The Birth of the School in Iran; Historical Narrative of the Emergence of Modern Education in Iranian Society

This research has sought to answer the question of what historical period were schools formed in the present form in Iran? Under what social and cultural conditions did these schools emerge? This research has been done by studying and analyzing historical documents and sources. The findings of this research showed that the change from the traditional education system (maktab) to the school-based system in Iran indicated revolutionary changes in educational insights, methods, and worldviews in Iran. The first need for new schools was formed after the Iran-Russia wars. It was for the first time during this period that the idea of the backwardness of Iranians in the strongest possible form, i.e. military imperialism and the loss of the best lands of Iran by the Russian forces, showed itself. Before that, the purpose of the maktab was to teach the alphabet, recite the Quran, and teach religion. Traditional education (maktab) was for the development of the hereafter, this world. They did not lead to the material development of life. The new schools that had western roots went the opposite way. They were created for the development of material life. New courses that strengthened material life skills were all included in academic courses for the first time with the emergence of new schools. Finally, the Iranian society, which was on the path of development at the end of the Qajar era, overthrew the traditional education system, which was an anti-development institution, and gradually replaced it with a school-based education system that developed material life skills.