A Critical Analysis of Primary School Persian Textbooks

Abstract: Based on educational linguistics, the present study examined national and local features of culture in primary school Persian textbooks from a critical point of view. The main focus was how and how much the mentioned features have been represented in the Persian textbooks in accordance with constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran, document of fundamental development in education, national curriculum of Islamic Republic of Iran and the guide for Persian curriculum. As the procedure, the texts and images were examined as the meaning making resources and the study shows the majority of represented features as national rather than local and the few local features dedicated to geography, symbol (costume) and monuments. Although some features such as regional languages and dialects, literature, local elites, myth and different climates are supposed to be discussed in free lessons, the content of Persian textbooks needs modification (comprehensive and considering minorities and differences) based on the principles of national curriculum and the solution number 5-5 mentioned in the document of fundamental development.