NEW THOUGHTS ON EDUCATION
Year:2006 | Volume:2 | Issue:1-2|Papers Count:11

In today's world, effective management is one of the main indices of development. Effective and capable managers, using their organization's potentials can provide a desirable context for permanent development. In this study the relationship between managers' effectiveness and the three factors of position's power, task structure, and leader-member relations has been examined in Najaf Abad high schools and art schools. In this descriptive study, the research population included 870 teachers and 60 administrators of whom a sample of 180 teachers and 20 administrators was randomly selected. The three instruments used were the leader questionnaire, the LPC questionnaire, and the managers' effectiveness questionnaire. The reliability of the instruments is 0.89, 0.96, and 0.97 respectively. The results show a positive correlation between managers effectiveness and: position power (r = 0.72), task structure (r = 0.71), and leader-member relations (r = 0.8). Leader-member relations and task structure together accounted for 0.77 of the variation in managers' effectiveness. The correlation between LPC scores and managers effectiveness was observed to be significant (r = 0.646, P£0.01).

Recently, the focus of the instructional studies has changed from the testable and standardized outcomes, such as intelligence and the potential for study, to the environmental aspects of the learning process. Many studies have been looking at the role of the psychosocial climate of the classroom in the learners' cognitive and emotional development. The students' gender and their ability in self-monitoring have been identified as factors affecting psychosocial climate of the classroom in general. The present study has aimed at analyzing the effects of those two factors on the specific dimensions of friction, cohesion, task orientation, and competition of the psychosocial climate of the classroom. The sample included 494 female and male guidance school students of Shiraz to whom the classroom's psychosocial climate questionnaire and the self-monitoring scale were given. The results showed that the students' gender and self-monitoring had a significant joint influence on the psycho-socio climate of the classroom.

Are sex differences exasperated at schools? Does teacher-student interactions in the classroom cause gender discrimination in classroom, and is it extended into the society? No doubt teacher as a member of the society is affected by its dominant culture. The attitudes towards girls and boys and their abilities, as well as the extent of their success in various fields of study and occupations shape teachers' mentality.This article discusses the results of a qualitative study in different elementary schools in Tehran, Iran. The study explored sex-differences in teacher-student interactions in the classroom. Forty four female teachers who were teaching at girl's schools along with another forty four who were teaching at boys' schools were chosen.The findings of the study show that students-teacher interactions in the classroom are directly related to teachers' attitudes and expectations. 56.8% of the teachers said they would change their teaching styles according to their student's gender. 87.5% of the teachers believed that girls and boys should choose appropriate carriers based on their gender.

Critical education is one of the less-considered perspectives of education in Iran during the recent decades. This view has been taken from the critical theory or the Frankfort School wherein education is taken to be associated with the social and political change, thus including the social and political analyses as the central part of the curriculum. Rejecting the impartiality of knowledge, the critical approach of education considers the critical proposition of issues of schools as factors revealing the relations between power and knowledge and their consequences. This theory has been developed by both American and European philosophers and educators. Many teachers, especially non-white ones, have regarded this theory in education highly.Following an introduction of the general theory, the present article reviews Freire's libratory education, Giroux's radical education, and McLaren's critical-revolutionary education, and finally outlines many challenges that critical teachers encounter in the globalization era, while evaluating this perspective in general.

The aim of this study has been to determine if the graduate students at the Shahid Chamran University can benefit from user education programs. Participants were randomly selected from among all the students, excluding those majoring in the library sciences. They were divided into three groups; one group was taught through printed materials such as pamphlets and brochures, another group attended class, and the third group was considered as the control group. All three groups were pre- and post-tested to find out the effectiveness of the user education programs.The results show that the user education programs positively affect the knowledge and skills of the participants. However, the class method was significantly superior to the brochure method in 12 items. Among the 34 points taught, post-tests for 18 items in the class group, and 15 items in the brochure group showed significant improvement over their respective pre-tests.

The aim of this research was to examine the reliability and validity of the General Self-Efficacy Beliefs Scale (GSE-10) using a randomly selected sample of 293 psychology students at Shahid Chamran University and 294 psychology students at Azad University of Marvdasht. The subjects completed the Iranian version of the General Self-Efficacy Beliefs Scale. Based on factor analysis method (Principle Components Analysis), one factor named General Self-Efficacy Beliefs was extracted accounting for 38.69% of the variance. Cronbach's alpha for the whole scale (GSE-10) was 0.80, for the Shahid Chamran University students 0.84, and for the Azad University students 0.80. Also, the concurrent validity coefficient between the GSE-10 and the RSES was 0.30 (n=318), 0.20 for Shahid Chamran University student, and 0.23 for the students of Azad University. All correlations were significant. Thus, GSE-10 can be used by researchers in Iran for both abnormal and normal populations.

The aim of the present research was to compare the efficacy of cognitive and rational-emotive therapies in reducing test anxiety and improving academic performance. The sample consisted of 42 male high school sophomores in math-physic field who were randomly selected from among all such students in the city of Ahvaz who had test anxiety. The subjects were assigned randomly to two experimental and one control groups. The two techniques used for treatment were cognitive therapy and rational-emotive therapy. The instruments employed were the Test Anxiety Inventory and a Psychological Questionnaire used for interviews.One way analysis of variance showed significant differences between the therapeutic and the control groups in test anxiety and academic performance. The post-hoc tests revealed that the cognitive therapy was more effective in reducing test anxiety, than the rational-emotive therapy. But no significant difference was found between the therapeutic techniques in terms of improving the academic performance.

In the light of the current debate over Iran's joining the globalization trend in education and economy, the present article discusses the role of education in development of human resources and its importance in production of science and technical knowledge.Initially the course and mechanisms of the World Trade Organization evolution is explored and then the pros and cons of the globalization trend in economy through the development of human resources are outlined. Then the main hurdles on Iran's path to the World Trade Organization are introduced: The Iranian economy has been facing many constraints in its productive capacities and, as a result of the shortage in well-educated and specialized human resources the economic output has been low. In order to pave the way for Iran to join the World Trade Organization, the economic development based on human resources development through education is emphasized. Finally, rules and principles upon which all attempts to expand education ought to be based in order to improve human resources are discussed.

Since goal identification leads all educational activities, in this paper an attempt is made to examine this fundamental issue from Michelle Foucault's perspective on humanity. Having noticed serious discontinuities in the history of human thought regarding madness and methods of punishment, he has defined the nature of human accordingly. He has analyzed these discontinuities in terms of power leaning will and knowledge. Consequently, he has considered humans as the by-product of different knowledge systems separated by these discontinuities. From this perspective, Foucault has found a positive and useful role for power through "Disciplinary Technologies". Also by discussing the topic of "Self Technologies", he has opened a new vista for education and all educators. While seriously criticizing independence as a goal in liberal education, he identifies "Self Creation" as the main objective in education.