Reflection on Centralization, Decentralization and Recentralization and Explanation of Their Implications For Iran's Curriculum System: A New Perspective

پژوهش نامه مبانی تعلیم و تربیت

Article 8, Volume 011, Issue 2, March 2011   

Document Type: پژوهشی

DOI: 10.22067/fe.v11i2.2495

Authors

Maghsood Amin Khandaghi^* ; Marzieh Dehghani

Abstract

After a relatively long period of centralization and with the beginning of decentralization experiences since 1970s, the periodical orientations and trends of governments towards both centralization and decentralization systems appeared. Stemming generally from political and economic domains, decentralization entered curriculum and education system from these domains. Problems such as deficiencies in professional human resource, the lack of sufficient funds and support, teacher's resistance, globalization, etc resulted in governments' orientations towards recentralization in order to improve education quality and solve these problems. Considering centralization and decentralization, especially in education and curricula, main causes of derivation from original objective of decentralization, including focus on peripheral aspects, such as financial, administrative and managerial ones (hard exposure) and less attention to main objective of quality improvement and curriculum development (soft exposure) have been explained. These two exposures to decentralization were practically encountered in curriculum and education system followed by inaccurate and false perspectives on decentralization. True understanding of these two systems, characteristics and correct exposure and rational to them can help to curriculum enhancement. Implications of centralization and decentralization to IRAN curriculum system by consideration of its inclusive historical and cultural background and orientation toward its decentralization together with Iran's current condition has been explained.

Keywords

centralization; Decentralization; Recentralization; curriculum; Educational System