JOURNAL OF APPLIED ISSUES IN ISLAMIC EDUCATION
Year:2018 | Volume:2 | Issue:4 (5) |Papers Count:6

The purpose of this study was to explain environmental education based on the philosophical principles of education in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The method of this qualitative research was Frankena's inference type. Based on Frankena's deduction pattern and through combining goals and foundations, certain principles were derived. The statistical population of the study comprised the philosophy of education in the Islamic Republic of Iran and all sources related to environmental education which were purposefully selected and thoroughly examined. The data analysis methods included categorization, coding and interpretation which were continuously and simultaneously carried out with data collection. The findings of the study indicated that the goals of environmental education based on the philosophy of education in the Islamic Republic of Iran include: understanding the presence of God, the world of nature and man, awareness of the purposefulness of nature, commendation of the nature holiness, understanding the order and balance of nature, understanding the metaphysical and physical aspects of man based on his relationship with the environment, understanding and fostering an environmentally responsible behavior. The foundations of environmental education are: nature as a manifestation of God, the purposefulness of nature, the sanctity of nature, the orderly nature, man (a combination of body and soul as well as intellect and senses) perceiving the nature, the freedom of man, the sense of belonging to a place in man, the inherent value of nature independent of the human mind, nature’ s being founded on the principle of a just system, environmental aesthetics in humans. And finally, the principles of environmental education are: the attitude of "az-oui" (We belong to Allah) toward nature, belief in nature’ s ultimate, respect for nature as a sacred creature, the preservation of the harmony of nature, the harmony of the body and soul in relation to nature, the bond of senses and mind in relation to nature, observing laws in the environment by humans, the discovery of environmental identity, observance of the right to a healthy environment, environmental justice, the achievement of a comprehensive environmental attitude, beauty of nature as the motive for environmental protection.

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of Islamic-oriented happiness training in promotion of psychological well-being and religious orientation among senior high school students in Kerman. This quasi-experimental research had a pretest-posttest control group design. The statistical population of the study comprised female senior high school students in Kerman who were referred to the counseling center affiliated to the Directorate of Education by school counselors due to psychological problems. From among these students, 30 individuals were selected and randomly assigned to the experimental (N=15) and control (N=15) groups. The experimental group was subjected to 10 ninety-minute sessions of Islamic-oriented happiness training, whereas the control group did not receive any intervention. Both groups responded to the religious orientation and psychological well-being questionnaires geared towards Islamic education literature before and after the intervention. The validity of the instruments was established through computing the correlation of each item with the total score of the respective subscale. The reliability of the instruments was assessed via Cronbach’ s alpha coefficients and all obtained indices were significant. The data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and covariance analysis. The results demonstrated that Islamic-oriented happiness training had a significant effect on promotion of students’ psychological well-being and religious orientation through emphasis on enjoyment of earthly pleasures sanctioned by Islamic law, patience and trust in God, as well as the components of positive psychology.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) curriculum with an Islamic approach on respect, empathy and self-control of preschool children. The research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest control group design. The statistical population of the study comprised Tehrani preschool children in District 5 in academic year 2016-2017. The sample included 31 preschoolers who were randomly selected and then assigned to experimental and control groups by random. The instrument consisted of a self-devised Child Moral Behavior Inventory (with three components of respect, empathy, and self-control). The validity and reliability of the instrument was confirmed through psychometric scales. Data analysis was carried out using multivariate analysis of covariance. Results showed that after controlling the potential influences of the pretest via MANCOVA, the effect of independent variable on dependent variable was significant. More specifically, in posttest the mean scores of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group in the three components of moral behavior (empathy, self-control and respect) (p<0. 05) and the obtained indices were 0. 79, 0. 73 and 0. 69, respectively. There was a subsequent follow-up two months later and the results were indicative of the stability of the instruction effects. The findings indicated that PATHS curriculum can promote social-emotional self-sufficiency of preschool children and facilitate their moral development.

The present study was carried out to examine the impact of a conceptual change model of instruction on philosophical understanding of resurrection (Ma’ ad) among male eleventh graders in Kermanshah. This quasi-experimental research had a pretest posttest control group design. The statistical population of the study comprised all male eleventh grade students in Kermanshah. For the purpose of sampling, 120 students were selected through random multi-stage cluster sampling method and were randomly assigned to four groups of 30 (two experimental and two control groups). The instrument included a self-devised questionnaire whose content validity was confirmed by experts. In addition, the reliability of the measure was computed to be 0. 86 using Kuder-Richardson coefficient. The obtained data were analyzed via analysis of covariance. Results showed that a conceptual change model of instruction had a significant effect on students’ philosophical understanding of resurrection. More specifically, the effect of the pretest was significant and through the elimination of this effect, a significant difference was observed between control and experimental groups concerning philosophical understanding of resurrection.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the viewpoints of social studies teachers on the role of social studies education in promoting the culture of self-sacrifice and martyrdom among students. The research method was survey and the statistical population of the study consisted of all social studies teachers in public and private junior high schools in Tehran. From among these teachers, 155 individuals were selected through multistage cluster sampling method using Cochran’ s sample size formula. The instrument was a self-devised questionnaire whose content validity was verified by experts and its reliability was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha method. The obtained data were analyzed via descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Chi-square test). The findings indicated that social studies education can play a role in internalizing the values of self-sacrifice and martyrdom, believing in the values of the Sacred Defense, promoting the values of the Sacred Defense, and familiarity with the characteristics of the martyrs. Hence, it is necessary that curriculum planners focus on the promotion of the culture of self-sacrifice and martyrdom in the compilation of social studies textbooks.

The present study sought to investigate the lifestyle informed by teachings of Imam Reza (PBUH) and extract its implications for the Iranian national curricula in the primary and secondary education. The research method was qualitative and analytical-inferential. The statistical population of the study comprised all sayings of Imam Reza (PBUH) which are available as primary sources. These sayings were selected through purposive sampling and were deeply examined. Data analysis was simultaneously carried out with data collection and the data were continuously classified, coded, and interpreted. Results indicated that the lifestyle informed by teachings of Imam Reza (PBUH) has four divine, personal, social and environmental domains and each of these domains comprise different components. Components of the divine domain are: knowing God, faith, virtue, trust and reliance on God, submission, satisfaction and obedience. Components of the personal domain consist of self-knowledge, seeking knowledge, intellectual training, development of ethical values, and seeking perfection. The social domain components comprise friendship, affection, justice, cooperation and dignity and the environmental domain components include knowing nature, purposefulness of universe, optimal use of nature and accountability. The implications of the lifestyle informed by teachings of Imam Reza (PBUH) for the Iranian national curricula in the primary and secondary education are: the ultimate goal (approaching God) and intermediate goals, integrated content (centered on the teaching of theology, Islamic anthropology, religious-ethical socialization, and preparation of learners for a rational encounter with nature), teaching-learning methods (avoiding simplistic approaches, inquiry, dialogue, role modeling, investigating, exploring, role play, observation, field trips, showing films) and evaluation (procedural and qualitative methods such as observation, interviews, reporting, research, self-assessment and narrative evaluation).