Education Discursive Change as Reflected in Modernist Plays (1925-1941)

Changing and reforming the educational system was the central concern of a range of modern thinkers of the advanced Pahlavi era, which appeared as a modernist discourse in the cultural sphere of this time. The play was one means of expressing these concerns, which, as a new type of writing, could express new concepts in a conversational and story-like format. In the current research, while analyzing the content of constitutional plays and Pahlavi's advanced period, an attempt has been made to examine the mentality of some of the modernist elites in connection with education and its relationship with the country's cultural development. An analytical examination of the content of these plays shows a change in the education discourse, a development that can be interpreted as a modernism manifestation. Criticism of the traditional attitude and introduction of new themes, a new conceptualization of “homeland”, insisting on the necessity of education for all, including adults, and emphasizing physical education alongside education, is a reflection of this discourse evolution. Also, the change in the playwriting approach of the Pahlavi period, compared to the constitutional period, was a function of the political conditions of the time, which was consistent with the policies of the Pahlavi government in the modernization field. In addition, the particular focus on the concept of a better future for the “homeland” in these plays can be seen as a reflection of the nationalism discourse of the Pahlavi era, which focused on the importance of education as a corridor for the transition to a developed and advanced country in the view of the modernists of this era.