Curriculum and Economic Development: A Comparative Study of Secondary Education in Iran and G7 Countries

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.