IR STUDENTS THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE: A PATHOLOGICAL STUDY

IR students in Iran do not find themselves strong enough in IR theories. Furthermore the published and unpublished work suggests that the relationship between theory and research is not appropriately established. This article is based on a research done to examine some hypotheses that can explain this partial weakness. Three sets of factors (teaching IR theories, IR theory sources available in Persian, and students’ attitude towards and interest in IR theories) were identified and nine main hypotheses were suggested and examined. The research findings suggest that the number of courses and some aspects of teaching IR theories as well as the quantity and quality of the available sources on IRT in Persian have influenced the knowledge level of students. Yet lack of interest and negative attitudes were not found as being influential.