Evaluation of Challenges in the Higher Education System of Iran Post-Revolution in the Process of Scientific and Executive Policy-Making and Decision-Making

The present study aims to evaluate the challenges in Iran’s higher education system after the revolution in the process of scientific and executive policy-making and decision-making.

The research is applied in terms of its objective and employs a mixed exploratory approach in terms of data collection methods. The research population includes documents, written sources, and academic experts who have sufficient knowledge on the subject under investigation. The research instruments comprised: 1) note-taking forms, 2) semi-structured interviews, and 3) a researcher-developed questionnaire. To analyze the qualitative data, the coding method was used, while exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling tests were employed for the quantitative section. Data analysis was conducted using PLS software.

According to the qualitative results, the challenges of the higher education system of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the scientific and executive domains were categorized into 19 components. The quantitative findings indicated that out of the 19 components identified in the qualitative section, components such as (focus on quantitative expansion of higher education [dominance of the quantitative paradigm], neglect of quality in the overall higher education policies, lack of attention to regional planning in higher education, inadequacy of educational standards and facilities at the global level, and issues related to the privatization of universities) were not confirmed as post-revolution challenges. However, 14 other components were confirmed.

Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that the evaluation of Iran’s higher education system post-revolution highlights numerous challenges that were discussed and reviewed.