CURRICULUM PLANNING KNOWLEDGE & RESEARCH IN EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
Year:2013 | Volume:10 | Issue:9 (36)|Papers Count:19

The aim of this study is to investigate the factors that hinder critical thinking in the Iran high school curriculum. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were exploited in this research. In the qualitative part, curriculum development experts participated through the deep interviews. 18 experts (educationalists) were chosen as the cases for study through biased sampling. For the quantitative episode, 97 curriculum development experts and 375 high school teachers in Tehran completed a questionnaire developed by the researchers. The qualitative results were concluded to a total of 27 primary concepts and seven main issues. The quantitative results were revealed that developing critical thinking in high school associated with some barriers, such as low attention paid to the skills of analysis, synthesis, ambiguity tolerance, risk taking, and accepting the opponent views.

This study investigated factors influencing the development of perceived Efficiency Relationship between student and teacher in Smart Schools. All smart school teachers in Tehran in 1388-1390 were considered as study population. The Methodology of this research is correlation, kind of descriptive studies. Three researchers made Questionnaires (such as factors influencing perceived Efficiency Relationship between Student- Teacher (a=0.92), Motivation of the learning by student (a=0.89), and Efficiency Relationship (a=0.86)) have been used. The results show that the direct effect of Variables such as motivation of learning by students (0.33), empathy in relationship (0.36), and indirect effect (0.12), the direct effect of open in relationship (0.27), and indirect effect (0.16), the direct effect of supportive relationship (0.28), and indirect effect (0.07), the direct effect of positive relationship (0.56), and indirect effect (0.07) are significance. Based on the finding of this study: Chi-Square=224.325, df=3, GFI=0.95, AGFI=0.85, RMSEA=0.381. Therefore, the acceptable level of the model is appropriate.

The purpose of this research was the feasibility and priority of interdisciplinary fields (art, rights, economy & management) from the view of higher education teachers and students of Najafabad University. The statistical population of this study was teachers and available students in higher education of Najafabad University in 1389-90. The research method was descriptive approach that performed in two stages. The sample of research has been selected from 105 of teachers and students through random method. The research tool was a researcher made questionnaire. Findings showed that  there were priority of 3 inter disciplinary fields such as gas and oil economy, comparative art and knowledge management had more information resources, Educational, culture and management spaces than others inter disciplinary fields.

Hidden curriculum is one of the most significant subjects of curriculum studies that are undoubtedly important in higher education. Graduate students thesis usually associated by the relationship between supervisors and students which would be differed in situations and forms an emergent curriculum as well as hidden curriculum. This study has explored the hidden curriculum of their relationship. Thus it has been done through a qualitative approach to find out the experience of students during these processes. To this aim, it focused on the experience of 8 students who studied training sciences. Data were gathered through some semi-structural and informal interviews with students and were analyzed through Strauss and Corbin methods. Data analysis revealed that students expect a mentoring role from their supervisor; however this expectation has not been occurred. So, to compensate for the difference in the positions expected and what is experienced in practice, usually ‘hidden supervisor’ has been selected for having a beneficial process.

The present study is to examine the status of environmental ethics in the contents of primary school textbooks, Persian (read and write), science, social teachings and gifts of heaven. The study is descriptive with using content analysis technique in order to gathering information. Concepts related to environmental ethics, according to three domains of cognitive, affective and skill have been studied in the form of text, homework, question and image. Research population was the primary school textbooks including Persian (read and write), science, social teachings and gifts of heaven in 1390-91. Total of concepts related to environmental ethics were in 22 volumes and in 535 units that 36.45 percent was in the form of text, 15.14 percent was in the form of homework, 25.61 percent was in the form of questions and 22.8 percent was in the form of image. Also from the related concepts of environmental ethics, 78 percent was dedicated to the cognitive domain, 13 percent was dedicated to the affective domain, and 9.7 percent was dedicated to the skill domain. Findings show that in there has been more attention to the cognitive purposes (knowledge domain) in primary school textbooks and the skill level had the lowest. Most attention to the environmental ethics has been in primary school science books and the lowest has been in gifts of heaven.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of active teaching methods on the social problem solving skills‚ and comparison of the impact of teaching method of problem solving and discovery on social problem– solving skills of the fifth grade primary students in Kerman city. The research tool is a questionnaire which its test-retest reliability was between 0.68 to 0.91 and its alpha coefficient was between 0.69 to 0.95. The results showed that the grades of post- test performed for both groups of teaching method of problem solving and teaching method of discovery have a significant difference in the level of 0.05 with controlling pre-test influence statistically and it improves the average value of problem solving method more than this value in the discovery methods in these students by 95 percent. Significant difference has been showed between social problem solving in the aspect of positive and negative orientation and in the aspect of being careless/ impulsiveness in those students who were taught by problem. Solving method with those students who were taught by the discovery method did not confirm. Significant difference in social problem solving in the aspect of reasonable solution of problem and aspect of avoidance method in those students who were taught by problem-solving method with those students who were taught by the discovery method benefit to problem solving confirmed.

This quasi-experimental study with pre test-post test and control group investigated a comparison about the impact of the scaffolding teaching method and the traditional teaching method on academic motivation of high school second grade students in English lesson in Veisian in Lorestan province. The study population was high school second grade male students of Veisian in 2010-2011. The sample size was 40 students, in which 20 were in the experimental group and 20 were in control group who were selected by multistage cluster sampling. In the experimental group the scaffolding teaching and in control group traditional teaching methods were used. The research tool was Verland Academic Motivation Inventory (1985). For data analysis; both descriptive and inferential statistics (ANOVA) were used. The results showed a significant differences among the academic motivation of the two groups (P<0.05) and experimental group was affected more by scaffolding teaching method in comparison with control group (P<0.05). So teachers need to use the scaffolding teaching method in class to increase the student’s academic motivation.

Mathematics teachers' philosophy and view about the nature of mathematics play a vital role in their schema of the teaching and learning process; and this influence on quality of instructional directly. The aim of this research is to describe and identify the major beliefs of constructivist mathematics teachers. The beliefs of 5 secondary mathematics teachers were investigated carefully, and also evaluated the extent of consistency of their classroom environments with principles of constructivism in the study. The instruments of data collecting were beliefs survey questionnaires, survey questionnaire of construction oriented classroom environment, semi-structured interviews and classroom observation. Data were summarized and structured by content analysis method. The results of data relating to 5 teachers showed that 2 of them had the most consistent between classroom environments and constructivism principles. Investigating these 2 teachers' beliefs led to identification of 6 core beliefs that are consistent with constructivism principles.

The present research surveyed the relationship between self-regulated learning strategies and achievement motivation of Sari high school students. The research method which has been used is of correlation studies in nature. The statistical population was consisting of 4895 sari high school students who were busy studying during the second of 2009-2010. The statistical sample consisted of 324 students including 151 boys and 171 girls, who were selected randomly through stratified sampling method among high school students. The research instrument was consisting of 31 questions of katrin–s-chenutized questionnaire of Zimmerman and pons (1986) strategies self-regulated learning (MLSQ) with a reliability of (a=%89) and 29 questions achievement motivation (MAI) hermens (1970) with a reliability of (a=%73). Data were analyzed by Using statistical methods, correlation coefficients, independent T groups analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multiple regression analysis. The findings from this research showed that there is a significant difference between self-regulation learning strategies and achievement motivation in students. Also, Results showed that there is a significant difference between sexuality and self-regulation learning strategies in the students, but there is not any significant difference between sexuality and achievement motivation in the students. Multiple regression analysis states that from the subscales of self-regulated learning strategies only resource management strategies can be a good predictor of student achievement motivation to practice.

The present study aims to investigate the relationship between teachers' emotional intelligence and the students' creative thinking in the first grade female high-school students in Tabriz in 2011-2012. The method of this study was survey correlation. The research tool was a standardized emotional intelligence of Shoot and Peter Hani's creative thinking questionnaire. The participants were 2626 students and 360 teachers in first grade female high school in district one of Tabriz. Among theses, 360 of them have been chosen through Cochran formula and stratified random method in order to fill out the questionnaires. The reliability of the emotional intelligence questionnaire was calculated 0.80 and the reliability of the creative thinking questionnaire was 0.85 through Cronbach's Alpha technique. The questionnaire validity was estimated by face and content validity. The results of the present study revealed that based on Pearson correlation there is a significant, strong and direct relationship between teachers' emotional intelligence and its components and the students' creative thinking. Also, according to multiple regression of step by step method, on the whole first regulation and management component of excitement and then assessment and expression of excitement stayed in the regression form and generally 81% of students' creative thinking can be anticipated.

The aim of this study is to identifying the problems of evaluation process of curriculum from curriculum specialists and directors views in the Ministry of Education. The study population included all experts Planning Office, and pirated textbooks in both theoretical and vocational branches (90) and managers of different groups and the Planning Office of pirated textbooks (27). Due to the limited statistical population, sampling did not occur and the entire community and census statistical methods were used. The research instruments included structured questionnaires and structured interviews. The questionnaire consisted of experts’ views about the problems of curriculum evaluation process and the solutions to address these problems. Structured interviews were employed to measure managers’ views. Face and content validity of the questionnaires have been confirmed by seven Professors of Curriculum Planning and five experts from the Office of Planning and writing textbooks. Cronbach's alpha reliability of the questionnaire was calculate with a=0.88. For the analysis of the research questions, descriptive statistics and independent t-test were used for the comparison of experts’ means. Leaders and experts from the Office of Planning and writing textbooks have been mentioned lack of experimental schools, being a long process, Rating, Rating lack of standards, absence of specialists in planning and Ratings Planning Council composition, geographical extent, the impact on the entrance examination test run secondary school programs, lack of coordination and change the final result Rating Programs and failure to work Rating results done by people they know outside the office writings the most important problems and barriers in curriculum evaluation.

This research through employing survey method investigates optimum methods in effective engagement of parents and the public in schools within 15 zone of Tehran Municipality in 2011-2012. Statistical population in this research includes all principals of the elementary schools within this zone (95) and 381 parent selected by using cluster random sampling method. In this research, the researcher seeks to find out about the impact of the constituents culture, information technology, financial dimensions, education and communication on attraction of parent’s engagement. Data collection tool is a researcher-made questionnaire containing 23 closed questions in a five scales and also the answers to the questions are designed in Likert Scale. The questionnaire’s validity was examined using the views of scholars and experts, while its reliability was 0.82 according to the Cronbakh alpha. For calculation and analysis of the obtained data, descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, table and diagram) and inferential statistics (single-sample T test) were employed. The obtained results indicate a significant relationship between culture, IT, financial dimensions, education and communication of the executive staffs and parents. In addition, the relationship of engagement with culture and IT with a mean of 22.9 and 11.6 respectively has been found the strongest and weakest.