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Education is the main factor of economic growth in a country, and the curriculum is the heart of any education system. This study focuses on the key roles of education and its relation to economic development as well as the curriculum as a core part of the entire educational drive of nations. In particular, the present study compares the objectives and content of high school curricula in Iran and G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States) to achieve some implications for curriculum development in Iran, with a focus on the significant gap between finding a job after secondary graduation in Iran compared with G7 countries. John Stuart Mill's method of agreement and difference was used with the MAXQDA software for data analysis. The results of similarities and differences between objectives and content of curricula indicated that while both educational systems address social and cultural content and objectives, albeit in different ways, Iran lacks economic-oriented content and objectives that connect to occupation, markets, needs of the community and thus economic development ideals.

Globalization is a multi-dimensional phenomenon as it leads to high mobility in social, political, economic and value fields and besides reduction of the gap between time and place presents new interpretations of politics, economy, culture, government, authority and security. The present study aimed to explain the educational and cultural dimensions of globalization in the views of Ayatollah Javadi-Amoli. The study method is Transcendental logic analysis and sampling method is purposive. The Transcendental logic analysis consists of two stages of description and determines the conditions. In description stage, qualitative content analysis method of comparative categorization and paragraph and three-stage subject coding including open coding, axial coding and selective coding are used. The results showed that according to Ayatollah Javadi-Amoli, globalization is assumed as it is based on anthropological basis in common meaning of humanity-ignoring the climatic and historical conditions and epistemology basis is as the knowledge of that common reality is provided. Therefore, the views in which no unit reality is accepted at ontology aspect and considers relativity of reality or in epistemology dimension, achieving reality is impossible, relativity of understanding is mentioned and from epistemological and logical aspects cannot defend globalization.

Today our society needs intelligent and creative people more than ever and in the current situation, the matter of the creativity is one of the most important issues that needs to be addressed, therefore the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the ways of fostering creativity among 3-6-years-old preschool children. The context of this research includes all of the available written and digital sources related to the ways of fostering creativity that are appropriate for pre-school age. In order to review and analyze the planned studies and approaches regarding ways of fostering creativity, an integrative method (synthesis studies) was used. The instrument for collecting data was receiving and collecting 100 articles from information data base and the method of data analysis was through subject decoding. The results of data analysis showed that creative techniques for children can be classified into three categories: techniques of individual creativity, techniques of group creativity, techniques group-individual creativity. And one of the most important findings of this research is the design of pattern on the basis of creativity techniques during pre-school period.

Present-day curricular designs have to take the pupils' psychological needs in account, thus becoming melodies of mental health and happiness for the next generation. Emphasizing the findings from previous investigations using the research synthesis methodology, the present study has been conducted aiming at achieving some integrative knowledge under the inclusive title of "Mental Health Improvement-based Curricular Content." Goal-oriented homogeneous sampling method was applied in order to select 100 research papers from Iranian scholars on the subject of pupils' mental health improvement using accredited databases between 2005 and 2016. Data analysis using open subject coding encompassing three stages, namely open, axial, and selective coding, indicated that a curriculum with contents in two overall categories of mental health literacy (optimism and positive thinking; socialization; monotheistic life; happiness; self-efficacy; self-awareness and self-actualization & …) and mental health skills (emotions management, interpersonal communication, critical thinking, adaptability, tolerance, and finally & …) has to be designed in order to improve the pupils' mental health.

The aim of this research is to do a critical development exploration based on the Islamic education in Iranian higher education. In this paper, logical analysis qualitative method was used. Through library studies, information was collected and analysis of the results was done. The information collecting tool was note taking and information was analyzed based on deductive category system. In the section of content analysis, the most important findings show that, for critical development in Iranian higher education four main and outstanding categories are necessary; the first category is: 1. Education and training of academics with spirit of critical thinking, 2. The continuity of on-going latitudinarianism of the seats and criticism in the universities. The second category is: 1. Creating room for liberality 2. Providing arguments and theorizing seats; third category: Reforming and accepting criticism; the fourth category: 1. Legal security for critics 2. Non-authoritarian and absolutism of officials and teachers. Results indicate that the above can bring the best solutions for critical development exploration in Iranian higher education based on the Islamic education.

Liberalism is one of the main western doctrines which have originated from the ideologies of ancient Greece. The concept of humanism has been under the influence of liberal ideas in different political, social, economic and especially educational field. Since the educational field concerned with liberal ideologies, the study of different factors affecting liberal humanism helps distinguishing the concepts explained by each approaches and their similarities and differences. In this qualitative research, it has been endeavored to determine each of these aspects and factors and their effect on various contemporary educational approaches. The results indicate that some of the main factors of liberal humanism have not been considered and in the cases that they have been considered, the understandings of common subjects are different. Each of these approaches tends to study and define the aspects and principles from a certain point of view.

Learning critical thinking skills are the goal of educational systems so the term "critical thinking" (CT) is frequently found in educational policy documents. Despite this frequency, however, precise understandings among teachers of what CT really means do not exit. The present study is designed to answer the following question. We can classify critical thinking concept in a conceptual framework. A qualitative content analysis with deductive categorization was used to classify critical thinking concept in a conceptual framework. The research field (statistical population) included all available digital and written sources related to critical thinking. The Research sample was a purposeful homogeneous sample. It is used to describe the sample that includes information based on the qualitative research goals. The results showed that critical thinking concept could be investigated in fields of both psychology and philosophy. While philosophers emphasis on the nature and quality of critical thinking, psychologists focus on cognitive process and components used to investigate the practical problems. So philosophers emphasize critical thinking attitudes while psychologists focus on critical thinking skills.

History shows that human being started his life from the most elementary form and used criticism and creativity to evolve it. Achievements of today's human society, development of critical forces and the hardworking of creative forces will bring about tomorrow's completeness. It is obvious that varying human needs, frequent changes of the world, the high rate of progress in science and technology and similarity to modern situations have doubled the need to study criticism in our society. Society, as a whole social system, enjoys an organic and systematic attribute and each of its elements is associated with the whole and is influenced by it. This influence will only be positive and beneficial when the interaction of the elements is organized soundly and in a correct model. This will be realized when the constituting elements (people) of the system have already accepted each other's supervision naturally and logically. Development of a critical atmosphere crystallizes this issue. Therefore, it can be said that societies that provide the proper conditions for the development of criticism have also provided the conditions for the emergence of creative and innovative thoughts. Societies that disregard different ideas in their actions and do not heed their criticisms, should never expect their people to have innovation and creativity. There is not enough research on the issue of criticism based on Islamic principles. Therefore, the present study tries to investigate educational criticism taking into account the considerations of Islamic principles and perquisites that influence the conditions and obstacles in the creation of critical atmosphere in Iranian higher education centers and universities. The study uses the method of systematic review of previous research to identify the situation of research implications and gaps.

Postmodernism, born under western secular conditions, has the following characteristics: it emphasizes pluralism and relativism and rejects any certain belief and absolute value; it conflicts with essentialism, and considers human identity to be a social construct; it rejects the idea that values are based on developmental realities and also rejects the essential influence of human actions on human destiny. Using a descriptive method, this research will provide a critical examination of postmodernism based on moral and religious values education. In educational goals, postmodernism emphasizes the institutionalization of pluralism, the strengthening of self-organized morality in learners and in educational principles, avoiding dogmatism, fighting against systematicity and emphasizing on individual freedoms. In educational methods, it emphasizes learner-centered discourse, serious attention to the marginalized people, and the denial of pattern-based ability. Postmodernism, despite enjoying a series of strong points, such as "fighting against globalization", "fighting against scientism" and "emphasizing dynamism", has many weaknesses too. The most important one of them is the intellectual failure and an overt contradiction with thought, ignorance of certain realities and knowledge, and the existence of intrinsic and constant values.

Existing racial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural variety, in different countries, educational systems, committed them to respond decently to plurality & diversity of their communities, and they are considered to be decently in educational curriculum. Multicultural education is an approach that is adopted in response to cultural diversity in a society and its educational system. This study was performed to investigate the reasons for considering the multicultural curriculum and identify its components. Research method was qualitative and content analysis. To collect information all available sources of multicultural education in print and electronic libraries (valid databases) were used & were analyzed using the inductive category. The findings of this research along with specifying the concept of multicultural education also showed that, attention to multicultural education curriculum, at global and national situation is an inevitable necessity. At the end of study, the components of multicultural education were identified. In summary, the following were noted: Anti-racism education, acceptance of diversity & plurality, peaceful coexistence with other groups, regarding educational justice, flexibility in educational programs, variety in using of teaching methods, and so, variety in using of educational materials, as well as using a variety of evaluation methods, training of human capacities, promoting and the strengthening of respect for the differences of others, the human tendency to create social trends rather than specific, positive attitude to different cultures, helping to develop a positive self-concept, to protect minority languages, strengthening intercultural and inter-cultural communication and ...

The current research is intended to describe and recognize the concept of social capital in higher education based on theoretical method in a descriptive-analytical approach. Description and Recognition of the data, gathered from theoretical and experimental studies, indicated that social capital is one of the most important indices for development and growth of higher education which has three components: social confidence, social integration and social participation. Social capital is obtained from educational institutes since preschool to higher education levels. Higher education is considered as a powerful producer of social capital. Thus, existing social capital is considered as the major precondition of creating opportunity, incentive and capability of individuals in higher education which influences knowledge creation through opportunity and combining capability and knowledge. Functions of higher education and social capital have mutual effects. In order to promote social capital, the elements of higher education must be formulated based on the components of social capital and needs of community.

The purpose of research was to analyze the discourse of learning in Michael Apple's critical pedagogy with emphasis on its use in Iran's educational system. This is a qualitative research using Fairclough's critical discourse analysis approach and method of data collection was documentary. The findings showed that there are similarities between Apple's critical pedagogy and the vision of politicians and educational planners of Iran in issues such as the cultural function of the educational system, reproduction of capitalist relations in society & school, and use of educational system as a tool of domination. Also, the major differences between Apple's critical pedagogy and the philosophical and intellectual structure governing Iran's educational system are evident in issues such as role of the curriculum, extreme politicization of the educational system, and role of teacher & student. According to findings, it seems that there is not much space for use of Apple's critical pedagogy in the current structure of Iran's educational system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to criticize liberal humanism based on Islam viewpoint emphasizing Motahri's point of view. In this paper, the researchers tried to identify liberalism humanism factors with analytical look in order to present a new categorization called "main factor of liberal humanism". Then, each factor was studied and criticized based on Motahari's thoughts. This research was done with qualitative research approach, thereby, liberal humanism has been criticized based on freedom, individualism, and rationality. Motahari's critics on studied factors suggest that existed differences arise from Islam and liberalism view and attitude toward human and nature; however, there is a relative agreement in the importance of factors within human education arenas. According to Motahari's point of view, freedom has a religious base and it is considerable under divine will, not natural human situation. As his point of view, emphasis on individualism along with society gentility is not negating each other and it seems that there is an agreement in support of rationality factor. However as Motahari points out, (as opposed to liberalism view), wisdom is not the only resource of achieving knowledge, but there are other resources such as revelation, intuition, narration, and sense as the resources of achieving knowledge in Islam, and he knows the contrast between wisdom and religion as a result of western condition and distorted Christianity. In addition, it can be said that training divine human is an ultimate goal of divine education system which has been emphasized on material and mundane goals in liberal humanism arena.

The current study aims to scrutinize the discourse learning within the context of critical pedagogy, with a specific focus on Michael Apple's perspective. Critical pedagogy represents a relatively recent theory within the realm of school education and the learning system. It sheds light on issues of inequality, silence, exclusion, and unveils new dimensions for comprehending the intricate layers of relationships within educational institutions. This research employs a qualitative approach, utilizing Fairclough's critical discourse analysis methodology. The primary data collection method involves an extensive review of relevant literature and documents. The research primarily draws upon Michael Apple's written works, which were purposively selected for their relevance to the subject matter. The research findings indicate that the discourse generator in the learning process aspires to foster dialogue -based communication, critical learning, forward - looking, and democratic educational practices aimed at transforming individuals. Simultaneously, it aims to foster a sense of community that opposes the interests of those in positions of power and capitalism. This is achieved through the dissemination of knowledge within society and educational institutions, employing market -oriented learning, promoting intelligence -based learning, and advancing equitable educational practices, ultimately fostering the emergence of critical learners within the educational context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research is qualitative research that was conducted using the synthesis research method based on the deductive model. The research environment in the synthesis phase included all citations in the range of 2008 to 2020 for the studies conducted in the field of experimental science education of the second grade in elementary school. Based on this, 40 sources were selected by purposive selection method. Stopping the sampling process was based on information saturation. Data collection was done using a survey in the research environment and based on the synthesis of experimental science education in the second grade of primary school. According to the findings of the research synthesis based on the deductive model, the environmental factors affecting experimental science education in the second grade of primary school include: support factors (family-oriented, school-oriented), extracurricular environment, socio-cultural environment, science curriculum design including goals (instructional, educational, motivational), content (knowledge, practical skills, challenging thinking), teaching strategies (group discussion, advance organizer, exploration, problem solving, learning assistants, laboratory, cognitive development, game-oriented, aesthetic), intra-school environment (independent, individual, deep, collaborative, exploratory), evaluation (evaluation tools, evaluation methods), learned skills (life skills, mental skills, social skills, thinking skills), science education approaches (teacher-centered, student-centered) and learning experiences (meaningful experiences and valuable experiences). The findings provide useful implications for science education in elementary school and can be used by elementary school teachers and parents for science education as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study qualitatively assesses Internet users' experiences of cultural changes. The type of method is phenomenological. Research participants were 14 university students from Khorasgan Islamic Azad University with intensity case sampling. The subjects were introduced by the administrator of the Internet site. Data collection was conducted by a semi-structured interview and data were analyzed by Colaizzi 7-step method. Total findings of this study after excluding common codes, including 236 concept codes that represented the experiences of participants in this study, were classified in three main themes as follows: 1 - Change of Values such as Opinions, Beliefs and Morality (" Change of Beliefs " and " Lack of the Observation of Moral Laws ") 2 - Norm Change ( "Life Style Changing" that come from Change of Tasks Doing Way, Change of Communication Way, Accelerate of knowledge exchanging and Social Participation Changing and " Change of Identity "that come from False Freedom and Corruption, Distrust, Social Change and Change of Wearing Mode ) and 3 - A Change in Verbal Symbols (" Influence of English Words in Farsi "and" Getting Loan Terms from the Internet " ). These findings indicate that students have acquired a lot of positive and negative experiences while using the Internet which have affected the norms, ideas, beliefs, ethics and verbal symbols showing cultural changes in the society which mostly affect the young. of Symbols, Internet Users [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]