Secondary Education

At one time a student spent 3 years in secondary or high school, taking a government comprehensive examination to end the first cycle of his secondary education, which had a common curriculum for boys and girls. The next 3 years for boys and 2 years for girls constituted a second cycle of secondary training. Here the students decided their career and followed courses accordingly. They took final examinations in science, mathematics, or literature.

Under a plan which has been in effect for some time, the first government secondary school examination is taken after 5 years of secondary school. The second and final secondary school examination takes place at the end of the sixth year. Those who have completed the full 6 years and have obtained their certificate from the Ministry of Education are permitted to enter the University of Teheran.

First cycle. The present objective of the first cycle of the secondary school as endorsed by the Congress of Provincial Education Directors of 1960 is "... to discover and develop the aptitude of the students and guide them in choosing an occupation in line with the needs of the country and with their interests and aptitudes." In 1959 there were 21 separate subject fields in the first cycle, now combined under the new plan into 10 major areas: (1) Persian (Farsi), reading, grammer, dictation (spelling), composition; (2) Arabic; (3) religion; (4) social science (history, geography, civics); (5) foreign language (reading, dictation, conversation, composition); (6) mathematics (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and drawing); (7) science (physics, chemistry, natural science, and hygiene); (8) fine arts (calligraphy, painting); (9) home economics for girls (family relations, cooking, sewing, child care, interior decoration); (10) handicrafts and physical education for boys.

Second cycle.-The aim of the second cycle as endorsed by the Congress of Provincial Educational Directors is ". . . to give further general knowledge to the students and prepare them for admission to university, or learning crafts and industries and to acquaint them with essentials of private enterprise." The second cycle is divided into two parts: general education and specialized education. When a student enters the second cycle he may specialize in one of four branches: home economics, mathematics, natural science, or literature. (See tables 2-4.) A fifth branch, business, has been added.

Table 2-Program of Study in the Second Cycle Secondary Schools 1 (Mathematics and natural science branches)

1 Ministry of Education, The Secondary School Regulations. Teheran, Iran, the Ministry of Education, 1959, p. 40.

Table 3-Program of Study in Second Cycle Secondary Schools1 (Literature branch) [Hours per week, by year]

Table 4-Program of Study in the Second Cycle Secondary School1 (Home economics branch) [Hours per week, by year]

1 Ministry of Education, The Secondary School Regulations. Teheran, Iran, the Ministry of Education, 1959, p. 40.

Examinations

The examination system in Iranian schools has undergone several changes in the past few years. Previously, two examinations were given during the year with a final examination at the end. The promotion from grade to grade was based on the result of the final examination.

Several years ago, examinations in grades one to four were abolished, and promotion in these grades was made automatic. Teachers and parents are not in favor of this policy since they believe examinations serve to motivate both student and teacher, and there is strong sentiment for returning to the former system.

Two examinations are still given during the year in fifth and sixth grades, with one examination at the end of the year. The grades received on these examinations range from 0 to a possible 20. From 10 to 25 percent of the students fail the examinations. The student may repeat a grade only once; after a second failure he is dropped from the school.

At present, any student passing the sixth grade may proceed to a secondary school, if such school is available. Nearly all elementary

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students who pass their examinations want to continue their education, but there are not enough secondary classrooms or teachers. According to a regulation passed in 1960, a student to move from the first to the second cycle of secondary school must have an average of at least 12 in the specialized subject he has selected.

Elementary school examinations given during the school year are prepared by the teachers, but the final examination at the end of the sixth grade is prepared by the Ostan Chief of Education. The examinations at the end of the first, second, fourth, and fifth years in the secondary school are prepared by the principal of the school, or he may designate a teacher or group of teachers to prepare them. The Ostan Office of Education prepares the final examination for the third year of the first cycle of the secondary school, and, if necessary, sends out a supervisor to give the examination. For the sixth year of the secondary school, the examinations are prepared by the Ostan departments. Students are graded according to the following scale: 6-9, poor; 10-13, average; 14-17, good; 18-20, very good. The national education convention held in Teheran in August 1959, in which representative secondary school teachers participated, studied and considered very carefully the curriculums of the first and second cycles of the secondary schools in Iran. The following summary of this convention's resolutions indicates the trends in the secondary school curriculums:

1. The study programs in the first cycle of the secondary schools will be general and include activities which will help the pupils to manifest their potentialities, and the teacher to discover the pupils' abilities, as an aid to vocational and educational guidance programs in the schools.

2. In the second cycle the study program will tend to specialization and will be divided into literary, mathematics, natural sciences, and home economics divisions. At this level the students will be prepared to enter the university, learn different trades and vocations, and be introduced to private occupations and professions through theoretical and practical

courses.

3. The codes of administration, discipline problems, guidance, examinations, parent-teacher associations' duties, and school councils have been considerably revised particularly to permit raising the level of requirement for the secondary school diploma from the minimum passing grade of 7 to 12. This decision was a result of findings which showed a deterioration in the general knowledge of the secondary school graduates.

Vocational Education

Vocational education in the modern sense of the term is a relatively new development in Iran. Many projects and programs have been

3 Ministry of Education. Summer Education Conference Geneva. July 1960 (Short statement by the Ministry of Education of Iran), presented by Dr. K. Fatemi at I.B.E.; UNESCO Conference on Educational Developments during the school year 1959-60. p. 5-6.

undertaken to develop Iran economically, socially, and culturally, and the government recognizes the country's need for skilled and semiskilled manpower. It is for this purpose that various vocational agriculture and industrial schools have been established. The UnderSecretary for Vocational Education in the Ministry of Education is in charge of industrial, agricultural, business, and technical education. In 1952, the rural elementary schools seldom extended beyond the fourth grade. A rural boy completing these studies could enroll in a rural agricultural school for 3 years (grades 5-7) but this period of study was not recognized by the Ministry of Education. The student could only continue his education by repeating the fifth and sixth grades in an urban elementary school. The certificate received admitted the student to the first cycle of secondary school (grades 7-9), followed by 2 years in a vocational agriculture training school, ending with the 11th grade. To become eligible for admission to Karaj, the only agricultural college in Iran, the student had to reenter the urban secondary school in order to complete the 12th grade. Only boys who had completed 6 years of urban elementary school were eligible for admission to a vocational industrial school, and there were only five such schools in the country.

Teaching in vocational industrial and agricultural institutions was almost entirely by the lecture method. Textbooks were scarce, and students had to rely on note taking. Very little practical work was offered. Emphasis was on long lists of scientific names of plants, insects, and so forth, which the students memorized. Conditions in both schools were inadequate in instructional facilities and the type of training provided. In vocational industrial schools, only two trades were taught, carpentry and metal work, regardless of the needs of industry in the community.

Through the efforts of the U.S. Operations Mission in Iran and in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, a teacher-training program was undertaken in 1953 as a start in revising and extending vocational education. As the country's condition and long-range needs were analyzed, a sixfold program was instituted: (1) for teacher-training; (2) extending vocational education training facilities to all levels of the school system-elementary, secondary, and college and to adults; (3) adapting and equipping existing facilities; (4) building and equipping new facilities; (5) developing textbooks and other teaching aids; and (6) for realizing a new concept of vocational education.

Under the teacher-training program, intensive summer courses of 6 to 8 weeks were provided for all vocational teachers. Emphasis was placed on the project and demonstration methods of teaching,