Iranian Journal of Comparative Education
Volume:6 Issue: 4, Autumn 2023

Research background shows that university teachers in the field of education have different definitions of cooperative learning with some not differentiating among group work, collaborative learning, and cooperative learning. The main purpose of the current study is not to distinguish these three concepts from each other, but to identify the perceptions of university academics in Australia and Iran. The current study intends to present a clearer understanding of cooperative learning, highlighting the similarities and differences that may exist between the two countries. This was a qualitative study involving 23 university teachers who were interviewed on their understanding of cooperative learning. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the in-depth interview data which were coded and organized using Atlas/ti software. Participants in both Australia and Iran defined cooperative learning as an interactive procedure. They used similar terms such as active learning, exchange of knowledge, and individual accountability. Australian participants emphasized the shared goal, defining the roles and planning, while Iranian participants paid more attention to the management aspects of cooperative learning. This cross-cultural study identifies new insights of cooperative learning that may need to be considered in order to develop the quality of teaching and learning in university classrooms.

The purpose of research was to compare the educational topics of children's literature in two Persian and Arabic academic books. The research method was qualitative with a descriptive and analytical approach. Data collection method was documentary using two primary sources entitled “children literature” “and Adab Al-Itat Fan Al-Mustaqbal” in Farsi and Arabic respectively. In addition, secondary sources such as books, articles and related research were also used. The findings show that according to the content of the two books, it seems that some of the topics and contents were written under the influence of western theories. Compared to children's literature, the book of Adab al-Ifat Fan Al-Mustaqbal has more subject diversity and the contents in it meet the basic needs of academic audiences. Other finding show that the topics of "early definitions of children's literature", " children's literature essence ", "history of children's literature" and "reading promotion" are similar to each other . Also, significant differences can be seen in topics such as "Teaching Philosophy to Children", "Translation in Children's Literature" and "Using Social Networks" in the two books, the main reason of which is the authors' nationalist tendency of these issues. According to the findings, the Arabic book of "Adab al-Ifat Fan Al-Mustaqbal" due to the use of the correct scientific research method as well as the presentation of diverse and useful topics, can be a suitable model for Iranian authors in writing an academic book of children's literature.

One of the ultimate goals of pursuing higher education is to prepare the next employees with the necessary knowledge and skills. This includes cultivating university students’ scientific skills, especially argumentation skill. From an educational point of view, argumentation skill is a learning mechanism, the use of which leads to knowledge development. Exploring the states of this skill in the intended and experienced curricula of Iran's higher education system is the aim of this study. The analysis of the intended curriculum was done by using the directed qualitative content analysis method. The sampling method was the purposeful sampling technique. The units of analysis include word, phrase, sentence, and paragraph. The expression method consisted of latent and manifest messages. Thereafter, for the experienced curriculum, using the snowball sampling technique, the argumentation ability of 130 university students was assessed. Findings The first finding of the analysis of the intended curriculum showed that at the policy and management levels of Iran’s higher education equipping students with academic skills such as argumentation has been recognized and defined as goals both latently and manifestly. The second finding showed that students written responses didn’t have a proper argumentative structure. This finding is not consistent with the first finding. The inconsistency between the intended curriculum and the experienced curriculum indicates that at the level of implementation, this skill development has not been paid attention to. In addition, the experienced curriculum shows that students do not acquire argumentation skill from the hidden curriculum of the university environment

Reviewing the existing themes on English language education in Iran, this study sought to examine English language teaching in three educational systems: public schools, private language institutes, and universities. We used systematic literature review method. Data consisted of journal articles published from 2010 to 2023. The thematic synthesis process using the MAXQDA software was utilised to analyse articles. Four themes were extracted: a reductionist approach to language teaching in schools, a modernist orientation to teaching English in institutes, a shift towards critical language teaching in universities, and a call for localisation and Islamisation of English language teaching. Findings showed that teaching English in Iranian schools has failed, which resulted in the popularity of language institutes, although the native speaker ideology promoted in institutes led to unequal Englishes ideologically intertwined with a colonial enterprise. Findings revealed that there is a need for a shift towards critical language education through nativised teaching. That is, it was revealed that there is a dire need for English language material developers in Iran to prepare localised and nativised materials considering Iranian-Islamic identities.

The purpose of research was to investigate the components of improving environmental literacy in order to provide suggestions to the planners of Iran's higher education system. The research method was comparative-exploratory using a systematic review approach. To analyze the data and present the results, the Bereday method was used. The research sample includes eight leading countries in the field of environmental education i.e. Iceland, Finland, Japan, Switzerland, USA, Sweden, Canada, and China. The findings indicated that Iceland and Canada are similar in choosing the approach of "combined teaching of environmental subjects with other subjects". Also, Finland and Switzerland are similar in the development and expansion of the field of environmental education and new environmental trends, Finland and Sweden in the field of continuous updating of course content with environmental needs & requirements, and Sweden and China in the field of relying on the sustainable development approach. In addition, Japan and USA are similar in applying new technology & innovations and supporting & encouraging students through the allocation of financial support.Other finding is that Switzerland and Canada are similar in supporting the creation and expansion of mid and long-term university-approved programs. Canada, China and Iceland are similar in terms of active participation and participatory monitoring & evaluation of educational and group programs to solve environmental problems. The difference between the countries indicates that Japan has the advantage of designing a comprehensive program of environmental education at the higher education level and creating systems for sharing national & global experiences, while the emphasis of the USA is on expansion of green universities and Sweden on the provision of holistic project-based education. According to the findings, it is suggested to Iran's higher education planners to consider a comprehensive and holistic program with an integrated approach in the field of environmental literacy.

One key dimension of language-in-education policymaking is the onset age of foreign, essentially English, language education. Motivated by advantages associated with English knowledge, there is a growing trend worldwide to include English in primary school curricula and lower the age of its learning. The age at which Iranian students begin learning English formally has been contentious for post-Revolutionary Iran. The paper intends to examine Iranian English policymaking vis-à-vis its start age at de-jure level by macro-level stakeholders in Iran’s Ministry of Education and similar state bodies and compare it with similar educational planning in several Asian nations (South Korea, Japan, China, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Vietnam). Interviews, official documents, and archived online data were used. To analyze data, content analysis was employed. Findings suggest that Asian nations make explicit policy statements pertaining to neoliberal globalization agendas, deem English communication skills as part of human capital and lower the age of English education to address the English needs of their respective nations. This policy has been accelerated by an explosive social demand for English. Results also indicate that despite similar yet implicit globalization goals in macro-level documents and a similar social demand, Iranian English policymaking is torn between politico-ideological imperatives and an expendable and unwarranted pressure dyed as professional advice with the former winning over the latter which, in turn, leads to delayed English education. The paper ends with an account of the consequences of late English education policy in Iran.