A Comparative Study of the Epistemology ​​and Aesthetics of the Primary Education System in Iran and Japan Countries

Abstract

Research on educational systems of different countries helps in designing programs to improve the quality of educational systems, including the education system. As a result, this research was conducted with the aim of comparative study of the epistemology and aesthetics of the primary education system in Iran and Japan countries. The present study in terms of purpose was applied and in terms of implementation method was descriptive from type of qualitative. The research population was all printed and online documents and texts related to the primary education system of Iran and Japan countries and professors of the departments of philosophy of education and curriculum of Islamic Azad Universities of Iran and Japan, which all documents and texts were selected by the total sampling method and 15 professors (10 Iranians and 5 Japanese) were selected as samples according to the principle of theoretical saturation by the purposive sampling method. The research tools were included screening from document and text and semi-structured interviews with professors, which their validity was confirmed by the triangulation method and their reliability was obtained by the agreement coefficient between the two coders of 0.81. In this research, for analysis the data were used from content analysis method in Atlas-ti software. The findings of this study showed that the primary education system in Iran and Japan has similarities and differences in terms of epistemology and aesthetics. For example, In the epistemology section in Iran emphasis on the how knowledge emerges in humans and its types, the quality of the learner's connection with the surrounding environment, the selection of teaching methods and their application and consequences, the use of methodological questions and the creation of constructive interaction between the learner, teacher and curriculum, and in Japan emphasis on the learner being and a product of learning of learner, the selection of Socratic and exploratory teaching methods and the use of practical thinking skills, separating reasons and evidence from propaganda, information from fantasy and facts from myths. Also, in the aesthetics section in Iran emphasis on the using aesthetics for improve the quality, education and flourishing of students' talents, benefiting from aesthetic education, familiarizing of students with aesthetics through family traditions such as poetry, stories and songs and providing conditions for the individual and social balanced development of all talents, and in Japan emphasis on the aesthetic ideals of its culture while accepting the modern aesthetic ideals of Western countries and being influenced by the Chinese art system, having Eastern spirituality and separating from western materialism, proximity of aesthetics with religious values and paying attention to education and learning through art. An effective education system is system that is in harmony with the ultimate goals and real needs of the current and future society. Therefore, it is essential that the primary education system in Iran country changes in order to pay more attention to the ultimate goals and real needs of the future society.