NEW THOUGHTS ON EDUCATION
Year:2008 | Volume:3 | Issue:3-4|Papers Count:12

To know the views of Khoozestaani teachers and principals on the performance of the instructional departments, a sample of 799 teachers and principals was selected using a categorical random sampling method. In addition to a 52-item questionnaire with three-level likert scales, check lists were used to gather information from the respondents and school documents. To analyze the collected data, in addition to the Chi Squared test and correlation coefficient, factor analysis procedures were utilized. Results show that the respondents consider instructional departments not only structurally deficient, but also as inefficient regarding preparation for instructional design, teaching methods, and educational creativity. However, in regards to the evaluation methods, the instructional departments were viewed positively. The relationship between internal efficiency and academic achievement was also confirmed.

Many of the graduates in the field of educational administration are not employed by the Ministry of Education (MOE), To explore ways of increasing such placements, views of 161 school administrators (principals) and staff members holding educational administration degrees were sought. The sample was selected randomly from among 300 such respondents. The measure used in the survey was a questionnaire consisting of 41 likert items and one open response question. The views gathered are categorized in three areas of guidelines, curriculum, and interministerial cooperation. The guidelines for selection and placement of administrators need to be reviewed and reformed, just as is the content of curriculum for the university courses in educational administration. Such changes require more cooperation between the two ministries of Education and Higher education.

To delineate the role of education in the development of thinking, in the present article a step by step approach is taken toward a definition of thinking and its nature. In this logical approach factors affecting, and being affected, by thinking and the conditions therein, are identified. As such thinking is considered as a multidimensional behavior that its development requires not only attention to all its inseparable dimensions, but to the totality of the individual thinker and the practical situation wherein thinking takes place. It is argued that such practical situation is presented by problem solving settings which prepare the grounds for the development of certain personal characteristics necessary for multidimensional thinking. Of course such characteristics are not independent from the socio-cultural conditions wherein the individual encounters the problems at need to be solved. It is concluded that that the democratic culture, both in political and educational arenas, is the most conducive to the development of thinking.

Educational procrastination as a sign of deficiency in self regulation is considered as a prevalent educational problem. Goal orientation, on the other hand, is one of the constituent elements of self regulation. To determine the role of different goal orientations in educational procrastination, a sample of 255 graduate students in different areas of study was selected and two measures of educational procrastination and goal orientation were administered. A regression analysis of the collected data revealed that performance-avoidance and mastery-avoidance orientations are positive predictors, while the mastery approach orientation is a negative predictor of educational procrastination. Results also indicated a difference between males and females in the way the two constructs (i.e. educational procrastination and goal orientation) are related.

To explore the quality of the organizational climate and teachers' morale at both private and public schools, and also to reexamine the relationship between these two constructs, a sample of 302 teachers from both types of schools was selected using a categorical random sampling method. Measures used were Hovi and Sibiv Organizational Questionnaire and the researcher constructed questionnaire on teachers' morale. Data were col1ected individual1yand the school setting. Results show that the morale of the private schools teachers is higher than that of their public counterparts as the organizational climate at their corresponding settings is different. A positive correlation was observed between teachers' morale and supportive behavior of the principals on the one hand, and the conscious and confidence building behaviors of teachers, on the other. However, the correlation between teachers' morale and principal's prescriptive and restrictive behavior was shown to be negative. Furthermore, it appears that teacher morale is correlated with the teachers' level of education.

Considering the broad range of language use in education, as an issue it can be viewed in different ways. Exploring its limitations in acquisition and representation of knowledge would be one way of demonstrating the impact of the language use on the educational products. From a philosophical perspective, the issue has an epistemological nature and philosophers have tried from different perspectives to study the role of language in the acquisition and expression of knowledge. Despite all differences, it seems that a number of common understandings have emerged from these studies. It seems Plato, the rationalist philosopher, finds it impossible to acquire and express true knowledge via language. Wittgenstein, the experimentalist philosopher, believes that language dresses the thought and as such leads to misunderstanding. Rousseau believes that the use of language in teaching not only does not help the learners to acquire knowledge, but hinders their learning as well.Dewey, the empiricist, claims that acquisition of knowledge is only possible through doing, while the cognitive pluralist, Eisner, believes that the common usage of language in education is deficient in expressing much of the human diverse knowledge and as a result much of this knowledge is left un-acquired. With all such limitations and deficiencies, it is necessary to search for other ways of acquiring knowledge in order to improve the quality of educational products.

Physical education, as a part and parcel of general education, plays an important role in reaching the educational goals for children and adolescents. As a result there are many approaches and models for designing curriculum in this area. Following a compilation of a number of such approaches and models, the views of a number of experts in elementary education were sought on these approaches and models through interviews. The results show that the Active Life approach, as well as the Physical and Psycho-social approaches is the most appropriate for the elementary school. The developmental, humanistic, kinesthetic, and physical fitness models are among models identified as such. However, the experts emphasized the need for an eclectic approach to the use of models based on the level of development in different grades.

Conceptual analysis is one of the major approaches in the contemporary educational philosophy. However, not much work in this area has been done in Iranian literature. The present paper is a step in this direction as it addresses the key educational concept of ' tarbiyat' which has been translated as education in many places. Etymological analysis of this key concept, along with exploration of its use and equivalent terms in the works of contemporary educators is the focus of this paper.

Self-regulation is one of the major cornerstones of constructivist theories of learning/teaching, as is global development. Self-regulation refers to the ability to think, feel, and behave, without the direct help of others, while solving problems. Self-regulated learners not only know different learning strategies, but they also value and use them appropriately. As such self-regulation is a part and parcel of the notion of global development, wherein simultaneous development in all fronts (cognitive, affective, and behavioral) is desirable and hence, sought.To seek such goals requires educational methods compatible with their philosophical underpinnings. The traditional methods in education seem to lack such compatibility.Therefore, in any educational system, like that of Iran, wherein the utilization of these methods is commonplace, learners would not develop globally and would be dependent on others, a situation that clearly calls for change. Iran's 20 million strong student population in K-12 grades faces many challenges among which high rate of school-failure/grade-repetition and low performance on international tests of mathematics, science, and reading necessitate a re-evaluation of educational goals and methods. Efforts undertaken in this direction have resulted in in-service re-training courses on methods, among others. Nevertheless, the net effect of all such efforts should culminate in the last grade and be manifested in the college preparatory year. A group of 161 college preppies along with 50 of their teachers were randomly selected and surveyed on self-regulation and global development in relationship to the educational methods used in their school. The results support the advantage of the new methods that are based on constructivism. However, the actions taken seem more cosmetic than deep down alterations, as the new methods are filtered through the traditional thinking expressed in the traditional terms and concepts without addressing the philosophical underpinnings of both old and new methods.