The Romantic Foundations of Education in Contemporary Iran

Document Type : پژوهشی

Author

• Ali Vahdati Daneshmand

Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophical and Social Foundations of Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, iran

10.22067/fedu.2024.87557.1341

Abstract

The main argument of this article is that the foundational 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 central Romantic concepts within each: spirituality, public education, and Westoxification as an anti-Western ideology. The author also examines two Romantic educational institutions in contemporary Iran: the Iran Scout Organization and the Organization for Public Enlightenment. This speculative examination provides a basis for comparing these ideas with Bildung in German Romanticism. Furthermore, it is illustrated that the concept of Romantic education has been supported by revolutionary leaders and official documents of Islamic education. However, these Romantic ideals have not been realized within the framework of the French-inspired educational system in post-revolutionary Iran, amidst the historical conflict between German Romanticism and the French Enlightenment. Consequently, just as Romanticism struggled with the challenge of establishing institutions to propagate its core values, the modern school system in post-revolutionary Iran fails to adequately reflect these values within its Islamic educational discourse, as evidenced by the disparity between school practices and the expectations placed upon them. Thus, the reconsideration of the educational institution emerges as the primary challenge confronting the educational system in Iran

Keywords

• Bildung
• Education in Contemporary Iran
• German Romanticism

Main Subjects

• Foundations of Education

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