Rethinking the relationship between ideologyand the educational system

There has always been a lot of controversy among various scholars about the role and presence of ideology in educational systems and its most important element, namely school curricula. In fact, some support the presence of ideological elements in educational systems and shaping them, but others do not agree much with this idea. In this article, an analytical-inferential approach has been used to study and analyze some aspects and angles of this issue. By reviewing the existing theoretical perspectives and literature, the relationship of ideology with the educational system has been proposed in the two implicit (indirect) and explicit (direct) forms. In the first approach, ideology is used in the sense of fundamental values and macro-philosophical frameworks governing education, which shows only the general direction of the educational system and does not take action to engineering the current trends of education in schools and educational centers. It seems that in such a situation, the existence and presence of ideology in education can be justifiable and acceptable. But in the explicit (direct) approach, the relationship and interaction of ideology with the educational system is such that curricula are under the control and dominance of ideology and the mental and intellectual capacities of students are prepared to accept and internalize value. In this case, the role of ideology in the educational system is controversial, which itself necessitates the attention and rethinking of policymakers and planners to correct this trend.