A Comparative and Character-Oriented Evaluation of the Stories of the First High School Persian Books Based on William Glaser's Choice Theory

The present research was conducted with the aim of evaluating and analyzing the story characters of the first high school Persian books based on William Glaser's choice theory in the five areas of students' needs according to the mentioned theory. The method of information analyzing was in a qualitative-inferential way, the library method was used for collecting information, and the population included the first high school Persian books, i.e. seventh, eighth and ninth grades. According to the choice theory, human beings are evoked by five basic needs: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and enjoyment; and all their behaviors show their efforts to fulfill needs and resolve the conflict between them. Glaser believes what is called mental illness in traditional psychiatry is an inappropriate choice, and a choice of ineffective and insufficient behavior by which a person wants to satisfy his/her needs, and as a result, it can be easily controlled and treated. For this reason, the selection, organization, and compilation of content to satisfy these needs, in every curriculum and for all age groups, especially children and teenagers, should be intelligent, purposeful and taking into account the present, status and needs of the audience. The results showed that in the stories of the first intermediate books, the need for love and belonging was in a higher priority than the other four needs, and then, each of the needs for survival and freedom were also in the second priority with a total of 9 characters. After that, the need for enjoyment with 8 characters and finally the need for power with 5 characters were prioritized, and as a result of the analysis and interpretation of the data and statistical findings of the research, it was clear that the stories in the first high school Persian books were well chosen and compiled according to William Glaser's choice theory, and were suitable for the audience of this age group, his/her present and status.