Different Interpretations of a National Curriculum: A Reflection on the Islamic Republic of Iran's Ratified Curriculum

Curriculum planning is a major task in any national educational system as it involves not only educational concerns, but socio-political and cultural issues as well. Given the variety of perspectives on each of these dimensions, it would be natural to have differing views on the very nature of a national curriculum and its basic roles and functions. To analyze the socio-political nature of the Islamic Republic's recently ratified national curriculum, a theoretical framework is initially constructed, wherein a range of objectives from reinforcement of national identity to an attempt at homogenization are considered. The subsequent critical evaluation of the ratified document, not only clarifies the leading experiential and political lines of thinking in planning the curriculum, but clarifies both areas and ways of improving the planned curriculum.