A Survey of Characteristics of Identity in Higher Education System of Art with Special Attention on the Contemporary Cultural Variable in Iran

Identity, which forms the personality of every society, is the cultural and social values that has today been kept by the academicians and is transferred to the next generation according to timely revolutions current needs. It is upon different codes of conduct and especially higher education systems to come up with the most suitable strategies in order to keep, revise and transfer cultural identity and national and scientific personality. The higher education system of the various branches of art plays a key and sensitive part in protecting this identity based on their covered subject and connection with national and traditional values.In this fundamental research the higher education system of the branches of art will first be analyzed through studying the Persian history of education and Islamic morals and guidelines. A survey on characteristics of identity in the current system will then be mentioned which has evaluated the influence of contemporary cultural variables on educational programs in this field. Finally, In addition to giving answers to the questions of concern, this essay also highlights the following 1-Attention to the national, indigenous and ritual values and to the cultural identity in the educational programs of the universities. These values have not been conveyed to the university students in a satisfying manner and are not compatible to the rich historical background of this country. Likewise, their importance has not been elaborated sufficiently. 2-In most cases, due to unawareness toward the necessity of links and communication between the traditional values and the fast progresses happening in the present era, certain contrast and opposition between the two concepts of tradition and modernism have been unwillingly created in the minds of the university students, to the extent that the foundation of their thoughts has been affected by unclear illusions with respect to choosing the right path to take. 3-The goals, the subjects to be taught and the approved educational programs are generally outdated. Although one can detect the presence of values and the importance of culture and identity in them, they do not match the speed and amount of changes that occur in the world nowadays. Therefore, it is essential to review and revise them. 4-Reforms in the structure of the society, the extensive cultural and economical expectations and the broad political exchanges occurring in the society at both national and global levels are not in line with the educational goals and the expertise of the university graduates. Lack of evaluation of the society's needs in relation to the educational programs separates and disconnects the universities from other social institutions. Therefore, the needed incentive to continue higher education and have progress in gaining vocational expertise is indeed very low among the university students. In the other hand, with a glance to the title of this essay, we can lay the grounds for an ideal higher education program on 4 main sections: fostering the sense of identity, updating, evaluating the needs and empowerment.