Iranian Journal of Comparative Education
Volume:5 Issue: 4, Autumn 2022

The purpose of current research is to compare the transcultural approach of "English as an international language" with the cognitive approach of "English as a foreign language". The research method was comparative-analytical and the data collection was based on documentary method by using the Boolean approach to search for primary and secondary sources. The researchers used the philosophical analysis research method to analyze the data, and the four-step Bereday’s method to present the results. The first finding indicates that the cognitive tradition in language teaching takes precedence over the transcultural tradition in terms of time. The second finding revealed that the cognitive approach of "English as a second language" is still influenced by the intellectuals of those philosophers such as Descartes, Locke and Hume, while the transcultural approach benefits from the theories of various epistemological and interdisciplinary fields. Another finding emphasizes that the transcultural approach in explaining the necessity of learning English as an international language used important theoretical structures such as conceptualization and cultural schemas to show that policymakers and curriculum planners should not look at English language education from the limited intellectual realm of dividing languages ​​into “first language and second language". Based on these findings, it is suggested to Iranian curriculum planners to break from the cognitive approach and consider the transcultural approach of "teaching English as an international language" in the compilation of upper-level documents and educational policies, because the principles governing the transcultural approach are more consistent with the realities of life in the new millennium.

The aim of research was to compare the art curriculum in early childhood education of Australia, Canada, Finland, New Zealand and Iran. The strategy of countries’ selection was "different social systems, similar educational outputs". The data collection method was documentary and validity of data was determined through combination of concepts, researchers’ self-review and consideration of comparative experts’ opinions. The method of analyzing the data and presenting the results is the four-step Bereday method. The similarities are mostly in the educational ideals and evaluation methods and the differences are mainly in the curriculum content and strategies. All selected countries have their own cultural, native, local and national background, which is reflected in the art curriculum. In addition, selected countries are similar in goals such as development of aesthetic sense, identification of self-identity, learning & communication with other cultures, development of creative thinking & imagination, development of personality and creation of joy & pleasure. In the content component, teaching music and dance has little attention in Iran. In the strategy component, inviting artists to teach art is not very common in Iran, while it is popular as a practical solution in Finland and Australia. In the assessment component, although all countries pay attention to the process of learning and observing the child, documentation and holding art exhibitions are more prominent in Australia, Canada and Finland. According to the findings, it is recommended to Iran educational planners to pay more attention to the curriculum elements of the selected countries in order to be effective in the formation of a codified and practical program for early childhood art

Establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran strengthened Shia studies in various scientific fields. One of the affected areas was the history of education. The purpose of research was to study the characteristics of Shia educational centers in the Timurid & Safavid periods. The research method was comparative with a historical approach and data collection and analysis methods were documentary and hidden content analysis respectively. To search for data, keywords were used in Iranian and international information databases. The most important finding indicates that there are differences in ten characteristics between the schools of these two historical periods. In every historical period, the most important source of financial and material needs of schools has been the endowment tradition. Another finding of the research shows that the Shiite schools in the Timurid period were less ideological-oriented than the schools of the Safavid period. Also, the variety of curricula and open academic space in Shiite schools of the Timurid period is more, but the methods of teaching and evaluation are similar in both periods. According to the findings, it is suggested to the policy makers and educational planners of Iran, first, to solve the economic bottlenecks of the educational system through a deeper look at the legacy of the Timurids and Safavid in providing teachers' salaries and equipping schools through the tradition of endowment. Secondly, considering the legacy of the Timurids, they should try to reduce the ideological role of the educational system.

The current research was conducted with the aim of comparative study of financial literacy curriculum in general formal education of Australia, South Africa and USA. The unit of observation and analysis is macro (countries) and the selection strategy was “similar social systems; similar educational outputs". The data was collected in the form of documents from databases related to financial literacy (2000-2021) and George Bereday's model was used for analysis of data. The validity of research was ensured through triangulation of data. The findings reveal similarities among selected countries in the goals and development of financial literacy standards of financial literacy. Employing the integration approach in formulating content and evaluation methods based on activity-oriented and inclusive-oriented is emphasized. The official curriculum is considered as the equivalent of educational programs. Australia's explicit emphasis on the value dimension of financial literacy goals and parents' participation and providing financial literacy as a curriculum unit and using the standardized approach in USA are among the distinguishing features of the selected countries. In the field of evaluation, the non-participation of South Africa in the PISA tests and the development of local and international standards in the United States are other differences between the selected countries. Therefore, preparing, compiling and approving the objectives of the financial literacy curriculum in cognitive, attitudinal, skill and value dimensions, as well as preparations of integrated approach in the financial literacy curriculum are suggested to Iranian curriculum planners.

The present study has comparatively examined the indicators of higher education development in Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. Afghanistan's higher education has made significant strides in increasing students' access, but in terms of quality - number of faculty members with PhD degree, infrastructure, training equipment, and number of articles and books - has deteriorated over the past three decades. In the field of the three functions of higher education system (production, transformation and dissemination of science), the Iran higher education system has experienced a high proportion of progress. Also, this system has moved away from the two policies of knowledge production and application of science in society and emphasized transfer of knowledge - in the form of a slight expansion of education and an increase in student admission. Turkey has achieved technological readiness and surpassed Afghanistan and Iran by slightly expanding educational structures, increasing share of technical-vocational education, improving enrollment rate of higher education skilled workforce, share of research & development costs, and improving overall indicators. The findings of this study are expected to help Afghan higher education planners to use positive experiences of higher education development in Iran and Turkey.

The aim of this research was to compare curriculum of school subject of arts & culture in Australia, Canada, Malaysia and Iran. This was a comparatively qualitative study and its research population included all countries of the world. The strategy of country selection was "different social systems, different educational results". The method of data collection was documentary included primary and secondary sources - such as art & culture curricula of selected countries, articles, the Ministry of Education’s homepage, and national & international reports. In order to determine the reliability and validity of data, concepts & terms were selected based on a specific definition and researchers’ self-review and opinions of comparative experts were used respectively. The method of analyzing and presenting the results was a four-step method of Bereday. The findings reveal that the content of the art curriculum in Iran and its evaluation method in Malaysia are clearly different from other selected countries. The most similarities of countries are in the teaching goals and method. In goals and evaluation method of the school subject of culture, Australia and Canada are clearly different from two other countries, while all four countries are similar in the content and teaching methods. It is suggested to the curriculum planners of Iran to increase the richness of the curriculum of art & culture through identification of the multicultural aspects of selected countries.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of parent-related variables including age, education, income, job, and time spent with children, and different components of PAAT including creativity, play, frustration, control, and teaching/learning on play and creativity levels of preschool children. This research was a survey-correlational study and participants were 180 preschool children and their parents selected from different schools in Mysore city, South of India. Parents filled in the Parents as a Teacher Inventory (PAAT) and children took part in Movement Monitoring Tests (MMT). The results of regression analysis showed that only the income of parents had a significant influence on preschool children with a high level of play and creativity. Other finding indicated that the influence of the mother’s age, education, income, occupation, and time spent with the child is found to exist only in the group of children with a high level of play and creativity.  The findings also revealed that the influence of mothers’ attitudes toward parenting connected with creativity, play, frustration, control, and teaching/learning is found to exist in the group of children with low and high levels of play and creativity.