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This article engages the reader with a critical and challenging issue in teacher education domain. The issue chosen is the structure of the program which extends itself quite naturally to the issue of implementation in terms of institutions involved. The author argues that although there is no definite answer to the question of which pre-service teacher education program assures training of effective teachers, a viable teacher education curriculum should consist of four elements, together forming an image of a square. The four elements are described as: content (disciplinary) knowledge component, general educational knowledge component, content specific professional knowledge coupled with practicum and induction, which refers to a one year monitoring and coaching of novice teachers. The four-sided program needs to be implemented in a cooperative spirit which involves the higher education sector and public education sector, thus depicting a cross-sectoral picture of the task of teacher education. The first two components come naturally under the expertise of universities and the last two are components for which the public education sector is better prepared. The implementation scheme discussed in the article presents a serious challenge to the current thinking and policy direction in Iran which has recently rested the case for teacher education by awarding all the responsibilities to the public education sector and exempting the higher education from performing any meaningful role in this respect. The policy has manifested itself in the 2012 enactment of a legislature authorizing the establishment of a single university run by ministry of education to assume the full responsibility for teacher education.

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The main purpose of this research is to derive Seminary virtual education effectiveness criteria. Seminary education has main differences with tertiary or professional education. Therefore, to assess their effectiveness, we must take into account these differences. In this research we have used qualitative methodology and set a semi-interview mechanism with 15 experts in e-learning, all employees in Seminary educational institutions established in Qom. Data analysis was done in three stages: open encoding, axial encoding and selective encoding. In open encoding stage 114 codes was detected. In axial encoding stage these codes were categorized around six basic categories. With recurrent reviewing of interviews in selective coding stage we reached one inclusive category. Based on these research findings, to assess Seminary virtual education’s effectiveness, there are two layers, i.e. surface and deep. In surface layer we must consider six categories which include: Seminary’s essential values, seminary educational aims, curriculum design, teacher skills, learner skills and behavioral and attitudinal outcomes. But in deep layer, based on Seminary essential values and interactions among six categories, it boiled down to one inclusive category which we called “Seminarian traits”. This concept involves elements such as: Seminarian style, religious inquiry, propagation skills, observing the teacher’s dignity, developing an inner feeling and life-long learning.

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This paper presents a report on the level of achievement in the third grade of high school courses of physics and laboratory. This research is assessment-oriented and evaluative and in collecting of data follows the grounded theory method. Curricular goal achievement was assessed with evaluating mathematics and science students (N=369) from five districts in Tehran via academic achievement test. The analysis of data showed that: 1- The goals of physics curriculum in cognitive domain had been achieved. 2- There were no significant differences between male and female mathematics and science students in goal achievement in cognitive domain. 3- There were significant differences in cognitive domain in between students who studied in different districts of Tehran.

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Abstract: The main purpose of the present study was to gain insights into effective teaching in higher education as a phenomenon. Using professional experiences of university faculty, we wanted to develop a conceptual framework in order to enhance the pedagogical and theoretical foundations of teaching.using phenomenography, which is one of the qualitative strategies we interviewed 12 Faculty from University of Kurdistan. Participants were selected using typical sampling until we research theoretical saturation while conducting deep and semi-structured interview.  Using inductive procedure, we coded the data in three steps of open, axial, and pattern coding. The finding showed that effective teaching had four main dimensions according to participating faculty: (1) Communicative skills, (2) learner and instructor characteristics, (3) pedagogical skills, and (4) background factors. Comparing the existing literature, we argue that learner characteristics and background factors are new ideas in effective teaching.
 

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Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the situation of homeschooling in Iranian system of education. The results of this study derived from a qualitative research performed in 2012. The research population was selected by snowball method. The participants were interviewed. The interviews were semi-structured. The concepts in each interview were extracted. The study showed that all parents in the sample come from middle and upper-middle class of the Iranian society and are highly educated. Participants’ involvement in the education of their children and risk-taking in this regard was high. They didn’t have a positive view toward the formal system of education, but their decision for homeschooling their children were mostly educational, not ideological. They consider the formal system of education as a unilateral system, which destroys the creativity of children, merely emphasizes memorization, and neglects some subject like sport, English language, music and arts. According to them, school is a closed space where everybody should take a seat, just listen and hide their real personality. The Iranian homeschooling method is not limited to the textbooks and carries on mostly in natural space. It is mainly based on short-term skills, is not time-bounded and is flexible like its global counterparts. The findings show that this kind of education has increased parents’ relationship with themselves and their children. Their children are self-adjusted and independent in learning. However, because of the novelty of this kind of education, and its non-legal state, it is not accepted by the society at this stage. Occasionally, the homeschooling children and their parents confront several different challenges including mocking, anxiety about the future of their children etc.
 

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Abstract: Curriculum has always been the main element in any educational system and a relatively large number of research has been carried out in this area. Using quantitative approach and document content analysis, this study investigates the methodologies applied in research on higher education curriculum. Among the existing literature, 30 studies from 13 journals that were carried out by Iranian researchers, and 30 studies from 14 credible journals carried out by foreign scholars were selected through purposeful sampling, and subsequently analyzed.  The results reveal that in foreign studies on curriculum, qualitative approach was dominant, employed in sixty percent of the studies. Within this portion, case studies and phenomenological approach with %50 and 37.5% were used most by the researchers. The study also found that quantitative approach was the dominant approach applied in Iranian studies (fifty percent), among which survey methodology was the most widely used (%85.8). Moreover, this study indicates that both Iranian and foreign research are moving from quantitative to qualitative and mixed research, although this trend is stronger in foreign research.  

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Abstract: In 1996 at the first Iranian Mathematics Education Conference (IMEC1) that was held in Isfahan. I obliged myself as a mathematics educator, to inform the mathematics community at large by presenting a paper entitled “what is mathematics education?” to pave the way for the establishment of the master program of mathematics education in Iran. Now, after 16 years, we need to reflect on this rapid development and ask ourselves that “what is not count as mathematics education”. In responding to this serious question, a metaanalysis was conducted that its data consisted of the PDF files of all the rejected research papers to the IMEC12 that were coded and all the personal identification for them were removed.  The main purpose of this study is to reflect on what has happened in last 16 years, hoping to “learn from the past to avoid its repetition!”       
 
     

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Abstract: In the late 70's, in reaction to both "New Math" movement in the United States and "mechanistic mathematics education" approach to mathematics education in Netherland, Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) has been introduced by Freudenthal and his colleagues. In this educational approach, Freudenthal considered mathematics as a human activity. Based on this approach, education should give students the opportunity to re-invent mathematics by doing appropriate activities. Recently, the National curriculum of Islamic Republic of Iran has been developed by the Ministry of Education to provide educational policies. In this document, an implicit emphasis on so called “realistic” aspect of the program can be seen in the mathematics curriculum framework section. In this paper, I first, introduce the different aspects of RME, and then this educational approach has been traced in the newly written mathematics textbooks in Iran.    

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Abstract: In the first part of this study, first a brief introduction of problem posing was present and then, some frameworks and classifications of problem posing were reviewed. In the second part of the study the research that has been conducted in Iran was introduced. This quasi-experimental study was conducted with experimental and control groups which aimed to investigate the impact of fostering mathematics problem posing skills on 8th grade students’ ability to solve mathematical problems. The findings of the first part showed that problem posing skills was associated with problem solving ability, creativity and divergent thinking, and they improved each other. Problem posing process also could be used as a tool to gain a greater awareness of what's going on in the minds of students. T-test analysis of the second part of paper showed that doing problem posing activities in the classroom made a significant difference in students' problem solving skills.    

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Abstract: 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 nomadic schools. 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 completion of textbook by the end of the school year.

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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%.    

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This research aims to develop a useful tool based on Evert Rogers’s Diffusion of Innovation Theory and then evaluates the adoption degree of an educational innovation (Smart Board) in Karaj’s Schools. The mixed method approach with explanatory research design has been adopted; this design consisted of two sequential phases, described here as phase 1 (Quantitative) and phase 2 (Qualitative). The research method has been applied for quantitative phase is survey study and for qualitative phase is focus group. Research data gathered by two different tools; a questionnaire developed based on Rogers’s five criteria and a protocol form for doing semi-structured interviews. The overall findings show that this innovation has not been successfully adapted to school's context and so not been considerably accepted among teachers.

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This study aimed to raise the effectiveness of On-the-Job Training Program for teachers. It was done by using quasi experimental method. To measure variables pretest –posttest design with control group was used. The population consisted of On-the-Job Training courses for teachers from Lamerd town which were held in 2012. By using convenience sampeling method 3 samples were selected which were registered in the course of October 2012. The course effectiveness was evaluated by using three variables including satisfaction and attitude of the learners as well as amount of their learning. The data gathering tools were a satisfaction-attitude questionnaire and the Course-Test. The content validity was used as a validation tool. The reliability was measured by using Cronbach’s alpha and cooder Richardson method. The results show that On-the-Job Training course was effective in systemic and constructive problem-based environments, and the second one was more effective.

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In this study using the narratives of Assistant professor about flipped learning of university during her four academic semesters. This study is a narrative inquiry based research, one that belongs to  qualitative and interpretative paradigms.  The data analysis shows that in method the traditional classroom teaching with the same components, but we are dealing arrangement and concluded that it is obtained, it can be different. This study shows Some challenges that exist in the implementation of this method have been discussed. This study analyzed the narrative " flipped learning" in higher education is discussed.

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Abstract: The main goal of the present study was to investigate the role of entrepreneurship education model (KAB) to promote trainees entrepreneurial skills in vocational and trainees centers. This study is practical and its methodology is descriptive and is based on the structural modeling of the equations. The population of this study includes the trainees in state-run professional and technical centers and their branches in Isfahan. Based on the Kerjcie table and et al, 285 person are selected by means of clustering according to the appropriate volume; instruments for the compilation of information, the questionnaire for entrepreneurship skills and the researchers’ questionnaire which is provided by KAB teachings are proved reliable with 0/92 Cronbach Alpha. According to the structural modeling of the equations, T-test and the analysis of the variance the result shows a significant relationship between business entrepreneurship teachings and entrepreneurship’s different dimensions (personal, management and technical skills). Also, there was no significant difference in business entrepreneurship teachings according to demographic features (Gender, activity, degree and field of study).

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This study aimed to examine the effects of integrating humor into math curriculum on mathematical creativity of sixth grade students in primary school. The current paper reports the results of the quantitative section of a larger study conducted through a mixed methods design. Mathematical creativity of students based on their performance was measured after the implementation of the researcher-developed package that included humor-integrated math content generated based on the concepts of sixth grade math textbook. Pre-test and post-test results showed that integration of some elements of instructional humor with math concepts can have positive effects on math creativity of the students. Suggestions are the development of humor-integrated curricula packages based on needs and requirements of the learners as well as the subject matters.

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This qualitative study aimed to compare the qualification of Higher Education system and Education system in field of teacher education. Using qualitative content analysis, with open coding data by interviews and open-ended questionnaire, data been coded and categorized and then analyzed. Participants of research were selected by purposive sampling (22 samples). Through participants opinions four category of views were identified; 1- agree with higher education, 2- agree with education, 3- conditional agree with both, 4- agree with with the new structure. Inattention to practical practices, lack of affiliated schools for training, and inappropriate evaluation of students’ performances in training, are the most important weaknesses of higher education system. Also, low academic ability of the faculties of Farhangian University, low flexibility and very limited freedom to thinking for change, low skills in research, and intense centralism are the most weaknesses of Education system specially Farhangian University. Adherents of new structure for teacher training, critisize both organizations (Education system and Higher education system) and named weaknesses such as: weakness in educational and pedagogical research and analysis, weakness in theorizing and acting and presenting techniques for improvement teacher education, and weakness in making appropriate contents for the curricula of teacher training. Ultimately, according to a teacher education curriculum, 4 aspects of knowledge have been proposed; content knowledge, educational knowlwge, practice knowledge, and introductory knowledge into teacher profession.

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The conceptions, practices and efforts of some education systems in ten countries and four continents of the world, in area of national curriculum, have been reviewed and analyzed in this inquiry to represent a brief look of their experiences and obtain some guidelines for delineating and developing national curriculum. The methodology in this inquiry has been descriptive and analytical research with emphasis on the qualitative dimension of inquiry. The selection of educational systems as inquiry sample has been purposeful. Data gathering from the countries has been done through the six components of the inquiry which are the main criteria in reviewing, assessing and delineating national curriculum practices and conceptions in these education systems. They are as below: 1- goals and other curriculum main elements; 2- conceptions and theorization; 3- necessities, preconditions and foregrounds; 4-structural and implementation characteristics; 5- attention to school based curriculum development; and 6-interest to the field of curriculum orientations.

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Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) is a supervision method of student’s educational achievement through direct assessment of predicted skills in the curriculum. Although almost half a century passes from the introduction of CBM in the world, however it has not been considered in Iranian curriculum. So, the aim of this research was to introduce and investigate the impact of CBM on math achievement of elementary students in comparison with conventional methods of formative evaluation. The present study based on the goal is applied research and in term of data collection is quasi experimental method with control group and pretest for a sample of 3rd grade elementary students. Results of Analysis of Covariance showed that CBM has significant effect on elementary students’ math achievement. Based on this research results, it is recommended that CBM is used in elementary curriculum as a more effective method of formative evaluation.