supreme council of education

One of the actions of American Christian missionaries in Iran during the Qajar period was the establishment of schools with a new educational style in various parts of the country. Until the Pahlavi era, the activities of these schools were somewhat aligned with or cooperated with the government. However, with the rise of Reza Shah and the government's increased efforts to oversee and unify the educational system across Iran, the government gradually expanded its supervision and control over these schools. Various laws were enacted and implemented that gradually tightened the space for these schools. Schools that did not accept the new regulations were easily closed down. However, these measures alone did not seem sufficient to ensure that American schools operated within the framework of the new laws. The present research aims to answer the question, through archival documents and a descriptive-analytical approach, of how the changes in the educational system during the early Pahlavi period affected the activities of American missionary schools. This study argues that despite some resistance, most American missionary schools tried to adapt to the new order to avoid serious problems with their operations. Although, in the final years of the first Pahlavi era, they were forced to end their activities by selling all their property to the government, due to the centralized educational policies of the Ministry of Culture. It appears that the government's supervision of American missionary schools was less influenced by the fluctuations of political relations. In fact, this research seeks to answer the hypothesis that the Ministry of Education/Culture, by formulating and implementing centralized educational programs, restricted and ultimately dismantled the activities of American missionary schools in line with the nation-state strategy.

The Supreme Council of Education (and later Culture), which was established after the Constitutional Revolution in 1301 AH, was considered a legislative and effective institution in the country's education system. This institution has been active in various dimensions, including the teaching of social sciences, including history, being one of the areas it has paid attention to. However, scientific research has not yet focused on this issue, and in this regard, the aim of the present study is to discover the process of compiling and completing history education in the Supreme Council of Education from 1301 AH to 1317 AH and the Supreme Council of Culture from 1317 AH to 1320 AH, coinciding with the fall of Reza Shah. The originality of this research was based on the minutes of the Supreme Council of Education. The results of the study showed that the Qajar period can be called the period of "foundation" of history education; But the teaching of history in the Iranian educational system, especially in different periods, especially during the reign of Reza Shah, has been accompanied by a nationalistic approach and a diversity of curriculum content and has undergone a process of "evolution". This teaching of history includes different aspects of the history of Iran, the world and Europe and explains different cultures and civilizations. In this period, the Council introduces history teaching in different fields (primary, secondary and higher education).