Assessing Creative Learning Situations in Farsi Elementary School Curriculum

There has represented a special emphasis on creative learning situations in Farsi curriculum at the elementary school level in Iran. As a result, there are situations in which creative learning is planned for. The purpose of the present study has been to evaluate these situations as they appear in the designed, developed and implemented curriculum. A situational assessment through a multi-stage research approach in Farsi curriculum and instruction at elementary school level has been achieved. In addition to the content analysis of the Farsi curriculum guide and text books, 24 Farsi elementary classes at grades 2-5 with up to 775 students were observed, and linguistic creativity of all participants tested both at the beginning and end of the school year. Results indicate that the developed curriculum lacks adequate attention to creative learning situations, just as is the case with the implemented curriculum. Consequently, linguistic creativity is low among elementary school students, especially among boys and in their schools.