher quality education than their public counterparts. Parents tend to trust and invest in private rather than public institutes. This is principally attributed to the greater financial capacity of private special institutes, which ensures services can be provided more effectively. Investigating this perspective, this study seeks to bridge the gap often observed and commented upon between public and private SEIs, and to reflect critically on how the needs of all students with intellectual disabilities can be met within the public system. A comparative case study of two SEIs in Saudi Arabia for students with intellectual disabilities, one public and one private, was designed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents, teachers and principals. A key finding of this study is that there is a major difference in the workplace cultures of public and private institutes. This results in several observable factors that were found to contribute to the quality of provision for learners.

中文翻译：

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沙特阿拉伯私立和公立教育机构工作场所文化的比较

在沙特阿拉伯，人们普遍认为私立特殊教育机构 (SEI) 提供的教育质量高于公立机构。父母倾向于信任和投资私人机构而不是公共机构。这主要归因于私立专门机构具有更大的财政能力，可以确保更有效地提供服务。调查这一观点，本研究试图弥合公共和私人 SEI 之间经常观察到和评论的差距，并批判性地反思如何在公共系统内满足所有智障学生的需求。设计了一项针对沙特阿拉伯的两个针对智障学生的 SEI 的比较案例研究，一个是公立的，一个是私立的。与父母进行半结构化访谈，老师和校长。这项研究的一个重要发现是，公共和私人机构的工作场所文化存在重大差异。这导致了几个可观察到的因素，这些因素被发现有助于提高学习者的教学质量。