Determining the role of greatness plan on learning the manners and skills of Islamic life by students in the opinion of teachers and principals of elementary schools in Jarghoyeh district

The aim of present research is to determine the role of greatness plan on learning the manners and skills of Islamic life by students in the opinion of teachers and principals of elementary schools in Jarghoyeh district in 2011-1391(2011-2012). The present study has been descriptive –traverse one and its statistical population included all principals and teachers of elementary schools in Jarghoyeh district (old and new Jarghoyeh) consisting 175 individuals. The statistical sample of this study included 120 individuals who were selected by Kockarn sampling method formula and in random categorical manner proportional to sample volume. The study tool was researcher-made questionnaire which was adjusted based on Likert’s 5- point scale (very much, much, good, medium, little).Data resulting from research were analyzed by using uni- variable T test and also LSD follow up test in SPSS software environment. The results of this study showed that the effect of teaching greatness plan is more than medium level in learning any of the skills of making relation with God, effective relationship, interpersonal relations, dignity, empathy, decision making, social order, self-esteem , thought, and self-consciousness in students but its effectiveness in learning emotion management skill by the students is in lower level. Key words: instruction, students, greatness plan, life skills, learnin

Explanation of Learning-Teaching Approaches and Suitable evaluation for Professional Development Curricula of Preschool Teachers

This research was conducted with the aim of explanation of learning approaches and suitable evaluation for professional development curricula of pre-school teachers. This research was both quantitative and qualitative approach, the qualitative approach, content analysis and in quantitative approach, descriptive method were used. Statistical society includes members of scientific board of universities, Ph.D. students, and mentors of psychology, curriculum and preschool teachers. Sampling method in the qualitative section was targeted and networking and in order to select teachers random classification method was used. Data was collected by the semi-structured interview and a researcher made questionnaire. To estimate validity of the interview and questionnaire, the content validity, and to estimate reliability of the questionnaire, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used. Qualitative findings were categorized based on content analysis and qualitative findings were analyzed by the inferential and descriptive statistics. Friedman’s test results showed that according to viewpoint of teachers on learning -teaching approaches of professional development, using creative teaching method is more important and performing simulated methods have the lowest importance. To evaluate capabilities of teachers, functional tests in terms of importance are very important and combination of 4-items and descriptive questions has the lowest importance

An Investigation of Factors Effective on Foreign Students’ Educational Problems in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Background & Objective: Foreign students encounter educational problems which make studying in the host country difficult. Given the importance of the educational problems of foreign students, and identifying the factors which alleviate these problems, this study examined the educational problems of international students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Methods: This was a quantitative-qualitative study with a descriptive-analytical design. In the qualitative section, interviews were conducted with 14 foreign students, and in the quantitative section, 56 students were selected through random sampling proportional to sample size. Semi-structured interviews and a researcher-made questionnaire were used to collect information. Data analysis was conducted using categorization methods, descriptive statistics, univariate t-test, ANOVA, post hoc test, and multiple regression in SPSS software. Results: In the qualitative section, the foreign students’ educational problems included weakness in understanding Persian, different educational system, the professors’ inappropriate teaching method, and dissatisfaction with textbooks. In the quantitative section, the educational problems were not significant at a 0.05 level. Moreover, the students' problems in terms of culture and the length of stay in Iran showed significant differences. Conclusion: The results of predictor factors of educational problems revealed that cultural dissimilarity and short presence in Iran are the main predictor factors. Therefore, in order to motivate learning in foreign students, and thereby, decrease their educational problems, it is necessary to familiarize them with Iranian customs and hold classes to introduce them to the Iranian educational system. Key Words: Foreign students, Host country, Educational problems, Medical sciences, Iran, Qualitative-quantitative stud

How Do Faculty Members See the Curriculum Leadership Role in Post Graduate? A Qualitative Research

Background & Objective: Leadership talent is the rarest resource in today's world that will have continuous conductivity the organizations to be successful in tomorrow's world. Considering the importance of curriculum leadership in educational department, this study was designed to answer the question "how do faculty members see curriculum leadership in the post graduate?" Methods: In a qualitative study with purposive sampling of desirable cases type, faculty members with management experience and expert in the post graduate were selected and interviewed using semi-structured method. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis including: data collection, data reduction, deduction, and analysis in the MAX.QDA software version 2007. Results: After interviewing 18 faculty members with sufficient experience and management experience in the postgraduate courses, we achieved a richness of information, saturation, and data replicate. 500 codes were extracted from research data under five main categories and were classified. These categories included: "educational atmosphere improvement", curriculum development", "curriculum implementation", "curriculum evaluation and supervision", "innovation and facilitate change and adaptation". Conclusion: Participants in this study suggested five main categories and 18 sub-categories that represented curriculum leadership roles. These roles are in the applicable and comparable area with curriculum cycle, including: the planning, implementation, supervision, evaluation and change. In addition, these roles were also emphasized on educational atmosphere improvement that is platform, background, supplier infrastructure and prerequisites for the curriculum cycle. Keywords Curriculum Leadership Higher education Postgraduate Qualitative stud