Challenges of being a teacher and mother in Kuwait

Abstract The aim of the current study is to understand the challenges Kuwaiti women face as mothers and teachers and to describe their experiences, roles, and difficulties. I focused on identifying the factors affecting the lives of a group of mothers in Kuwait and used an interpretive paradigm and a qualitative methodology (interviews) to investigate these challenges. I employed an ecological model of human development (systems theory) as the framework for this research and conducted thematic analysis to analyse the interviews. The findings revealed three main factors affecting the lives of the mother-teachers. The first factor (the work environment) involved three challenges associated with the teaching profession: firstly, challenges related to heavy burdens and a lack of time; secondly, challenges related to officials placing pressure on teachers; and thirdly, challenges related to the education system and curriculum. The second factor (the education system) concerned the curriculum and the associated obstacles that mothers and children face in Kuwait. This could also be segmented into three components: firstly, the challenges of mothers dealing with their children’s education; secondly, challenges associated with the educational requirements of schools; and thirdly, the challenges that mothers face in consistently tracking their children’s educational progress while fulfilling their roles as teachers. The third factor (the social expectations of Kuwaiti women) involved women’s challenges within their households and Kuwaiti society, which values women’s traditional roles. This, again, was divided into three categories: firstly, challenges related to the traditional roles of women and men in Kuwaiti culture; secondly, challenges associated with social obligations in Kuwaiti culture; and thirdly, challenges associated with social evaluations and the concept of the perfect woman (Sanaa)المرأة السنعة .