Curriculum and economic development: A comparative study of secondary education in Iran and G7 countries

Amir Toghyani Khorasgani, Jahanbakhsh Rahmani and Narges Keshtiaray
Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Iran

Education is the main factor of economic growth in a country, and the curriculum is the heart of any education system. This study focuses on the key roles of education and its relation to economic development as well as the curriculum as a core part of the entire educational drive of nations. In particular, the present study compares the objectives and content of high school curricula in Iran and G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States) to achieve some implications for curriculum development in Iran, with a focus on the significant gap between finding a job after secondary graduation in Iran compared with G7 countries. John Stuart Mill's method of agreement and difference was used with the MAXQDA software for data analysis. The results of similarities and differences between objectives and content of curricula indicated that while both educational systems address social and cultural content and objectives, albeit in different ways, Iran lacks economic-oriented content and objectives that connect to occupation, markets, needs of the community and thus economic development ideals.
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Authors: Amir Toghyani Khorasgani is a PhD candidate in curriculum development, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran. His fields of interest are curriculum development, comparative education and educational sciences. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4871-4099 Email: amir.toghyani@yahoo.com Dr Jahanbakhsh Rahmani (corresponding author) is an Assistant Professor in curriculum planning at the Department of Educational Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Iran. He has worked on the effects, aspects and implications of education in the Islamic Republic of Iran. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2525-5416 Email: rahmani@khuisf.ac.ir Dr Narges Keshtiaray is Associate Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Iran. She is Associate Editor and an Editorial Board member for the journal Research in Curriculum Planning (https://jsr-e.isfahan.iau.ir/?lang=en) ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6313-5197 Email: keshtiaray@gmail.com Please cite as: Toghyani Khorasgani, A., Rahmani, J. & Keshtiaray, N. (2023). Curriculum and economic development: A comparative study of secondary education in Iran and G7 countries. Issues in Educational Research, 33(1), 390-413. http://www.iier.org.au/iier33/toghyani-khorasgani.pdf