Basic Capabilities Needed for the Development of Iranian Elementary School Students

The capability approach presented by Amartya Sen, the infamous economist, has changed the very foundations and methods of measuring personal and social welfare. Many of the areas of scientific study have adapted this approach in order to expand their frameworks for measurement. Public educational systems are not an exception. Based on the review of literature on this topic, a set of basic capabilites for elementary school students was extracted and then put to the perusal of a number of Iranian experts in education in order to be modified and adapted to the Iranian socio-cultural norms and then ranked in terms of significance. The final set includes: social communication, ability to choose, patience and tolerance, law-oriented, learning, critical thinking, ability to debate, public reasoning, creativity, respect, emotional integrity, technological literacy, narrative imagination, reading and writing skills, attending and protecting other species, playfulness/recreational and sport activities, aspiration, acknowledging national and personal heritage, and a balance between national and global perspective.