Teacher’s Professional Ethics in Maktabkhaneh: a Phenomenological Investigation Based on the Lived Experience of Maktabkhaneh Students

Because of the long history and maximum coverage, maktabkhaneh (old Iranian school) was one of the most important educational institutions after the entrance of Islam into Iran. It has had permanent influence on Iranian educational culture, including "teachers' professional ethics". In this study, aiming at clarifying the role of maktabkhaneh in formation of professional ethics of teachers through an interpretative phenomenological approach, the researchers have tried to understand and account for the lived experiences of people who have been educated in maktabkhanehs.
To do so, 13 elderly people who had experienced the atmosphere of maktabkhaneh were selected using purposive sampling. Then, needed information was collected using semi-structured interviews, and the Smith method was used for analyzing the interviews. After analyzing the interviews, the components of teachers' professional ethics were divided into five main categories and eighteen subcategories, including the enthusiasm in teaching, professional commitment, creating an eagerness to learn in students, special attention to moral education and teaching knowledge.
The results showed that the a number of positive and negative indicators of teachers' professional ethics in today's Iranian society are rooted in the attitudes and behaviors of maktabkhaneh teachers, and doing similar studies can help to explain the current and favorable situation of teachers' professional ethics in Iran.