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This article engages the reader with a critical and challenging issue in teacher education domain. The issue chosen is the structure of the program which extends itself quite naturally to the issue of implementation in terms of institutions involved. The author argues that although there is no definite answer to the question of which pre-service teacher education program assures training of effective teachers, a viable teacher education curriculum should consist of four elements, together forming an image of a square. The four elements are described as: content (disciplinary) knowledge component, general educational knowledge component, content specific professional knowledge coupled with practicum and induction, which refers to a one year monitoring and coaching of novice teachers. The four-sided program needs to be implemented in a cooperative spirit which involves the higher education sector and public education sector, thus depicting a cross-sectoral picture of the task of teacher education. The first two components come naturally under the expertise of universities and the last two are components for which the public education sector is better prepared. The implementation scheme discussed in the article presents a serious challenge to the current thinking and policy direction in Iran which has recently rested the case for teacher education by awarding all the responsibilities to the public education sector and exempting the higher education from performing any meaningful role in this respect. The policy has manifested itself in the 2012 enactment of a legislature authorizing the establishment of a single university run by ministry of education to assume the full responsibility for teacher education.

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The ways that mathematics teachers listen to students’ explanation, influence their understanding of students and their teaching activities. If teachers be informed about different ways of “listening” to students’ ideas and conceptions concerning mathematics, they might be able to use listening as an effective teaching method to enhance students’ mathematical learning. The related literature indicates that teachers’ familiarity with different “listening” approaches, could potentially help them to set up the stage for more interaction between students, teachers, and their learning environments. In such cases, students are gradually become skillful in realistically assessing their ideas, revising them and deepening their mathematical learning. We, thus, designed and conducted a study with five mathematics teachers in grades 6 to 8, to learn more about the ways they listened to students in their mathematics classes. All participants were volunteered female teachers with at least bachelor degree in mathematics. The research paradigm of the study was qualitative and the research method was phenomenography. Therefore, observations and interviews were the main instruments for the data collection. As Marton (1988) suggested, the categories of descriptions made up the main results of this research. So, the findings are three major and distinct categories to reveal the commonality and differences of the nature of “listening” concerning mathematics teachers in their classrooms. These categories had great consistency with Davis’ (1997) theoretical framework of three approaches to “listening” including evaluative, interpretive and hermeneutic. 

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This paper conducts a historical analysis of the meaning and aims Reconceptualism in viewpoint of Pinar et al, including methodology and critics related to it in curriculum field from 1960s to 2010s.  For this means, 25 papers and 4 books of Pinar et al were studied by methods of document and textual analysis through an analytical-critical approach. Critiques of Wraga and Hlebowitsh as alternatives for Reconceptualism are accounted. The result of analysis showed that a) Reconceptualists aren’t a homogeneous group of curriculum experts share certain ideas b)Reconceptualism isn’t a movement, but rather a way or a process of understanding c) the process of understanding or the Reconceptualiztion project will never cease to continue. Thus, Reconceptualism cannot be defined easily and, d) Reconceptualism is a critical and inclusive movement that concentrates on out of school phenomena and critique of hidden and overt curriculum outcomes. Concerned issues and methodology of Reconceptualism that were extracted via open and selected coding include: pursuit of interdisciplinary studies, empowering critical role of theory, paradigm shift from curriculum planning to curriculum understanding, focusing on out of school variables, generalizing, emphasis on theory rather than practice, improving the field of curriculum studies in order to adapt to complicated dialogues, internationalization of curriculum studies, critic of ahistorical posture and using of autobiography and interpreting Currrere as a biographical mode. Finally, notable critiques of Reconceptualism and their responses are analyzed.

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The main purpose of this research is to derive Seminary virtual education effectiveness criteria. Seminary education has main differences with tertiary or professional education. Therefore, to assess their effectiveness, we must take into account these differences. In this research we have used qualitative methodology and set a semi-interview mechanism with 15 experts in e-learning, all employees in Seminary educational institutions established in Qom. Data analysis was done in three stages: open encoding, axial encoding and selective encoding. In open encoding stage 114 codes was detected. In axial encoding stage these codes were categorized around six basic categories. With recurrent reviewing of interviews in selective coding stage we reached one inclusive category. Based on these research findings, to assess Seminary virtual education’s effectiveness, there are two layers, i.e. surface and deep. In surface layer we must consider six categories which include: Seminary’s essential values, seminary educational aims, curriculum design, teacher skills, learner skills and behavioral and attitudinal outcomes. But in deep layer, based on Seminary essential values and interactions among six categories, it boiled down to one inclusive category which we called “Seminarian traits”. This concept involves elements such as: Seminarian style, religious inquiry, propagation skills, observing the teacher’s dignity, developing an inner feeling and life-long learning.

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This paper presents a report on the level of achievement in the third grade of high school courses of physics and laboratory. This research is assessment-oriented and evaluative and in collecting of data follows the grounded theory method. Curricular goal achievement was assessed with evaluating mathematics and science students (N=369) from five districts in Tehran via academic achievement test. The analysis of data showed that: 1- The goals of physics curriculum in cognitive domain had been achieved. 2- There were no significant differences between male and female mathematics and science students in goal achievement in cognitive domain. 3- There were significant differences in cognitive domain in between students who studied in different districts of Tehran.

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The aim of this study was to explore skills that a teacher needs in order to apply ICT in education. This study is a descriptive - survey research. The data were collected through Delphi method. Ten experts in the field of new technologies, IT teachers in the ICDL Iran institute, informants in the Smart School project, 25 teachers working in smart schools with at least 5 years of experience in developing and implementing content were invited for participation in the research. At the first stage, experts prioritized items, giving each item a weight taking into considerations factors such as importance, necessity and priority of the item for the teacher inside the classroom. They also carried out two tests, i.e. Friedman test and Spearman's coefficient of agreement. Thus, the level of agreement between ten expert participants and validity of the priorities as set by the entire group of participants was determined. At the second phase, after applying the priorities, in order to achieve maximum consensus, items were again handed to the participants, resulting in a 95/48 percent agreement. The findings showed an increase in means and standard deviation in the second phase, indicating convergence among the participants. Results showed that all the correlation coefficients are significant at 1% alpha, which shows the validity of each component and high agreement. With the contribution of experts, ICT application skills were divided into general and specialized skills, while competency was divided into three components: cognitive, functional and emotional.

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The present study is about one of the most important contemporary issues in education and curriculum development, namely “human rights education”. By using content analysis, 36 textbooks of 2012-2013 school year with an overall of 3924 pages were studied and analyzed. For the analysis of the data, Shannon's entropy method derived from the theory of systems was used to obtain the credibility ratings of each human rights component and comparison of their coefficients. Based on our research findings, there hasn’t been enough attention to human rights components, and among the pages of the textbooks, most credibility ratings was related to constitutional laws and less to the rights of social, economical and cultural components. Also based on the credibility ratings obtained from the frequency corresponding to the sub-components, the highest credibility ratings is related to sub-components of environmental rights, while the lowest credibility ratings relates sub-components of right to fair trial and property rights.

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Abstract: The main purpose of the present study was to gain insights into effective teaching in higher education as a phenomenon. Using professional experiences of university faculty, we wanted to develop a conceptual framework in order to enhance the pedagogical and theoretical foundations of teaching.using phenomenography, which is one of the qualitative strategies we interviewed 12 Faculty from University of Kurdistan. Participants were selected using typical sampling until we research theoretical saturation while conducting deep and semi-structured interview.  Using inductive procedure, we coded the data in three steps of open, axial, and pattern coding. The finding showed that effective teaching had four main dimensions according to participating faculty: (1) Communicative skills, (2) learner and instructor characteristics, (3) pedagogical skills, and (4) background factors. Comparing the existing literature, we argue that learner characteristics and background factors are new ideas in effective teaching.
 

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Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the situation of homeschooling in Iranian system of education. The results of this study derived from a qualitative research performed in 2012. The research population was selected by snowball method. The participants were interviewed. The interviews were semi-structured. The concepts in each interview were extracted. The study showed that all parents in the sample come from middle and upper-middle class of the Iranian society and are highly educated. Participants’ involvement in the education of their children and risk-taking in this regard was high. They didn’t have a positive view toward the formal system of education, but their decision for homeschooling their children were mostly educational, not ideological. They consider the formal system of education as a unilateral system, which destroys the creativity of children, merely emphasizes memorization, and neglects some subject like sport, English language, music and arts. According to them, school is a closed space where everybody should take a seat, just listen and hide their real personality. The Iranian homeschooling method is not limited to the textbooks and carries on mostly in natural space. It is mainly based on short-term skills, is not time-bounded and is flexible like its global counterparts. The findings show that this kind of education has increased parents’ relationship with themselves and their children. Their children are self-adjusted and independent in learning. However, because of the novelty of this kind of education, and its non-legal state, it is not accepted by the society at this stage. Occasionally, the homeschooling children and their parents confront several different challenges including mocking, anxiety about the future of their children etc.
 

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Abstract: The crisis of identity has been coupled with the field of curriculum studies. Despite the considerable quantitative expansion that the field has experienced in recent decade the academic borders are not yet clear and concise. Such indeterminacy, although is uncomforting at times, but it can be made into an opportunity providing the bedrock for creative suggestion of new accounts and pluralism with respect to identity. In this article the behavior of the administrators of the education system with reference to the deployment of curriculum knowledge in setting the stage for proper decision making has been made subject to criticism. The author emphasizes that such treatment is not justified even at the time of such identity crisis and that the graduates can offer worthwhile contributions to policymakers. What follows, then, is an explanation of the expectation that administrators could have from the scholars and specialists of the field. This expectation is expressed within the fundamental responsibility of the academic community to renew the educational programs defined for preparing future specialists. The point is that by attending to such professional responsibility, the crises of identity could be resolved (or ameliorated) and specialists with a more pronounce professional identity could be made available to policymakers. At the end, what is referred to as the map for plural identity has been suggested which identifies the spectrum of identity options available to curriculum specialists. An exemplary framework for a doctoral program consistent with the map is also attached to the article.
 

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Abstract: This researchr examines educational aims and goals of preschool stage in Iranian national curriculum. This examination is based on Islamic theory of action in childhood and carried out by using conceptual and comparative analysis methods. In a holistic view, it seems that these aims encounter 4 challenges. The first challenge is related to psychological requirements of children during their maturation. The second one is about the vagueness of its value hierarchies. The third challenge is the ambiguity of terms and vocabularies. Disorder in defining the aims is another challenge. It is important to note that some of these aims may overlap each other. In this regard some modifications have been done. Comparative analysis of the national curriculum aims indicates that these aims can be settled in 4 categories. The first group includes those aims which are concordant with the correspond ones in Islamic theory of action. These aims are appropriate. The second and third classes consist of those aims which have essential or inessential oppositions to Islamic theory of action. Upon our investigation, we propose that these aims should be modified or omitted. The last one includes those aims that are neglected in this document. In this case, we suggest some new aims.
 

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Abstract: An effective research requires the initialization of knowledge, positive affect and research action in the researcher as well as the initialization of research comprehensive attitude. The present study was conducted using descriptive-analytical method based on analyzing the concepts and re-processing the results of previous research. Based on this, theoretical and research background related to the realization of research comprehensive attitude were analyzed and three cognitive, emotional and functional dimensions of the mentioned theoretical framework along with the proposed components were organized in a clear dimensions and statements. At the end, a sample structure was presented in designing the general elements of school curriculum in order to realize research comprehensive approach.
 

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Abstract: Curriculum has always been the main element in any educational system and a relatively large number of research has been carried out in this area. Using quantitative approach and document content analysis, this study investigates the methodologies applied in research on higher education curriculum. Among the existing literature, 30 studies from 13 journals that were carried out by Iranian researchers, and 30 studies from 14 credible journals carried out by foreign scholars were selected through purposeful sampling, and subsequently analyzed.  The results reveal that in foreign studies on curriculum, qualitative approach was dominant, employed in sixty percent of the studies. Within this portion, case studies and phenomenological approach with %50 and 37.5% were used most by the researchers. The study also found that quantitative approach was the dominant approach applied in Iranian studies (fifty percent), among which survey methodology was the most widely used (%85.8). Moreover, this study indicates that both Iranian and foreign research are moving from quantitative to qualitative and mixed research, although this trend is stronger in foreign research.  

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Abstract: The objective of this research was to study the feasibility of integrative approach in physical education course at the elementary level from the point of view of experts. The researchers used descriptive survey method for this study. The statistical population consisted of physical education experts majoring in curriculum development or management and planning who were familiar with physical education courses of public universities in Tehran. The research data was collected by a researcher-made questionnaire. Data was collected through both T-solo and linear-algorithm sample statistical methods. Results through T-solo sample showed that in terms of professionals who set the objectives, selection of content and coherence of learning experiences was meaningful in integrated delivery of physical education curriculum. Results through linear-algorithm method showed that experts' opinion was significantly correlated to their gender and attitude towards integrated physical education curriculum. Also there was significant variation regarding the experts' years of experience. In addition, there was no significant correlation between these three factors, i.e. gender, attitude towards integrated curriculum and teaching experience. According to the findings of this study, the experts agreed that development of an integrated physical education curriculum was feasible if curriculum development elements were taken into consideration. In terms of gender and attitude towards an integrated curriculum, experts agreed that development of an integrated physical education curriculum was feasible. In terms of teaching experience and background, and interrelation between these three factors there is difference of viewpoint among experts.  

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Abstract: In 1996 at the first Iranian Mathematics Education Conference (IMEC1) that was held in Isfahan. I obliged myself as a mathematics educator, to inform the mathematics community at large by presenting a paper entitled “what is mathematics education?” to pave the way for the establishment of the master program of mathematics education in Iran. Now, after 16 years, we need to reflect on this rapid development and ask ourselves that “what is not count as mathematics education”. In responding to this serious question, a metaanalysis was conducted that its data consisted of the PDF files of all the rejected research papers to the IMEC12 that were coded and all the personal identification for them were removed.  The main purpose of this study is to reflect on what has happened in last 16 years, hoping to “learn from the past to avoid its repetition!”       
 
     

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Abstract: This paper, first it has reviewed the literature on the characteristics of mathematical word problems and their solution process. The review revealed that among the root causes for students’ difficulties with mathematical word problems, two factors are salient, namely the text complexity and the unfamiliar context. To shed more light on these findings, a factorial experimental study was designed with 80 grade 7 students from a school in middle class residents. These students were randomly put into the four groups of 20 each two as experimental and two as control group. Four tests were administered as pre-tests and post- tests to compare the students regarding their problem solving skills with the intervention of two kinds of rewording familiarization and personalization. The major finding of this study is that the rewording per se has meaningful effect on students’ understanding and solving of word problem.    

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Abstract: In the late 70's, in reaction to both "New Math" movement in the United States and "mechanistic mathematics education" approach to mathematics education in Netherland, Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) has been introduced by Freudenthal and his colleagues. In this educational approach, Freudenthal considered mathematics as a human activity. Based on this approach, education should give students the opportunity to re-invent mathematics by doing appropriate activities. Recently, the National curriculum of Islamic Republic of Iran has been developed by the Ministry of Education to provide educational policies. In this document, an implicit emphasis on so called “realistic” aspect of the program can be seen in the mathematics curriculum framework section. In this paper, I first, introduce the different aspects of RME, and then this educational approach has been traced in the newly written mathematics textbooks in Iran.    

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Abstract: Study on curriculum movement and variation of the mathematics textbooks in Iran is one of the fields that few studies have been accomplished, and in this field there have been no investigation reports or any particular results of such these studies. This paper deals with a short report of a comprehensive research in this field from the beginning of formal education curriculum in Iran for high school (1925) to 2008 (the time of gathering the data). In this research following subjects on high school curriculum are investigated: 1) Historical changes and overall evolution of formal educational system, 2) Five historic periods on changed of math textbooks, 3) Changes of curriculum based on the math subjects. I tried all the school textbooks to be considered and the content of them mathematically to be investigated. This paper deals with a conclusion by reviewing trigonometry as one of the school topics and its changes during this interval.    

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Abstract: The main purpose of this paper is introducing modelling and application as a research domain in mathematics education through reviewing related literature. The first purpose of this review is to give a more clear meaning of modelling and application, and base on that, makes the distinction between modelling in mathematics education & modelling in other scientific domains. There are some other terms like Numeracy Quantitative literacy Mathematization and Word Problems that with some tolerance, are taken as equivalent term to modelling. However, modelling has salient differences with every one of them. Second purpose of this paper, is to introduce modelling cycle and its steps. Third, some researches who are working in the domain of modelling and application will be reviewed and then methodology and results of one of them will be mentioned. Finally, several open research questions for future research in the domain of modeling and application will be announced.    

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Abstract: In the first part of this study, first a brief introduction of problem posing was present and then, some frameworks and classifications of problem posing were reviewed. In the second part of the study the research that has been conducted in Iran was introduced. This quasi-experimental study was conducted with experimental and control groups which aimed to investigate the impact of fostering mathematics problem posing skills on 8th grade students’ ability to solve mathematical problems. The findings of the first part showed that problem posing skills was associated with problem solving ability, creativity and divergent thinking, and they improved each other. Problem posing process also could be used as a tool to gain a greater awareness of what's going on in the minds of students. T-test analysis of the second part of paper showed that doing problem posing activities in the classroom made a significant difference in students' problem solving skills.