The Washback Effect of Entrance Exam of Gifted Schools on Elementary School Curriculum: A Phenomenological Study
Subject Areas : Journal of Excellence in counseling and psychotherapyMahdi Shaddel 1 , Hosein Eskandari 2 , Mahboobe soleiman pooromran 3
1 - Master of Educational Management, Islamic Azad University of Bojnourd
2 - PhD in Education, Assistant Professor, Bojnourd University
3 - Department of Educational Sciences, Bojnourd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd, Iran
Keywords: Curriculum, Elementary schools, Washback, Gifted schools,
Abstract :
Purpose: The pathology of gifted schools has been raised in the Iranian education community and has not reached a definite conclusion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of gifted school entrance exams on different aspects of elementary education system including: school goals and policies, curriculum, teaching methods and educational activities, learning style and assessment and evaluation. Method: This study is a descriptive phenomenological one. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 55 individuals selected from the following four groups: (a) school principals and assistants; (b) teachers and supervisors; (c) parents; Data analysis and coding were done by Colaizzi method. Results: In the first stage, 287 key points were extracted from the interviews. These points were categorized and summarized in 80 primary themes, 15 intermediate themes, and 12 final themes. Some of the final themes are: Object Interference, Educational Darwinism, Content Discrimination, Test-Based Methods and Activities, Individual Learning Style, Quantitative and Consequentialism, Instrumental View toward Teachers. Conclusion: The gifted schools and the type of entrance exams can cause many harms to some elementary schools. Those elementary schools that focused on preparing students for entrance exams of gifted schools practically ignore some of the most important goals of formal curriculum and educational components.
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