The "Transformation Schema": Pursuing Semantic, Conceptual, and Educational Content

OERP Public Relations and International Affairs – In an in-depth interview with Quds Newspaper, Seyed Mahdi Bagherian, Director General of the Office of Planning and Compiling Primary and Secondary Textbooks at the Organization for Educational Research and Planning (OERP), discussed the details of the "Curriculum Transformation Schema" at the school level and the pilot implementation of the new curriculum ecosystem.

Quds Newspaper: What is the significance of the new "School Curriculum" plan, and what stage is it currently in?

Director General of the Office of Planning and Compiling Textbooks: This framework is designed to organize everything that occurs within a school regarding curriculum, as well as educational, pedagogical, and skill-based content. This organizational shift requires two sets of prerequisites:

1. Clarity Requirements: Defining the specific expectations of the educational system within a given period.

2. Structural Requirements: Redefining the relationship between curriculum elements and their connection to educational and pedagogical packages.

Fortunately, the first phase—focused on the first cycle of primary education—is nearing completion. The school curriculum document for this period has been drafted and is currently undergoing validation and approval processes. In our most recent action, we held a three-day summit with provincial deputy directors of primary education and department heads to deliberate on the plan. It was agreed that these officials would review the draft, engage in discussions, and provide feedback for the final refinement of the project. In parallel with these concluding steps, the development of the framework for the "second cycle of primary education" and the "first cycle of secondary education" is also underway. Following this trajectory, the primary goals we set for the first year of this initiative have been largely realized and completed.

Quds Newspaper: What specific objectives does this plan pursue, and how will it impact the quality of education?

Director General of the Office of Planning and Compiling Textbooks: The primary objective of the "School Curriculum" is to establish "pedagogical unity" at the school level. In essence, the school-level curriculum aims to define the semantic, conceptual, and educational content that should manifest within the school as a social institution. This program serves as a substantive framework for action, clarifying the path for all pillars of the educational system as follows:

1.  For the Organization of Educational Research and Planning (OERP): It specifies how educational packages and content should be structured, including the necessary approaches, priorities, key concepts, and the underlying competency system.

2.  For Executive Departments (Educational, Pedagogical, and Physical Education): It clarifies the planning trajectory and outlines how priorities for school activities should be set.

3.  For Schools and Administrative Levels: It provides a clear and accurate roadmap of the actions required to achieve pedagogical goals. While establishing a firm framework, it also offers the necessary flexibility and autonomy across various levels—from provincial directorates and regional offices down to individual schools.

4.  For the Teacher Training System: It sets clear targets, providing teacher training programs with a distinct vision of the specific skills a teacher needs for any given educational cycle.

5.  For Scientific and Support Services: It provides direction to the vast array of support services provided to schools. This ensures that the types of training courses held and the priorities focused upon become purposeful and aligned with the core mission.

In summary, all stakeholders involved in the educational process—at the provincial, regional, and school levels—can derive their specific roles and responsibilities from within this "Curriculum Operational Guide" in relation to the overall school curriculum.

Quds Newspaper: What have been the results of the pilot implementation of this plan across the eight selected schools?

Director General of the Office of Planning and Compiling Textbooks: At this stage, the plan is being piloted in eight schools, with our primary focus directed toward two specific areas: the "School-Level Curriculum" and the "Educational Packages." We chose this focused approach because the plan is being implemented in the first cycle of primary education (specifically the first grade), which demands meticulous precision and care.

Currently, the educational packages are being utilized in these eight schools. Our main objective is to gather field feedback to assess the practical feasibility of these packages in a real-world classroom setting. For this pilot phase, we have asked teachers and school staff to focus primarily on aligning with the provided educational packages rather than producing or selecting new content. However, full autonomy for content selection will be granted to schools in the subsequent stages of the project.

Fortunately, the feedback we have received from colleagues so far has been generally positive. Notable outcomes include "increased student engagement in the classroom," "strengthened communication skills," and a "heightened enthusiasm for learning" among the children. That being said, for a definitive conclusion, we must wait for the formal research process associated with this pilot to be completed. Based on those findings, we will implement the necessary reforms to enhance and refine the process.

Our primary method for collecting accurate data in these eight schools is through continuous reporting. All involved parties—especially teachers and educational leaders—provide us with daily and weekly consultative feedback, allowing us to fine-tune both the curriculum and the educational packages.

As a final point, we have implemented a supplementary measure: in addition to the field trials, we have dispatched ten sets of the educational packages to every province across the country. This allows for a process of "theoretical validation" and review by provincial experts. The results of these expert evaluations will certainly be integrated into our final assessment and decision-making process.

Quds Newspaper: When will the second phase of the pilot implementation begin, and which grades will it include?

Director General of the Office of Planning and Compiling Textbooks: Regarding the roadmap for expanding this project, the curriculum development for "First Grade" (Primary) is scheduled to be implemented in two stages:

- Phase One (Next Academic Year): We aim to expand the program in the upcoming academic year to cover a larger number of students across the country.

- Phase Two (The Following Academic Year): In the year after that, the program will be scaled to a national level—unless specific issues arise during the second phase that require us to modify our "deployment strategy" and development approach. Of course, factors such as national conditions and the status of virtual learning will play a significant role in our final decision-making.

Quds Newspaper: Have principals and teachers received the necessary training for the accurate implementation of the program?

Director General of the Office of Planning and Compiling Textbooks: We have developed detailed plans for teacher training. Fortunately, the content, textbooks, and educational packages are well-prepared and are currently undergoing their pilot phase. While the general media content for the plan is largely ready, we will finalize the production of specialized media for teacher training before this summer.

Our definitive and mandatory plan is to utilize "Educational Leaders" to disseminate the program, tailored to the development scenario of each province. The goal is to ensure that the human resource preparation process is fully realized before the expansion begins next summer.

In fact, part of this preparation has already started at the provincial directorate level. As mentioned earlier, we recently held a three-day summit with provincial deputy directors of education and department heads. These officials have now taken on the responsibility of disseminating the plan and fostering readiness within their respective provinces. Furthermore, to assist with this conceptual preparation, preliminary versions of the "School Curriculum" and educational packages have already been dispatched to the provinces. However, the more intensive and operational phase of provincial training will be pursued through the formal training of "Educational Leaders."

Quds Newspaper: What are the primary challenges and requirements of this plan, and what measures are needed to overcome them?

Director General of the Office of Planning and Compiling Textbooks: The main challenges we face in the implementation of this project can be divided into two primary categories:

1. Theoretical, Conceptual, and Attitudinal Challenges: Our most significant challenge is facilitating a "paradigm shift." This means moving schools away from an exclusive and excessive focus on "the textbook" and preparing them to implement a "comprehensive curriculum." This shift in perspective cannot be achieved at the school level alone; policy-making bodies, executive departments, and provincial and regional directorates must also be ready to embrace this major transition. This change requires all pillars of the educational system to acquire "curriculum design" skills, practice flexibility in planning, learn to optimize instructional time, and psychologically prepare teachers for the execution of these new programs.

2. Support Challenges: The second category pertains to the "support" dimension. Naturally, implementing schools require specialized support, both in terms of providing educational packages and training human resources. Success in providing this support is vital, as it paves the way for other regions and schools scheduled to join the program in the coming years.

Despite these challenges, we remain entirely optimistic and confident. Our esteemed teachers and colleagues in the Department of Primary Education (particularly in the first cycle) are among the most dedicated professionals in the country, consistently demonstrating their readiness to embrace and implement essential and constructive reforms.