JOURNAL OF THEORY AND PRACTICE IN CURRICULUM
Year:2015 | Volume:3 | Issue:5 |Papers Count:7

Two annual migrations of nomadic tribes have a large impact on school work and learning of students. This study is a qualitative case study and intends to examine the impact of a reduction in teaching time in nomadicschools. In order to assess the students’ absence from school each year due to two migrations and its negative effects, the researcher used mixed method research (Quantitative-Qualitative) to thoroughly study the phenomenon and to collect data during the two academic years (2011/2010 and 2012/2011). The study sample consists of students of a nomadic school where the researcher has worked as a teacher. The results indicate that the annual migration of nomadic tribes is the cause of decrease in training time by 34% (55 days from 160 days) and subsequently leads to disruption of school planning, hastily teaching of the contents, and not completation of textbook by the end of the school year.

The research goal was to investigate the outcomes of implicit curriculum from university students’ point of view.Apurposeful sample of 15 professors and 20 students from shiraz university participated in the study. Data were collected through the research literature and by doing interviews with key experts and then the collected data analyzed by using the thematic network model. The set of 154 coded-common experiences were identified. Findings were classified into three major categories including: 1) basic concepts; 2) organizing themes; 3) inclusive themes. Results generaly indicate that the main outcomes that students learned through the implicit curriculum are as follows: 1) authority; 2) discipline behaviors; 3) sense of comfort; 4) self- worth; 5) self-control; 6) social solidarity; 7) value-oriented approach; 8) responsibility; 9) passing exams with the minimum of effort; 10) cheating; 11) stereotyping; 12) gaining scientific spirit; 13) deep study, and 14) undeep study.

The present study is part of a bigger research project and its purpose was to investigate the influencing factors on integrating professional learning of secondary mathematics teachers with the ways in which they analyze, interpret and make decisions regarding their teaching. For the fine-grained analysis of the first layer of data, phenomenography method was used. Nine teachers were interviewed and based on thethree main categories of “the presence of mathematics teachers’ educators as leading teachers’ groups”, “being familiar with various teaching methods and modify them according to personal characteristics of teacher, school and classroom” and “professional training of the cooperative group form” that were emerged in the bigger study. With the further analysis of the interviews, three sub- categories were shaped as well. They included “focusing on the specific goals and content in cooperative groups”, “considering mathematics teachers as adult learners not school students” and “the existence of common concerns between group members.

The goal of current study was to investigate the consistency of intended curriculum with implemented curriculum at the preprimary level. The research method was survey study. The population included 258 preschool teachers of west of Mazandaran in 2009 that 122 samples randomly selected from Abas Abad, Chaloose, Tonekabon and Ramsar cities. Measuring tool was researcher-made questionnaire consists of 29 statements with Likert five points Scale. This questionnaire measured the implemented curriculum from the aspects of goals, activities and methods in evaluation. Face validity of the questionnaire has been investigated through the current issues in curriculum plan and educational activities of preschool and 2 professors been confirmed. The reliability of the questionnaire was found 0.91. Analyzing the data has been done by using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation and column diagram drawing) and inferential statistics (paired T test). Results showed that from the point of view of preschool centers’ teachers, there was a somehow conformity among goals, activities and evaluating methods in intended curriculum with implemented curriculum. Comparative investigation among respondents’ideas in getting the goals showed that most amount of reching goals was related to cognitive aspect with average point of 21.39 and the least amount of getting the goals was related to emotional aspect with average point of 8.22. Also in implemented activities, poems and signing, drawing, storytelling, group discussion and playing respectively are the most done activities by teachers. About how to evaluate by teachers in implemented curriculum, observation (%46), oral evaluation (%45) and continuous evaluation (%36) were the most applied methods.

Our goal was to investigate readiness of art students in application of e-learning. This is a Descriptive- Survey research. Three hundred and forty-seven students of Alzahra University, Tarbiat Modares University, University of Tehran and Art University in 2013-2014 were selected by multistage cluster sampling and via Morgan Table. Their readiness for E-learning application was assessed by researcher-developed questionnaire. Data analysis is done by indexes of Descriptive statistics and One-Sample T-test. The results showed that a significant relationship was found between readiness of undergraduate students, graduate Students and post-graduate students to apply E-learning, but there was no significant relationship between the other variables of research (Sex, University and Field of Study). Results revealed that Art students were located in Moderate level of readiness for applying E-learning.

The present paper aims to investigate the amount of multi-cultural education components in the textbooks of secondary schools from 2013 to 2014. It is conducted through text-analysis. The components of Multi-cultural education were initially collected from theoretical text and research background using document analysis and then they were numbered in the textbooks of secondary schools. The units of analysis were sentence, question, picture, activity, and the poem in the textbooks. Research tools were bibliography cards and inventory form in document and text analysis respectively. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics. The statistical population is the textbooks of secondary schools from 2013 to2014 and samples were Iran and International History I, Iran and International History II, History (Pre-University Schools), Social Studies (Secondary Schools), Sociology I, Sociology II, Social Studies (Pre-University Schools) which were expected to contain multi-cultural education components. The most significant results are as follows: out of 180 frequencies in the text books of secondary schools, History I with 76, i.e.42.22% contained the most multi-cultural education components and Social Studies of secondary school with 5, i.e.2.77% contained the least components. Among the components, “introducing various cultures to students in the content of textbooks” had the largest number of frequencies, i.e.59 and “helping to understand and tolerate different opinions from various cultures, and defining multi-culture homework for students in the content of textbooks” had the smallest one, only 1, i.e.0.55%.

Achieving a scientific literacy is the purpose of teaching the science curriculum in educational systems in the world. One of the most important and the most essential components that increases scientific literacy in students, is teaching about the nature of science. Purpose of this study is to investigate the attitude of undergraduate students at University of Tehran toward the nature of science as a component of scientific literacy. The research is descriptive and was conducted in survey study method. The population of this research includes all undergraduate students in faculties of psychology and educational sciences, and basic sciences. From this population, a sample size of 779 persons in stratified sampling method and considering the proportions (gender and faculty) was selected. In order to collect the attitudes of students about the nature of science, a questionnaire was designed based on the theoretical foundations of the project 2061 and its reliability and validity were examined and approved. One-sample t-test results indicate that the average of understanding the nature of science and its dimensions in students have significant differences with the average scores. Also the MANOVA test shows that there are significant differences between factor levels of faculties (faculty of psychology and educational sciences and faculty of basic sciences) about “nature of science” variable. Results showed that students have poor understanding about the nature of science and its dimensions. Based on the analysis of the results of conducted researches, the reasons can be traced in these factors: paying no attention to the components of nature of science in the development and design of science curriculum, low teachers’ knowledge and understanding about nature of science, lack of the development of science and technology in society and lack of the economical, political and cultural support structures for science and its values. The results also showed that students of basic science have more understanding about nature of science than students of psychology and educational sciences. The reason for that can be found in the nature of academic disciplines in two faculties and the amount of addressing the subject matters about science and nature of science in their curriculum.