The History of Undergraduate General Education Curriculum in Iran: A Documentary Study

This study aims to examine the historical trends of undergraduate general education curriculum from 1934 to 2020 in Iran. By using documentary research methodology, relevant published and unpublished documents in well-known Iranian universities and research institutions as well as main Iranian databases were systematically investigated by keywords of “university general units”, “history of Tehran University”, “history of National university”, “university curriculum”, “University of Tabriz”, “University of Pahlavi”, “university general education curriculum”, “acts of Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution’s acts”. Thematic analysis with an inductive approach was used to analyze the data. The analysis of the policies of general education curriculum showed that since 1934 until now, we have experienced three forms of curriculum including: general education curriculum in shadow (1934-1966), obvious general education curriculum (1966-1979), and Islamic curriculum and public awareness (1982 - 2020). Results of this research could raise the awareness in describing the history of general education curriculum and how it was shaped in Iranian university context.