مجله پژوهش های برنامه درسی
پیاپی 1 (بهار و تابستان 1390)

This article investigates the consequences of school-based approach in decentralizing the curriculum development system as a major contemporary educational concern. There are different standpoints concerning this approach in Iran’s educational system. According to some experts، the current national curriculum development system is unable to meet the constantly changing educational demands; on the contrary، others emphasize its pursuit. School-based curriculum development assumes that the best place to develop a curriculum is where teachers and students interact. Unlike the traditional national curriculum، in which teachers are regarded merely as enforcers، the school-based curriculum allocates a more prominent role to the teacher. Moreover، students also feel that learning is more relevant to their immediate needs. Curriculum also becomes more flexible and can be conveniently integrated with new materials and emerging concerns. However، school-based curriculum development is deeply influenced by factors such as national educational objectives، learners، available facilities، cultural context، educational environment، assessment strategies، as well as the limits of schools’ authority to modify curricula.

The aim of this study is to compare male and female students’ satisfaction of curriculum quality، and faculty and staff performance in the college of Education and Psychology، Shiraz University. A sample of 181 undergraduate students was selected from six different programs offered in the School of Education and Psychology، Shiraz University. Survey method was applied for this study and stratified random sampling approach was administered to select the sample. The outcome data was analyzed by SPSS and LISREL programs. The results convey that: 1. Female students have a more positive assessment of faculty performance quality than male students. 2. There is no significant difference between male and female students’ assessments of curriculum quality. 3. There is no significant difference between male and female students’ assessments of staff performance quality. 4. There is no significant difference between curricula assessments by different majors. 5. There is no significant difference between staff performance quality assessments by different majors. 6. Students of Pre-School Education have a more positive assessment of faculty performance quality. 7. Special courses rank top while internship courses are at the bottom of quality scale.

This research was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the new، tentative primary curriculum in the Literacy Movement Organization of Iran. Survey research was employed as methodology. The subjects were 125 learners in Tabriz and Ahar، cities in Eastern Azarbaijan Province، Iran. The experimental group that studied the new، tentative curriculum consisted of 36 learners from Tabriz and 27 from Ahar; meanwhile، the control group، which studied the current curriculum، included 35 learners from Tabriz and 27 from Ahar. Flannders’ Checklist of Teaching، Descriptive Evaluation Checklist، Teacher Made Achievement Tests، and Researcher Made Life Skill Test were administered as instruments. T-test and SPSS software were used for data analysis. The results show that the experimental group has performed better in educational achievement، that is in Reading، Writing، Quran and Prayer courses. Moreover، the experimental group has accomplished more life skills than the control group.

The main purpose of this research is to determine the extent to which creativity components are taken into consideration in the Farsi textbooks of Iranian elementary education. Accordingly، creativity criteria were first determined through a combination of Guilford’s and Bickards’ creativity models. And “paragraph” was adopted as the unit of analysis. Consequently، contents، exercises and pictures of five elementary Farsi textbooks were analyzed، using William Romey’s technique for content analysis. Results show that، with regard to creativity components، the Index of Student Involvement (ISI) for the first- and second-grade Farsi textbooks were below the average (i. e. less than one) and for the third-، fourth- and fifth-grade textbooks were above the average (i. e. more than one). Thus، it is highly recommended that the national organizations in charge of elementary education curriculum development should restructure and reorganize both the content and pictures of Farsi textbooks.

For many years، history has been an important component of secondary and high school curricula. Various philosophical assumptions affect the development of history syllabi and its teaching methodology. On the one hand، such assumptions concern the nature of human being; on the other hand، they concentrate on the nature of historical knowledge. This paper aims to formulate new objectives for history curriculum according to an Islamic standpoint. Firstly، epistemological foundations are examined in order to justify this viewpoint. Constructive realism is a philosophical approach to historical knowledge، according to which historical knowledge is a product of human thinking about the real، historical events. Also، it considers human beings as agents who can make subjective constructs in order to capture the real، historical events and to provide consistent explanations of them. If a historian achieves to provide such an explanation، it can be claimed that s/he has approximated reality. Then، objectives of history curriculum are reformulated in accordance with the Islamic objectives of education and within the framework of constructive realism. This study follows progressive analytic research methodology in which philosophical objectives and foundations are analyzed and elaborated. Two major objectives of history curriculum are identified consequently: to achieve historical knowledge and insight، and to develop the ability for influential social contribution. The realization of any of these two objectives respectively leads to more achievements: 1) acquaintance with historical reality، 2) cognition of different historical explanations، and 3) acquaintance with the Islamic perspective on the philosophy of history. Moreover، three procedural goals are necessary to realize the first 1) examination of historical documents، 2) re-enactment of historical events، and 3) evaluation of historical explanations. The realized goals of the second objective are: 1) adoptation of a historical perspective، and 2) the ability of deducing limited generalizations from the past for the future.

Educational system is a primary means of cultural transfer. School textbooks، therefore، contribute to the formation of national identity in students. The main question for this study، accordingly، was how fifth-grade elementary and third-grade guidance school textbooks of Social Studies represent national identity in Iranian educational system. Methodologically، content analysis informs this study. The analysis of their content reveals the deficiencies of these textbooks in their representation of national identity. The results convey that religious and political aspects of national identity are most prominently represented in these textbooks. Meanwhile، national values and norms، ethnicities and subcultures، national symbols as well as modernity are underrepresented or entirely ignored. Thus، it is strongly suggested that the representation of national identity should be revised in Social Studies textbooks.

Sexual education is sometimes considered as insignificant، hence dispensable، mainly as a direct consequence of theoretical ambiguities and practical difficulties. The aim of this paper is to explore the significance of sexual education and its status in Iranian high school curricula. High school teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward the content of sexual education، its learning experiences and opportunities have been examined. To do so، 684 students (359 male and 325 female) were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling، while 295 teachers were chosen randomly. Moreover، a questionnaire was designed to supply the data collection instrument. The results convey that both high school students and teachers emphasize the importance and necessity of sexual education. Furthermore، there is a significant divergence in teachers’ and students’ view points with regard to the content and learning experience of sexual education. However، there is no significant variance in content، learning experience and learning opportunities between male and female students.