فصلنامه روش شناسی علوم انسانی
پیاپی 32 (پاییز 1381)

The conceptual study of the term ûeducation‎ and its boundaries in relation to some other terms such as ûsuggestion‎, ûinculcation‎ and ûtraining‎ is considered to be the first step towards the analysis of the concept ûeducation‎. In this article, the researcher has made an attempt to investigate the above - mentioned terms (or concepts), while explaining the underlying humanistic concepts of religious education like disposition (nature)-centeredness, trainee-centeredness which are considered to be the main characteristics distinguishing Islamic education from the other forms. In his content analysis of some Qur'anic verses and sayings of the Infallibles, the researcher has made use of the educational-descriptive approach. The data obtained from this research study, however naive they might be, open up new vistas for other researchers who are interested in this field and lead them to come in contact with some untouched or uncovered areas in education. The next part of the article deals with the recognition of certain methodological features in the field of education, using theoretical approach in the context of religious sources.

The arrival in Iran of the modern education and the emergence of social and economical contexts appropriate for modern education to offer criticisms of traditional education, especially that of Islamic education, raised some doubts about the necessity, possibility and efficiency of Islamic education, which in turn motivated some debates on Islamic education as an independent cultural-political issue in religious circles. With the victorious Islamic Revolution in Iran, scientific circles paid close attention to the issue in question out of which challenges and doubts raised as to the efficiency of Islamic education. These are deeply rooted in the fact that they ignored the conflict between the foundations (principles) of Islamic education and technological education, fundamental poverty in theorizing on Islamic education, inadequate attention to the theoretical - philosophical investigations as well as the groundless steps taken in this regard. Nevertheless, it can be claimed that the most significant issue, which underlies other issues, is the ûconceptual explanation of Islamic education‎ which has been ignored so far. The necessity of setting forth this issue becomes more evident only when we know that education is of normative nature and is open to various interpretations or readings so long as it is characterized by the attribute ûIslamic‎ which is of various senses (connotations); Muslim thinker's approaches and inscriptions regarding other realms of human life would be open to various challenges, too.

Having defined the principle of education in detail, the article seeks to insist on the necessity of the principle in question and attracts the attention to the dominant features that constitute education and goes on to discuss such certain principles as theonomy, dogmatism, trainee-centeredness, life-centeredness, individuality, pragmatism, morality-centeredness, effort-centeredness, equalitarianism, love-centeredness, supervision, fear and hope, eschatological-thinking, death-thinking and utopianism. The writer concludes his discussion with the educational achievements of the principles mentioned above.

The present resarch study deals, from the viewpoints of university and seminary professors, with the following four educational, motivational, cultural and assessment system factors which play significant role in making educational directors adapt their behaviours to the standards (norms) of Islamic morality (ethics). Making use of the comparative approach, the analysis has been made as to the views of university and seminary professors in terms of such qualifying variables as sex, age, teaching experience, location (place) of teaching, educational mangement background, and the course of study. Nearly all professors of the Open Islamic University of Zone 4 of the state and all seminary (theology) instructors are involved to constitute the statistical universe of the research stady. The single stage sampling method was used in which 233 persons were present. In choosing the competent or proficient professors and instructors, the decision was taken after close consultation with the chief director of Isfahan Seminary (Theological Centre), as a result of which as many as 80 experiened professors were selected. The means of research was a researcher-made questionaire which acquired its validity in accordance with professors and expert's views as well as their amendments. The validity obtained, basing its calculations on Cronbach's Coefficient ت is ت = 0. 9078. In general, the research results show that, according to meaningfulness of t, calculated on the basis of the related table, the formula p < 0. 01 was obtained, which from the viewpoints of the professors, both of university and seminary, indicates that the aforementioned factors play significant role in leading educational directors to adapt their behaviours to the standards or norms of Islamic morality.