Romantic Roots of Education in Modern Iran

Document Type : پژوهشی

Author

• Ali Vahdati Daneshmand

Philosophical and social foundations of education, Faculty of psychology and education, University of Tehran

10.22067/fedu.2024.87557.1341

Abstract

The main claim of this article is that the basic concept of education in contemporary Iran has its roots in German Romanticism. To substantiate this claim, the author explores the educational ideas of Hossein Kazemzadeh Iranshahr, Seyyed Hassan Taqizadeh, and Jalal Al-e Ahmad, focusing on three Romantic central concepts within each: spirituality, public education, and Westoxification as an anti-western ideology. The author has also examined two romantic educational institutions in contemporary Iran, i.e. Iran Scout Organization and Organization for Public Enlightenment. This speculative examination, provides a basis for comparing these ideas with Bildung in German Romanticism. Furthermore, it illustrates that the concept of Romantic education has received support from revolutionary leaders and official documents of Islamic Education. However, these Romantic ideals lack realization within the framework of the French-inspired educational organization in post-revolutionary Iran, amid the historical conflict between German Romanticism and French Enlightenment. Consequently, just as Romanticism grappled with the challenge of establishing institutions to propagate its core values, in post-revolutionary Iran, the modern school fails to adequately represent core values within its Islamic educational discourse, as evidenced by the disparity between school practices and expectations placed upon them. Thus, reconsideration of the educational institution emerges as the primary challenge confronting the educational system in Iran.

Keywords

• Bildung
• Education in Contemporary Iran
• German Romanticism
• Hossein Kazemzadeh Iranshahr
• Jalal Al-e Ahmad
• Seyyed Hassan Taqizadeh

Main Subjects

• Foundations of Education

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