Iran and Education - Assigned Blog

This week we were given the assignment of discussing the connection between technology and education, in relation to our topic. Thank you to Professor Yaros for finding and providing me a report filed by Bibi Eshrat Zamani, scholar of Education and Psychology at the University of Isfahan, in Iran. The article is titled "Successful implementation factors for using computers in Iranian schools during one decade (1995–2005)" and discusses the integration and usage of computers within the Iranian education system. One of Eshrat Zamani's goals is "to see what changes had been occurred [sic] during one decade."

Before I go any further here are some important facts about Iran's population: The CIA world factbook indicates that the median age in Iran is 27 (the median in the US is 36.7); that 77% of Iranians are literate; and Iran spends 5.1% of its GDP on education (the US spends 5.3%).

According to the publication, Iranian students have used computers since the late 1980s and today officials boast that most high school graduates are in some way computer literate. From 1995 to 2005 the number of schools within the city of Isfahan that had computer labs rose from seventeen to ninety-four. In 1995 89% of students did not have home computers; that number plummeted by 2005 to 38%. Over the same period of time students stated their primary use of home computers was for entertainment purposes; secondary usage centered around academics.

A disparity also exists in attitudes towards computer usage. Teachers and administrators did not enjoy computer as much as their pupils: "In 1995, 89% of the teachers and 91% of principals’ believed that using computers in education was a complex process. This percentage has been changed [sic] to 76% for teachers and 82% for principals in 2000 and 73% for teachers and 76% for principals in 2005." For educators knowledge of computers required extensive technical and language training: "According to teachers, using computers in classrooms need a lot of computer knowledge and experience including computer and IT literacy. In addition, they should have English proficiency in reading and writing computer menus and messages." The students though felt differently: "Average 63% of students liked computer practical classes, because they felt more freedom compared to other theoretical classes...[in 2005 an] average 58% of students did not like the content of computer studies courses, they were interested to learn more about application programs and Internet." Unfortunately the access to computers was not indiscriminate: in 2005 88% of boys surveyed had prior computer knowledge against only 45% of girls.

Going back to Eshrat Zamani's goal of examining the changes over the decade, there is clear evidence that usage has risen, as has reception of technology. As is seen all over the world, Iran's young people are leading the technological growth. Teachers and administrators seem increasingly receptive to the introduction of technology but at the same time they seem to be happy with traditional means of education. Students would be better prepared to teach courses than their teachers. But there is a matter that Iranian students must deal with that many others don't: politics. The study found that "81% of principals in the study in 1995, 2000 and 2005 stated that computer education in Iran has been depended on the political situation"--that if the ministry of education decided to cut funding or if the West tightened sanctions, access to technology would be adversely affected. Iranians, especially its younger population, are thirsty for access to the outside world, to free information and the increased usage of technology in their classrooms has absolutely helped them on the path toward this inalienable right.