RESEARCH LETTER OF POLITICAL SCIENSE
Year:2008 | Volume:3 | Issue:3 (11)|Papers Count:8

In the long period of domination of philosophical thought, there were some intellectuals who suggested application of empirical method in the study of natural phenomena. However this method found systematic and general application only in the 16th century and proved to be extremely effective in producing new and dependable knowledge about natural entities. In the 19th century, Auguste Comte took long steps in application of this method in the studies of human and social phenomena, and his work was seriously pursued by the intellectuals of Vienna Circle in their endeavor at presenting experimental methodology within the framework of positivism. Positivism was later developed by Carnap and Wittgenstein in two different directions of experimentalism and logical positivism; Logical positivism flourished from the third decade of the 20th century, despite the fact that positivism in either form lacked a logical foundation, because by this method only some parts of a whole is actually studied but the final statement is about the whole itself- the entity which is not actually studied. This point was shown brilliantly by David Hume, but the paradox was that experimental method, despite lack of logical foundation, was amazingly effective.Karl Raimund Popper, in his efforts to solve this paradox, introduced falsification, instead of verification. From this point of view, a researcher must try to disprove a hypothesis. In case of failure he must accept temporarily the hypothesis as true. This means, in effect, metaphysical statements, which are essentially beyond falsification, must be accepted as true and scientific temporarily. Popper was thus the first intellectual in imposing a philosophical view on scientific method in the 20th century and he paved the way of passing from science to metaphysics as well.In the early 1950s Thomas Kuhn in his well-known book, Structure of Scientific Revolution refuted experimentalism in its both versions of verification and refutation, claiming that progress of science has nothing to do with application of experimental method and gradual accumulation of knowledge. Progress of science is achieved through scientific revolutions which substituted a new paradigm for the old one. A paradigm is, in essence, a collection of metaphysical beliefs accepted by the scientific community in a given period of time. This notion was further expanded by Paul Feyerabend who claimed that any noticeable progress in science has been achieved not by following a given scientific method but by breaking methodological taboos. He goes much beyond rejecting experimentalism. He rejects logical positivism as well, by Bidding Farewell to Reason, and prescribing anarchism in knowledge as a whole.To withstand this onslaught, positivism restricted itself as behaviorism applicable in the study of social phenomena. Asa result, a "scientific war" was initiated between behaviorism and methodological anarchism in 1980s which led to critical relativism on the one hand and critical realism on the other. Critical realism, is the dominant methodology of research at present. So one can claim that philosophical and metaphysical efforts to discredit scientific method were notsuccessful.

Based on the past experiences for educational and research system, we can affirm that making human sciences applicable and conforming to the market and to the objective needs of society is considered an important factor for the scientific development of the country. The large number.ffi the students who study Political Sciences in state and private universities in comparison with the actual situation of employment and unemployment in the country, leads us to the necessity of some basic revision in the educational program.The present article aims at studying and evaluating the possible methods for making the educational program of Political Sciences more applicable and closer to the objective needs of job market. With a positivistic approach, the article seek to observe the contexts of employment through examining the expectations and the needs of organizations and centers which have employed the graduate students of political sciences during the past 30 years.Having analyzed the significance of making humanities applicable, I studied the actual situation by distributing questionnaires among under and post- graduate students. The article concludes with my suggestions in this field.

"Fundamentals of Political Thoughts in Islam" is a required course at the undergraduate level in Political Science in Iranian universities. Since the syllabus for the course was formulated after the 'Cultural Revolution' some thirty years ago, are-evaluation of the syllabus seems in order. The present research seeks to address the following question: Is the formerly designed syllabus for "Fundamentals of Political Thoughts in Islam" keyed to the students' present intellectual needs? To examine the question, samples of relevant materials were gathered, students' needs were identified, and the attitudes of authorities towards the course were collected through the Delphi method. Results indicate that a revision of the syllabus is required because of the thirty-year-old experience of the Islamic government in Iran, hermeneutically-derived findings, globalization of knowledge, and the emergence of a new generation of thoughtful critics.

Contemporary Islamic movements, and seven other topics as Islamic oriented subjects, were determined by the Council of Cultural Revolution as necessary units for B.A students of political science. The main purPose of these topics that were "designed within the ideological and revolutionary milieu of 1980s, was to familiarize the students with the developments of the Muslim world, especially the Islamic movements and their role in the political changes of the Muslim world.After three decades of educational experience and occurrence of global structural changes influencing the world, the following questions are necessary to be examined:a- Are the present syllabuses inclusive and comprehensive enough.b- What are the most important factors that led to the revision of this topic.c- What are the most important proposed syllabuses to make the topic updated and enriched.Findings of the research that were gathered in Delphi method and the author's direct educational experiences indicate that structural transformations of the world, the impact of globalization process on the behavioral changes of Islamic movements, the rise of new types of Islamic movements influential in the global sphere such as Al-Qaeda, Hizbollah, Hamas, etc., development of new intellectual traditions in the study of social movements like the theory of political opportunity structure, development of interdisciplinary and discursive approach in the analysis of social movements, and the political experience of the Islamic Republic of Iran have necessitated the revision of the contents and syllabuses of this course. Based on the aforementioned necessities, some new syllabuses are proposed at the end of the article.

Investing in education and development of human resources is one of the main concerns of managers. This is because education and research are considered as the most valuable asset for societies. Generally, universities have three main functions: education, research, and providing for certain public services. The social needs and expectations must be taken into account in educational and research programs of universities. Such programs should respond to the needs of administrative centers and public institutions, as beneficiaries of academic products. In this article, law courses in the B.A program of political science are reviewed using an applied approach. For this purpose, the author criticizes the syllabi of the courses, considering the factors that have prevented the courses becoming applied. Some suggestions are offered to improve the syllabi, proposing four steps in planning educational texts. Finally, one of the law topicshas been chosen to apply the desired model as a sample.

The author has attempted in this article to have a glance on the texts about political and social history in contemporary Iran. They form a part of the material taught in political courses in Iranian universities. The author gives his perception about the problem and weak points of the texts. The texts are divided into two parts: Those written primarily as textbooks, and those written for other purposes, but used as textbooks.Some elements are considered as the necessary features of these textbooks: To be published as a book, to fulfill the conditions considered by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology in Iran, to be free from bias, and so on. The textbooks examined are those used by university professors. The research method of the article is descriptive and analytical.

Along with conspicuous changes in social, economic, and political arenas, teaching and learning methods have also drastically changed almost worldwide today. Unfortunately these voices have not been heard yet in most of the educational organizations including universities in Iran.English as a foreign language is still taught by traditional transmission model of teacher- centered education in most of the universities across the country. Syllabi are hardly developed based on the real need of the students, neither are teaching and learning methods. Disciplines are not touched on an integrated basis in most of the schools in Iran either. These together make the problem of this study conducted in a form of integrated approach. Certain English language teachers, some educational authorities, and a nuii1berof educators specialized in the focus of political sciences and international relations participated to help us conduct, find answers to questions and suggest solutions to the above problems.Information was gathered, managed and analyzed simultaneously along with the conduction of the research. The result showed that the outcome of English language learning in most schools in the country is almost dissatisfactory. The researchers suggest that a paradigm of subject-based holistic curriculum in which all dimensions of the learner are involved and issues integrated may solve the problem of language leaning in Iran.