From the glory of the "Shukatiyeh" to the decline of the "state"" Lessons from the school experiences of "Shukatiyeh" "Birjand"

Document Type : Qualitative Research Paper

Author

PhD in Educational Management and Visiting Assistant Professor, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.34785/J010.1398.817

Abstract

Inorder to derivate lessons from the experiences of Iranian historical schools, this article pay attention to study of "Shokatiyeh" School as one of the pionner schools in the east of the country. The main concern of the study was to answer two questions. The first question is, on what basis can the establishment of the "Shokatiyeh" School be explained? The second question, what can be learned from the characteristics of the "Shokatiyeh" to improve the current schooling system? A historical-analytical approach has used to answer these questions. Numerous studies have been conducted on the subject of research, which can be classified into three general categories under the headings of historical studies, descriptive studies, and comparative studies.
The history of schools in Iran, like in other countries, is tied to the institution of religion. From time immemorial, education has been held in religious places such as mosques and temples. In the Seljuk era, the military (Nezamiyeh) was established with the approach of promoting the Shafi''i religion, and during the Safavid period, education was strongly influenced by the Shia religion. At the same time, the first students were sent abroad. From the Safavid to the Qajar period, the state of culture and education in Iran was not favorable, but with the rise of the Qajar dynasty, the first foreign schools were opened by the Americans.
The school in its modern meaning was created during the Qajar period by “Mirza Hassan Rushdieh”. After the Constitutional Revolution, the spread of schools increased. There are several perspectives on explaining the causes of school emergence in Iran. Some have called it a foreign project for the country''s colonization. Some have seen the creation of new schools as the product of European alumni''s thought, while others have cited the Qajar government''s efforts to meet their needs. What is clear is that the new school in Iran has not been able to connect with the institution of religion, and it has been strongly opposed by the clergy. Despite opposition from clerics, a school called “Shokatiyeh” was established in which was supported by intellectual clerics such as “Ayatollah Hadi Hadavi” and played an important role in the development of Eastern culture. Of course, in addition to the role of the clergy, there were other factors that influenced the establishment of the school, which are mentioned below.
One of the important factors in the emergence of the “Shokatiyeh” School was political issues, including the occurrence of the Constitutional Revolution, the presence of the Alam family in the region, and the personality traits of Shokat-al Mulk. “Shokatiyeh” School was established at the same time as the history of the Constitutional Revolution. The rule of freedom and the demand for awareness and knowledge in the country provided a good ground for the establishment of a school. In addition to the political conditions prevailing in the society, the presence of the Alam family, who were the old emirs of the region, had created stability and security in Birjand, and this had provided an opportunity for cultural activities. Eventually, the rise to power of a man like Shokat-al Mulk, who would have a moderate, balanced, and constitutional personality, led to the establishment of the “Shokatiyeh” School as one of the new schools in Birjand.
Another factor in creating the Shokatiyeh School is the cultural capacities of Birjand. The city of Birjand was culturally hardworking people who respected culture and knowledge. The city had many educated people. Also, the action of intellectual clerics in sending their children to Shokatiyeh School led to the acceptance of the school among the people. Finally, it can be said that having a rich cultural capacity both in the scientific and religious dimensions were a good ground for the establishment of "Shokatiyeh" along with the geopolitical situation of "Birjand".
Another factor in the establishment of the Shoktieh School was the geopolitical position of Birjand. Undoubtedly, Birjand was very important for a country like Britain. "Birjand" (and to a lesser extent Greater Khorasan) had a privileged political geographical position for the British in that it had the closest route to India. The British owned India at that time and paid special attention to Birjand in order to preserve the colonies and prevent the development of the Russians, so that they opened a consulate and a bank in this city. Also, the role of "Birjand" during the First World War (1914-1918) in defending the east of the country and during the Second World War (1939-1945) as a barrier to sending arms (through Zahedan-Birjand-Mashhad road) to Russia Has been very important. Birjand''s proximity to India, in addition to its political and economic status, has also yielded significant gains. For example, goods were transported from India via camels to Birjand and from there to Iran''s interior provinces. The location of the political geography of "Birjand" led to the city attracting the attention of foreign countries, especially Britain. Subsequently, with the increase in the traffic of commercial caravans and the activity of the British and Russian consulates and finally the establishment of the "Imperial Bank", the need to learn a foreign language (English) for financial and commercial interactions was identified And meeting this need was one of the reasons for the establishment of Shoktiyeh
 Finally, inspired by the "Parsons" model, the characteristics of the "Shokatiyeh" are classified into three levels of institutional, managerial, and technical. At the institutional level, characteristics such as the interaction of tradition with modernity, having a social function, a pattern of gradual development, and the connection between school and society have been mentioned. At the managerial level, attention has been paid to features such as the method of providing educational staff, equipping sustainable and diverse financial resources, school-based administration, and the pattern of public and free admission. At the technical level, issues such as the mission of the school, the comprehensiveness of the curriculum and the method of student evaluation are mentioned. The paper ends with suggestions for improving the performance of the education management system.

Keywords


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