Adaptive Learning Systems in Saudi Higher Education: A Contextualised Conceptual Framework for Student Engagement

Abstract

Purpose – This paper develops a theoretical framework linking adaptive learning system (ALS) characteristics to student engagement in Saudi higher education, and specifies how two structural features of Saudi public universities, gender-segregated campuses and an instructor-guided pedagogical tradition, shape that relationship. Design/methodology/approach – This is a theory-adaptation article. Literature published between 2018 and 2025 was synthesized thematically through constructivist learning theory, self-determination theory, and cognitive load theory to build and refine testable propositions, not to quantify effect sizes or produce a census of the field. Findings – The paper proposes an integrated framework and states seven propositions. Gender segregation and instructor-guided tradition are specified as moderators of the ALS to engagement relationship rather than as barriers, and Arabic language processing quality is specified as a boundary condition. A qualitative gap analysis identifies where the evidence base constrains implementation decisions. Practical implications – A phased implementation sequence and a course level decision checklist translate the framework into institutional and classroom practice, with the first phase designed as an empirical test of the framework’s central mediation claim rather than as a rollout. Originality/value – The paper reframes two features of Saudi higher education usually treated as demographic controls or generic barriers into specified, falsifiable moderators, and states the resulting propositions explicitly so that they can be confirmed or refuted by future empirical work.