STUDIES IN EDUCATION & PSYCHOLOGY
Year:2010 | Volume:11 | Issue:1|Papers Count:18

The concept of imagination and different meanings associated with it is discussed briefly in the first section of the article. This will lead to the conclusion that comprehending this noble human capacity is not an easy task and must be considered as an unfinished agenda, especially for educators and policymakers who contemplate change in the education sector.One explanation for the uneasy grasp of the concept is mistaking hallucination, a negative and symptomatic concept with imagination. Following this introductory remark, the article discusses the application of imagination in the elementary school curriculum.Legitimization of imagination, it is argued, entails replacing the principle of "starting from where the children are" to "starting from what the children can imagine." In the subsequent section, the discussion turns into addressing justifications for including imagination into the school curriculum and providing the ground for consolidating this noble capacity in the children. In the final section of the article the author names yet another unfinished agenda that must become the focus of attention. The project is aimed at identifying "mental blocks" as exercised in the schooling system. Findings will be employed to revitalize thinking oriented activities in its comprehensive sense.

Rumination has been recognized as an important component of depression. The goal of this study was to introduce rumination within the framework of Response Style Theory and its implications for dysphoric mood. Therefore, the relationship between rumination, depression and anxiety in a sample of lranian students was investigated. Participants comprised students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (N=119; 63% female), who completed Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). A Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient (a=88) was calculated for the Persian version of the RRS used in the study. The result of regression analysis indicated that increases in rumination were associated with increases in depression, after age, gender, and anxiety had been controlled. Despite of cultural and social differences, our findings support earlier findings from Western cultures about the positive relationship between rumination and depression. Moreover, our findings suggest that rumination could be an important predictor of depression beyond the role of the anxiety in the relationship.Implications of the findings for an attentional retraining program for depression have been discussed.

The present research investigated the role of virtual education in realizing the pedagogical objectives; the objectives have been deducted from the common explications of key existentialist philosophers on human and his life. We used a qualitative method know as comparative analysis of the philosophers' thoughts. The first objective of the research was to help the learners express and develop their emotions as well as learning ways to apply and benefit from reasoning. Based on the research findings, however, virtual experience is rather observational and mental, i.e., not embodied or based on physical engagement in relation with the reality. The second objective is to pay attention to awareness, freedom and authenticity of the learners. In this regard, educating learners as helpful citizens requires preparing them for future careers and life, for which virtual learning has created unique and useful opportunities. To achieve the goal, it is also necessary to revive, preserve and foster traditions and genuine historical culture of the society to learners through day to day life, manner of speaking and social encountering such as face to face contact with humane character of a teacher. Finally, implications of the study has been discussed; these include employing virtual education along with face to face education; emphasis on holistic view instead of the conservative view in using virtual education; and designing virtual education in order to facilitate reasoning, critical thinking, and creativity.

The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of Quran's stories on children' s emotional intelligence. Participants were 30 children between age of 4 to 6 who were randomly selected from three kindergartens and then divided into an experimental and a control group. Peter Aid and Fare ham emotional intelligence questionnaire (understanding self and others feelings, control of emotions, social skills, optimism and positive attitude) was administered with the children on a pre- and post-test basis. The experimental group participated in Quran-story telling sessions over three months. Results showed that, on the post-test, the experimental group scored higher than the controls on all areas of emotional intelligence. It seems that listening to guided Quran stories can increase pre-school children's emotional intelligence.

The main purpose of the present paper was to expand upon the concept of metaphor and its functions in education. This paper addresses (a) six major classic and modern theories of metaphor according to their cognitive and intellectual functions, and (b) identifies and classifies four types of figurative language, including metaphor, simile, allegory, and symbol. We have considered metaphor as a cognitive phenomenon. Therefore, we have argued that metaphor has a heuristic function and it also serves as a constitutive model for pedagogy. We concluded that many of the metaphor important roles such as, motivational, discovery, hermeneutical, convincing and roles related to the extent of meaning can be employed in educational systems.

The goal of the present research was to study the content organization of the textbooks taught in Level One Hawza Illmiya Curriculum and its ideal characteristics on the basis of the thematic integration approach. We first reviewed the relevant theoretical ideas and conducted a primary interview with some of professors teaching in seminaries, upon which we composed a list of characteristics of the content organization of the textbooks taught in the seminaries. For data collection, a questionnaire was composed that contains questions about the content organization of the customary vs. ideal textbooks taught in seminaries.Next, 115 individuals (about half of the study sample), including the professors and students of Grade six, Level One judged the characteristics. Findings showed that, the most evident characteristics of the content organization of the current textbooks were: Arranging contents with independent topics, the order of titles and contents of the courses introduced by the seminary professors and students in the Planning Center, and the order resulted from the structure of the scientific fields. These are the characteristics of a knowledge-oriented model. Moreover, it was expected that an ideal content organization should entail the following characteristics: Organizing studies and discussions according to issues that are related to the real life conditions; various courses (e.g., literature, juridical prinCiples) should be related to each other to and in conformity with each other in order for their maximize efficiency for solving real problems; core contents and subjects need to have priority over the marginal ones; and there has to be the capacity of linking the learners' experiences and learning in the past with the present and future ones.

The purpose of the research was to examine the relationship between educational administrators' brain quadrant dominance and the level of their performance effectiveness.By using stratified-random sampling method, 103 managers and 412 teachers were selected as the study sample; they were recruited from high schools in Mashhad in 2008-2009 academic year. Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument, with 60 items, and Parsons Performance Effectiveness Questionnaire, with 35 items, were used for data collection. The findings showed a significant, positive relationship between the dominance of A, C and D styles of brain quadrants and the level of performance effectiveness (p<0.01). The results also revealed that B brain quadrant dominance could not predict the level of performance.

The goal of present study was to compare the performance of ADHD and normal children on planning tests.45 children with ADHD aged between 7 to 12 were selected in Mashhad city through convenience and randomized sampling. We used SNAP. CBCL. TRF, CSI-4 and clinical interview for diagnosis of ADHD and put them into ADHD-I, ADHD-H, ADHD-C subtypes. Each subtype comprised 15 children with ADHD. The children' s planning ability was assessed by Tower of London, the Porteus Mazes, and the Wechsler Mazes subtest. The results indicated that performance of ADHD group on the planning tests was poorer than control group. There were no significant difference across the ADHD subtypes. The differences were in several components of Tower of London, including response time, number of errors, and the total score. In conclusion, results supported that planning and organizing ability were poorer in the ADHD children than the controls.

The relationship between motor skills and other aspects of personality, such as self-concept, social and emotional behavior, proposes the necessity of working on motor skills and activities. Investigation of the social abilities seems beneficial for whom with the special needs. The current study investigated the influence of Yoga rhythmic movements on social interactions of children with mental deficiency (N=12; IQ range=75-85). To measure the children's social skills, the Vineland Social Development Questionnaire was administered.Significant improvements were observed on all 8 dimensions of the Vineland questionnaire from pre- to post-intervention assessment.

We studied the effects of using Reflective Action Approach (RAA) on critical thinking of students and teachers. The research method was a semi-experimental and factorial design (2x2). The subjects were 93 students from Tabriz Teachers Education Colleges of which 46 students and teachers (24 female and 22 male) formed the experimental group to receive RAA and 47 students and teachers (25 female and 22 male) formed the control group who received the traditional approach. Measures were the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) and the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI).The results of MANCOVA analysis revealed that reflective action enhanced the experimental group's critical thinking skills (deduction) and disposition toward critical thinking (inquisitiveness, systematic activity, and maturity of judgment). There was no gender differences for the positive outcomes of the RAA.

The main purpose of this research was to identify differences in the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad managers' leadership styles based on their philosophical mindedness. The research method was quantitative, non-experimental, explanatory, cross-sectional.88 university managers completed and returned two questionnaires assessing their leadership styles and philosophical mindedness.. The results showed significant differences among the managers' leadership styles in terms of their philosophical mindedness. There was a significant relationship between philosophical mindedness and increasing the growth of team leadership. Therefore, there is a need for fostering comprehensiveness, penetration (deep thinking), and flexibility, as three main aspects of philosophical mindedness, among university managers.

This paper is part of a qualitative study that has surveyed the content element of curriculum in science education of Iran and five other countries from a descriptive and a comparative view. Therefore, all the documents about the study topics that were available in Iran and the selected countries were gathered, described, interpreted, juxtaposed, and compared. The results showed that in studied countries, the selected content could be classified into four subjects including physics, chemistry, biology and health, and geology. In addition, the contents have been developed in three dimensions: knowledge, skills and attitudes.Although there were remarkable differences between Iran and the other countries in addressing skills and attitudes, the most significant commonality across the countries were obtaining technological scientific literacy, solving problem, reflecting, and nature discussions. The results also showed considerable similarities between science education contents of Iran and the other five countries. These similarities were mostly in the curriculums' written documents or intended documents. However, there is a considerable gap between our country and selected countries in science education which is needs serious consideration.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the mental health status of fathers and mothers (N=191; 59.6% mothers) of children with educable mental disabilities on various dimensions including, depression, anxiety, physical complains, and social functioning. The sampling method was multilayer, cluster sampling from special education schools in Mashhad. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) was administered with the parents.The results showed that parents scored relatively high on the GHQ (M=29.4, SD=11.7), indicating problems with their mental health status; however, mothers scored higher than fathers on anxiety and depression (p> 0.05). No other significant differences were found between mothers' and fathers/ GHQ scores.

We examined the attachment styles and its domains in a sample of rapists.34 rapists were randomly selected among a larger group of rapists who were in captivity in Central Prison of Mashhad City and were compared with 34 non rapist individuals (controls); all participants were matched on age, marital status, occupation status and literacy level. The.control participants were selected based on their GSI scores on SCL-90-R (GSI £ 1). Data gathered through Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) and were analyzed by dependent t-tests and chi-square tests (X2 ). Results showed that, compared with the controls, rapists scored significantly higher on attachment anxiety. The two groups did not differ on attachment avoidant. Moreover, rapists showed a higher ration on insecure attachment styles than the controls. Therefore, rapists have a high level of attachment anxiety that may lead them toward committing sexual crimes, sexual offensive behaviors, and rape.