Exploring the Components of Meaning of Life from an Islamic Perspective in Textbooks of Religion and Life for Iranian High School students

IntroductionHuman beings are inquisitive and have always inquired about the meaning and purpose of their life. Other living beings spend the natural course of their lives without ever wondering about the reasons and causes and they never think about the purpose of existence. So, searching the meaning of life is a characteristic that distinguishes human beings. Overall, the meaning of life is one of the most important philosophical, psychological and religious issues which can be scrutinized from multiple aspects. Religion offers a metaphysical insight into life, inviting human beings to higher non-materialistic values. Islam discusses how there is a meaning or multiple meanings to life which have been created by God, the creator. Upon creating a meaning or multiple meanings for the lives of his creations, God has bestowed the creature the ability to discover this meaning. Therefore each of us as God's creations is able to fulfill the meaning of his/her own existence or parts of it according to inner capacity and talents as well as the criteria presented by religion. Internalizing the constructs and factors of the meaning of life can be accomplished through an in-depth understanding of these constructs and factors and this can only be accomplished through education. The importance and the fundamental role of education in giving meaning to life, presents the importance of educational textbooks in promoting these concepts. High school is an important and influential stage of a person’s social development and therefore the meaning of life presents an important issue during this stage. The religious nature of our society necessitates an investigation into the meaning of life from a religious point of view. Islam presents some factors for the meaning of life that include faith, love, work, suffering, purpose, and death. Research QuestionsThe major questions of this research include:- How do the content of the first, second and third grade high school textbooks of Religion and Life promote the meaning of life?- Is there a positive high ratio of student involvement (between 1 and 1.5) in the content of Religion and Life textbooks in the three grade levels regarding the factors of the meaning of life?MethodThe methodology of the present research is review of literature and content analysis (conceptual approach) and it aims at obtaining student involvement ratio in the contents and questions of Religion and Life textbooks in high schools. In order to do so, the factors of the meaning of life were defined and subsequently used as analytical criteria. The paragraphs of the book were selected as analytical units and Remi’s method was used to analyze content and answer questions. Student involvement ratio that is higher than 0,5 indicates that at least 25 percent of the analytical units include the mentioned factors. Ratio that is higher than 1 indicates that at least 50 percent of analytical units include the mentioned factors. Therefore the higher the ratio is more than 0.5, the more attention the textbooks pay to these factors. Ratio levels higher than 1 indicate an acceptable inclusion of these factors. ResultsThe results of content analysis indicate that student involvement ratio in Life and Religion textbooks of the first grade is 0.41, and student involvement ratio in the textbook questions of the same grade is 0.44. It can be concluded that the current Religion and Life textbooks of the first grade level, cannot introduce the meaning of life to the students. Student involvement ratio in Life and Religion textbooks of the second grade is 0.76. The involvement ratio is higher than 0.5 and this indicates that more than 25 percent of the analytical units include factors of the meaning of life. It can be concluded that the current Religion and Life textbooks of the second grade, can introduce the meaning of life to the students in an average level. The ratio of the questions of the second grade Religion and Life textbook is 1.67 which indicates that more than 50 percent of the analytical units include factors related to the meaning of life. It can be concluded that the questions of current Religion and Life textbooks of the second grade, can introduce the meaning of life to the students in an acceptable level and can have an influential role in introducing students with the meaning of life. Finally third grade student involvement ratio in the content of the Life and Religion textbooks is 0.15 and involvement in the questions of this book is 0.21. It can be concluded that the current third grade textbooks of Life and Religion have a week effect in presenting the concept.Conclusion and discussionStudying the overall ratio of student involvement in the content and the questions of Religion and Life textbooks of the three grade levels regarding the factors of the meaning of life, indicates that the first grade and the third grade textbook content is not very satisfactory in introducing and internalizing the components of the meaning of life to the students and with respect to the pivotal role of these textbooks, their performance is week. The second grade textbook presents the mentioned factors in various parts of the content and questions. The results indicate that the difference in the ratios between the first and the second grade is rational. However, this is not true for the third grade textbook in which there is a decline. Considering the importance of meaning of life and related concepts, it is recommended that the authors of these books pay more attention to the meaning of life to assist the students in this aspect. In the case that the textbooks remain unchanged, other methods of introducing students with the meaning of life such as extra curriculum classes on life and the meaning of life, discussion groups, hosting psychologists and religious figures lectures in schools should be regarded in order to assist the students in the challenge of finding meaning and purpose for their life.