Modern Persia and her educational system

136 Pages·1931·6.117 MB·English

by  Issa Sadiq

STUDIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE
OF TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Number 14
MODERN
PERSIA
AND
HER EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
JEfje International institute
of Ceacters College, Columbia SJmbcrsfitp
The International Institute of Teachers College,
Columbia University, was established in 1923 to carry
out the following objects: (1) to give special assistance
and guidance to the increasing body of foreign students
in Teachers College; (2) to conduct investigations into
educational conditions, movements, and tendencies in
foreign countries; (3) to make the results of such investiga-
tions available to students of education in the United
States and elsewhere in the hope that such pooling of in-
formation will help to promote and advance the cause of
education.
The members of the staff of the International In-
stitute, who at the same time are members of the Uni-
versity faculty, are:
Paul Monroe, Ph.D., LL.D., Director
George S. Counts, Ph.D., Associate Director
I. L. Kandel, Ph.D., Associate
Thomas Alexander, Ph.D., Associate
Lester M. Wilson, Ph.D., Associate
Milton C. DelManzo, Ph.D., Associate
Ruth E. McMurry, Ph.D., Associate
MODERN
PERSIA
AND
HER EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
By
ISSA KHAN SADIQ
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE FACULTY
OF PHILOSOPHY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Published with the Approval of
Professor I. L. Kandel, Sponsor
Bureau of Publications
tEeacfjers College, Columbia Untoersity
NEW YORK CITY
1931
Copyright, 1931, by Issa Khan Sadiq
PRINTED IN
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
THE RUMFORD PRESS
CONCORD, N. H.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have to express my thanks to those who have made
this publication possible: to Dr. Paul Monroe, the sym-
pathetic educator of East and West, who was instrumental
in my coming to America; to Dr. Lester M. Wilson, who
showed me the best of what his country has; to Dr. George S.
Counts, whose American Road to Culture was for me a source
of enlightenment; to Dr. I. L. Kandel, whose personality and
scholarship have inspired me in the better appreciation of
Western institutions and whose suggestions and advice have
been the best guide in my work. I am also deeply indebted
to Dean William F. Russell and Dr. David Eugene Smith for
their help and for the valuable facilities that they have placed
my
at disposal.
ISSA SADIQ
New York City, June, 1931
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
Introduction 1
I. Persia, The Country, The People 3
Characteristics of the Country 4
Economic Life 5
.
History 8
Cultural Contributions of Persia 12
—
II. Contact with the Western World Its Bearing on the
Life of the Country 17
The Beginning of Contact 17
The Revolution of 1906 20
Rise of the New Persia under Pahlavi 22
III. Educational Traditions 32
Religion 32
Private Initiative 35
Discipline 36
FrenchInfluence 37
Centralization 39
SocialAttitudetowardTeachersand Children 40
Pedagogical Traditions 42
IV. Administration of the Educational System 44
The Minister of Education 44
Permanent Departments 45
The Civil Service Law 46
Provincial Divisions of Persia 47
Educational Finance 48
The Higher Council of Education 49
The Status of Private Schools 51
Medical Inspection 52
Textbooks 53
Status of the Foreign Schools 53
The State Examinations 54
vin Contents
CHAPTER PAGE
V. The School System 55
A. Preschool and Kindergarten Education 55
B. Elementary Education 56
The Curriculum 57
Examinations 58
Elementary School Teachers 60
School Buildings 61
The Maktabs 61
C. Secondary Education 62
The Compulsory Military Service Law 62
Organization and Curriculum 63
The First Cycle 63
The Second Cycle 66
Examinations 69
The Second Cycle Certificate 71
The Secondary School Teachers 72
Scholarships 73
D. Vocational Education 74
E. Higher Education 75
Scholarships 77
Higher Education in Foreign Countries 77
Foreign Institution 78
Religious Colleges 79
F. Physical Education 79
G. Adult Education 80
H. Persian Schools Abroad 81
I. Statistics 81
—
VI. CriticismsandNeeds ofPersian Education Proposalsfor
Meeting Those Needs 83
A. Ideals of the Persians 83
Aims of Education 84
B. ObjectionableOutcomes of the Present System of Education 86
Belief in Fate 86
Docility 86
Individualism 87
Contempt for Industrial Pursuits 88
Superstitions — .... 89
C. Defects of the Present System Their Remedies 90
1. Administration 90
The Higher Council of Education 90
Contexts
ix
CHAPTER PAGE
The Ministry of Education 92
a. Triple Authority 92
b. Bureaucracy 93
c. LackofStabilityandofProfessional Experts . 94
2. Curriculum and Method 95
3. Training of Teachers 102
4. Books, Equipment, and Buildings 107
D. Some of the More Important Needs 110
Political 110
Social 115
Economic 118
Bibliography 124
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