NEW THOUGHTS ON EDUCATION
Year:2010 | Volume:6 | Issue:2|Papers Count:8

Existentialism, one of the contemporary schools of thought in Philosophy, is championed by the Jewish German philosopher, Martin Popper who is one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century and advocates religious existentialism. In this paper, first the views of both existentialism and those of Popper on human are reviewed, then the concept of philosophy of ethics is explained and the views of Sartre and Popper on criteria for ethical values, the relationship between freedom and responsibility, and moral responsibility are compared. Finally, both the weaknesses and strengths of Popper's views on situational ethics are identified.

Choosing valuable knowledge in post modern curricula has no point of reference as the word "choice" has been replaced by the word "judgment". As such, it sharply contrasts the very essence of education and its objectives, possibly leading to anarchy. It is much simpler to be the judge of the curricula than to be the selector of valuable knowledge. Valuable knowledge is the knowledge compliant with human ideals such as lasting peace, environmental protection, and peaceful coexistence. The contradictions between these ideals and post modern narratives are discussed in this paper and ways of reaching global justice and lasting peace through education are suggested. Moral obligation to the universal ideals on the behalf of teachers and curriculum planners is necessary if such objectives are to be met.

To identify the perceptual variables involved I critical thinking and academic achievement, a sample of 430 7th and 8th graders in the province of Faars was randomly selected and then the Critical Thinking Questionnaire was administered. The relationship between perceptual factors in critical thinking and academic achievement was explored factoring in both gender and age. The results show that academic achievement is positively correlated to factors such as advancement, expanded view, and curiosity; just as logical doubt and independence were not correlated to achievement. Furthermore, age and gender difference were observed in both perceptual dimensions of critical thinking and academic achievement.

Creativity, as a higher cognitive function, is of a great importance in today's world. Among Islamic philosophers, Mollaa Sadraa, the founder of Transcendent Philosophy, has many ideas that can be translated into educational principles and methods for the development of creativity. Based on his epistemological views, the following principles were deducted: being creative, individual differences, continuous cognitive renewal, actualization of human powers, elevation, attention to human worlds, and cleansing of the imagination. Accordingly, the following methods are inferred: dreaming, inspiration by nature, affective stimulation, reception of new experiences, cleansing of the soul, reflection, development of higher artistic tendencies, and visualization of an imagined face.

In today's world, an important area of concern in school administrator education is to familiarize them with children's rights. Having laws to protect such rights is not enough, as their enforcement requires future school administrators to be aware of such laws and ways of implementing them. To see the extent of such awareness among future administrators, a random sample of senior students in Educational Planning and Administration was selected and the specially constructed questionnaire was administered. Findings indicate that the students surveyed do not have an adequate awareness of children's rights. It is suggested that the topic be included in the curriculum for the future administrators.

To test the hypotheses on the effectiveness of mastery learning method on students' attitude and performance, as well as their motivation, a randomly selected sample of female high school students was divided into two groups. One group used the mastery learning method, while the other utilized the ordinary method of learning in a chemistry course. Both attitude towards chemistry, levels of motivation, and knowledge in chemistry were measured before and after the treatment. Comparison of the pre- and post-test data revealed a positive change in students' attitude toward Chemistry and improvement in both motivation and achievement for the mastery learning group.

To assess the vitality and happiness of Alzahra University's faculty members and the quality of its organizational climate, a sample of 80 faculty members was randomly selected and three measures of Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire with reliability of 0.86, Oxford Happiness Questionnaire with reliability of 0.91, and Deci and Ryan's Vitality Questionnaire with reliability of 0.86 were administered. Analysis of the data showed a significant and positive relationship between organizational climate, happiness, and vitality. This was mainly due to the correlation between some aspects of organizational climate, such as trust and closeness, with happiness and some other aspects, such as close supervision, with vitality.