«Explaining the pattern of policy-making process in the Iranian education system»

The aim of this study was to explain the pattern of the policy-making process in the Iranian education system. The research method was exploratory and the type of research was descriptive-survey and the data were collected through interviews and fieldwork. The statistical population was managers, experts and professors in the field of education policy-making. In the qualitative section with targeted sampling approach, 14 people for interviews and in the quantitative section to collect the required data, 120 experts and managers Headquarters and provincial education and education policy-making centers were selected by sampling method using Cochran's formula. Data collection tools were used in the qualitative part including semi-structured interviews and in the quantitative part a researcher-made questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale was used. Cronbach's alpha, content validity and concurrency were used to determine the reliability and validity of the measurement tool. For qualitative data, content analysis method was used and for quantitative data, descriptive indicators, Friedman test, Smart PLS and SPSS24 software were used. The data analysis eventually led to the enumeration of 63 basic themes, 13 organizing themes, 3 comprehensive themes and the formation of a theoretical model.