The Match between the Goals Pursued in Middle School Social Science Textbooks and Those Stated in the Superseding Documents

To answer the basic question on the extent to which the educational goals pursued in the Middle School Social Science textbook match those stated in the superseding documents, such as the curricular guide for the course, the declaration of the strategic development of the public education system, the 20 year outlook manifest, and the Islamic Republic of Iran Constitution. All documents were content analyzed using a coding system with a 0.96 inter-rater reliability, and then compared. Findings show that although the compatibility of goals pursued and those stated is high, the political goals are rather overlooked, especially in the first and second grades textbooks. The expert observers did not agree on the importance of the stated goals and the extent to which they are pursued in the textbooks. It is recommended that a vertical reorganization of the content, especially in the area of political goals, be undertaken.