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Background: To achieve the highest possible level of health for individuals and societies involved in the crisis, a high level of individual and professional competency is needed in nurses for their active participation in the crisis. The acquisition of professional qualifications by nurses to provide care in the crisis is very important. The present study aimed to determine the effect of disaster and accident response training on the enhancement of professional competence of nurses in response to the crisis. Materials and Methods: This research was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test, post-test design. The statistical population consisted of all nurses working in Shahid Chamran Hospital in Saveh City, Iran, in 2017. In total, 80 nurses were selected through the convenience sampling method and were randomly divided into the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received training through lectures and workshops for 16 hours in 4 days. The samples completed a professional nursing competency assessment questionnaire before and one month after the intervention. The obtained data were analyzed by the Chi-squared test, Fisher's exact-test, Independent samples t-test, and Paired samples t-test in SPSS. Results: The findings revealed no significant difference between the two groups concerning demographic variables. After the intervention, the average improvement of professional competence of nurses in their ability to manage the accident scene increased from 63.3 to 74.07, teamwork skill from 56.7 to 74, individual specific abilities from 61.4 to 70, ethical performance from 67.8 to 76.9, and professional skills from 54 to 60. The Mean±SD pretest score of professional competency of nurses in the intervention and control groups were 163.5±28.6 and 155.73±34, respectively. After the intervention, these scores increased to 185.13±28.8 and 158.48±33.3 in the intervention and the control groups, respectively. The difference was statistically significant in the intervention group (P<0.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that the competence of nurses to provide care in crises was not at a desirable level. Thus, assessing the competence of nurses and identifying the gaps in their knowledge and skills before attending crises is essential. Also, the incident and disaster education can dramatically increase nurses' professional competence in responding to the crisis. Therefore, we suggest the method used in this study as a feasible, simple, low cost and effective method in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Journal clubs are known as the teaching methods in most of the medical training centers. In journal club (JC) participants discuss about articles in recent medical papers and finally, written scientific results are accepted or rejected. The aim of this study was to compare the traditional and evidence based medicine (EBM) type of JCs. Methods: The present study was conducted in Imam Reza Hospital, Tabriz University of medical sciences from January to March 2010. Forty participants were enrolled in our study: 16 stagers, 11 interns and 13 internal medicine residents. We held 3 journal clubs with 14 participants in the first session and 13 participants in the other sessions. Journal club was held at the end of each week. The first paper was presented by one of the attending physicians of rheumatology ward. The second paper was presented by another attendant of rheumatology ward who was a member of EBM group of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Then the results were compared. Results: The comparison of the sums of participants' scores didn't show any meaningful difference between traditional and EBM journal club in topic, purpose, and methods & material part of papers, but in the results section of the papers, the difference was remarkable. Conclusions: Our study showed that in the EBM journal clubs, participants learnt more about the results part of the papers.but in the results section of the papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a lifestyle training package that consisted of a 60‐ to 90‐min session of group training, educational booklet and text messages on physical activity and nutritional status in obese and overweight pregnant women. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 140 obese or overweight women (gestational age: 16–20 weeks) covered by health centres in Tehran, Iran, were equally randomized into two parallel groups using block randomization and stratified by the body mass index. Participants completed the Food Frequency Questionnaire and International Physical Activity Questionnaire at baseline and fourth and eighth weeks after intervention. Participants were 38 obese and 102 overweight women who were later followed‐up. Results: After the intervention, the mean weekly intake of the vegetable and fruit subgroups was significantly higher; and intake of fats and oils and the confections subgroups were significantly lower in the intervention compared with the control group (p < 0.05). Although physical activity was higher in the intervention group, 8 weeks after the intervention, this difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The training package appears to offer a suitable strategy for adjusting the intake of the recommended food subgroups in obese and overweight pregnant women. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? Many studies have demonstrated the positive correlation between women's obesity and overweight and the increased risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes.Obese and overweight pregnant women require specific planning to regulate their gestational weight gain and improve their nutritional quality. What this paper adds? The lifestyle training package consisted of a 60‐ to 90‐min session of group training, educational booklet and text messages. The package significantly improved the intake of the vegetable and fruit subgroups and significantly decreased the intake of the fats and oils and confections subgroups in obese and overweight pregnant women. The implications of this paper: Appropriate and simple training packages about proper nutrition and physical activity should be provided to obese and overweight pregnant women to decease pregnancy complications and enhance their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iran has been among the top ten largest refugee‐host countries worldwide, sheltering one of the largest groups of forced migrants from Afghanistan during the past four decades. This policy paper briefly examines and summarizes the policies related to education of Afghan children in Iran through a structured review. The results of this review suggest that higher education has been and continues to be heavily restricted for Afghans. While access to primary education has improved for Afghans in Iran, policies continue to neglect both cultural specificity and unique needs of this group. Therefore, enrolment has remained restricted. The findings of our policy analysis call for further attention to culturally relevant education, financial assistance for families living in poverty and interventions to subsidize the cost of education to ensure access of all Afghan children to primary education and retain enrolment. Results also call for reconsiderations in restrictive higher education policies for Afghans in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although conventional writing procedures are still the dominant instructional procedures in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts, instructors are still struggling with time limitations to improve EFL students writing skills properly. Additionally, EFL students are not engaged in the writing process since they lack the required information about the writing tasks. Objectives: The present study, therefore, applied a sequential explanatory mixed‐methods approach to explore the impact of a flipped writing classroom on EFL students' writing skills (i.e. writing content, writing organization, and language use) and writing motivation on the one hand and possibly recommend a better instructional procedure for students' writing skills and writing motivation in EFL context on the other hand. Methods: To this aim, two intact classes were selected as the participants of the study. The two classes were randomly assigned to a flipped classroom with 27 EFL students and a non‐flipped classroom with 24 EFL students. The non‐flipped classroom was instructed through conventional writing instruction over 16 sessions whereas the flipped classroom was taught with the same content in a flipped writing mode in 10 sessions. Two timed writing tasks, a writing motivation scale, and an individual semi‐structured interview were used to gather the required data. Results and Conclusions: The findings indicated that the flipped writing classroom outperformed the non‐flipped writing classroom in improving the EFL students' writing performance, writing organization, language use, and writing motivation; however, no significant differences were found between the two groups' writing content. Moreover, the data analysis from the individual semi‐structured interview indicated that the flipped students had positive attitudes and perceptions towards the flipped writing classroom which further supported the quantitative findings. Implications: Practical implications for collaborative writing instruction using video clips and other electronic materials are suggested. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: In a flipped classroom model, English language students can view video clips prior to class time in order to use the class time for doing academic exercises and projects in a collaborative manner.As in student‐centred learning environments, a flipped classroom engages English language students in more active learning processes, encourages them to enquire about the video lectures, and tests and evaluates their skills in applying knowledge.Individual differences, such as motivational variables and affective factors disjointedly or conjointly affect writing processes, especially in English language contexts. What this paper adds: Flipping an English language collaborative writing course improves English language students' writing performance, writing organization, language use, and writing motivation.Flipped classroom is more effective than non‐flipped classroom in improving English language students' writing performance, writing organisation, language use, and writing motivation.Flipped English language students hold positive attitudes and perceptions towards flipped collaborative writing classroom. Pedagogical implications: English language instructors are recommended to design a flipped classroom to provide English language students with video clips before class time, so students can have more collaborative and evaluative writing activities during the class time.English language students can have and receive more peer/instructor writing mediations on the writing tasks and make better use of class time (based on the video clips) and develop their writing performance accordingly.By designing a flipped classroom, English language students can enhance their writing motivation, and also, they properly cover the required materials in a shorter time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multiple hard power engagements of the aspiring Middle East powers (the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran) in Yemen are self-evident. However, the disposition of foreign interference in Yemen is multifaced. Current research papers have primarily focused on using hard power military or economic tools, but soft power tools were left behind. Therefore, this article explores soft power’s nature influencing the countries above assert towards the Yemeni population. It focused on three ostensibly distinct areas of soft power – education, religion, and media – within each particular analysis since those three areas are key elements of the Saudi and Iranian soft-power toolkit. Multiple religious, educational, and media tools towards Yemen were detected in each case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The transition from teacher‐centred towards student‐centred approaches in English language teaching, accompanied by developments in educational technology, has attracted researchers' attention to reverse teaching or flipped class. The related literature asserts that this mode of instruction might influence instructors' and students' participation in the class. Objectives: To shed more light on the role of flipped class in affecting language learning strategies and skills, this study applied a sequential explanatory mixed‐methods approach to explore the impact of flipped class on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' writing metacognitive strategies and writing skills. Methods: Forty‐six intermediate EFL learners with an age range of 21–27, studying at a private language institute, were randomly divided into two groups of 23 learners. The two groups were randomly assigned to a flipped class, which received writing metacognitive strategies and writing skills through video clips before the class time, and a non‐flipped class, which received writing metacognitive strategies and writing skills in a conventional way during the class time. Results and Conclusions: The results revealed that both flipped and non‐flipped classes improved the EFL learners' writing metacognitive strategies, writing performance, writing content, and writing organisation. Furthermore, one‐way ANCOVA analyses indicated that the flipped class outperformed the non‐flipped class in writing metacognitive strategies, writing performance, writing content, and writing organisation. Thematic analyses, which were used to help analyse individual semi‐structured interviews, uncovered a number of categories and themes, signifying the flipped learners' positive perceptions towards the flipped class, such as enhancing motivation, self‐confidence, and writing collaboration. Implications: Pedagogical implications were discussed for flipping writing metacognitive strategies and writing skills. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic?: Metacognitive strategies, including planning, monitoring, and evaluation strategies, help English language learners become more successful writers.Writing skills, including writing content, writing organisation, and language use, help learners deal with collaborative writing activities effectively.Flipped class has been shown to be an effective mode of instruction to improve English language learners' language learning strategies and skills. What this paper adds?: Flipped class improves English language learners' writing metacognitive strategies, writing performance, writing content, and writing organisation.Flipped class is more effective than non‐flipped class in improving English language learners' writing metacognitive strategies and writing skills.English language learners' motivation, self‐confidence, and writing collaboration are increased as a result of the flipped writing course. Pedagogical implications: Writing metacognitive strategies and writing skills need to be flipped in English language contexts in order to free up time for more effective in‐class collaborative writing activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health systems around the world have their own unique challenges. Today, competence in clinical leadership is often seen as more important than clinical competence. Given the important role of physicians in health systems, how do they acquire clinical leadership competencies? In this research, valid scientific articles were reviewed for insight. Methods: In this research, databases including Science Direct, ProQuest, PubMed, SCOPUS, and Emerald, as well as Google Scholar, the Scientific Information Database, and Magiran for Iranian articles were searched for valid evidence-based English and Persian articles published between 2010 and 2018 using combination of keywords such as "physician," "leadership," and "competency" singly and in combination with the terms "AND" and "OR" as research strategy. Studies that focused on "physicians leadership competency" were selected. Search results were limited to the years 2010-2018. After reviewing the papers, 18 relevant articles were selected. Results: In the first phase, 350 articles were selected and after careful examination, 18 papers were approved at the final stage. It was found that education and leadership development courses are the most important factor for enhancing managerial competencies for physicians. It should be noted that the researchers found that in Iran research on competence in clinical leadership has also been less relevant than others. Conclusion: It is imperative that managers and planners of medical curricula design courses to develop management skills for physicians. In the post-graduate period, for physicians' continuing education, courses that address applied management and leadership should be identified and included in the continuing education curricula to address the real needs of the country's health systems. Leadership development programs can also be useful as projects to be modeled with the help of the world's top medical universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interview with former hostage William Keough reveals his perceptions of the political crisis and power structure in Iran, global education, and American schools. (WD)

The current study investigated the application and effectiveness of computer assisted language learning (CALL) in teaching academic writing to Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners by means of Microsoft Word Office. To this end, 44 sophomore intermediate university students majoring in English Language and Literature at an Iranian university who had enrolled in a course called Advanced Writing were randomly divided into two groups. As a pre-test, a pen-and-paper writing task was given to both groups at the beginning of the semester. The control group including 24 male and female students was taught based on traditional approach while the experimental group including 20 male and female students was taught based on CALL. At the end of one semester, a pen-and-paper writing task was given to both groups. The results of the post-test revealed that the students who were exposed to computer-based instruction outperformed their counterparts in terms of using appropriate articles, tense, plural forms and spelling. Moreover, the students in the experimental group produced paragraphs of higher quality. The findings of this study confirmed the efficacy of computer-based instruction in the development of EFL learners' writing skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper begins with a review of an emerging set of studies, combining a critical focus on reflective teacher development in developing educational contexts, and a greater level of authorial identification (as compared with previous studies) with the contexts being researched. Next, the paper adds to this emerging literature an analysis of a teacher development initiative in Iran, aimed at giving a group of experienced English-as-a-foreign-language writing teachers time to reflect on their practice. This analysis reveals some shaping influences that appear similar to influences observed in other developing contexts. At the same time, the analysis highlights particularities of this Iranian context. Consistent with findings in other contexts, the teachers’ reflections focused on their working conditions, but did not go very far beyond understanding the challenges these conditions constituted. The teachers also talked about their limited engagement with professional literature, and reflected on how this may have affected their ability to enact new practices. Despite these constraints, the teachers did raise their awareness of various aspects of policy and practice, they did challenge aspects of the hierarchical Iranian education system, and over time they appeared to develop a heightened sense of professional agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new economic reforms programme of the Government of Iran has created far reaching impact on the working of all the sectors of Iranian economy. Education is no exception to this. Educational and training institutions in private sector and those in collaboration with their counterparts in foreign countries have responded quickly and in the right manner to this trend in Iranian educational environment. This paper attempts to provide an approach to the answer by suggesting a marketing framework for DEPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides some arguments in the field of self efficacy of computer users in two universities of the province of Isfahan, Iran. The results of this argument come from a survey research that used a standard questionnaire previously validated in a number of other surveys. The data I have gathered are based on a survey that was done among 200 samples including male and female students. The paper uses descriptive data analysis to describe what the situation of samples is in terms of age, education and place of computer use. A larger part of analysis, however, is placed on examination of the research hypothesis. Some of the findings indicate that there is no significant correlation between computer self efficacy among male and female students. The findings also indicate that there is no correlation between self efficacy of students in Isfahan and Shahreza. My analysis, however, indicated that there is a direct by negative correlation between and age and computer self efficacy. This means as age increases the self-efficacy decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2010, the World Bank categorized countries by GDP (at Purchasing Power Parity) per capita (at constant 1990 prices) in three categories: low, middle (low and high), and high. If a country falls in a trap at least 28 years in the low middle income and at least 14 years in the high middle income group, then it is included in low and middle income groups, respectively. In this paper, using the experience of successful countries in avoiding the trap, we investigated the impact of investment, human capital, high-tech exports, total factor productivity, exports of goods and services, and the value added of service sectors on per capita GDP growth during 1991-2014, using panel data. Research findings in the literature indicated that in selected Asian countries, human capital and total factor productivity growth with positive and significant effects have the greatest impact on avoiding the trap. In the case of Iran, human capital and the total factor productivity growth have positive and significant effects on the economic growth, but such effects have not been so great to help escaping Iran’s economy from the middle- income trap. Therefore, Iran has remained in the middle- income trap over the past 58 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - To identify the impeders of strategy implementation in the higher education (HE) sector of Iran. Design/methodology/approach - A structured questionnaire was distributed to the academic staff from Iranian Universities. The questionnaire consisted of closed and open questions. Data were gathered from the major universities in different regions of the country. Findings - Major impeders towards strategy implementation in the HE sector of Iran are outlined and the nature of these impeders are explained and the relationships among them are explored. Research limitations/implications - The research, through the use of the structured questionnaire, delivered a set of generic impeders; however a detailed picture of implementation of strategies needs further investigation. Practical implications - Through the analysis of the most prevalent impeders, this paper informs Iranian academics about possibilities for change and improvement. Originality/value - The case of the HE sector development in Iran is something rarely dealt with in the literature; hence the paper fills this gap. Moreover, we look closely at the growth of research activities as the main strategy and indicate the impeders of strategy implementation in the HE of Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the place of English in Iran. To do this, we look at the social presence of English in Urmia (the capital of West Azerbaijan province, Iran). The paper draws on instances of the use of English in different contexts in Urmia, including its use in academia, business, state and private education, media, and people's ordinary lives. The idea of English in Iran is also investigated by studying a cohort of 115 English language learners’ motivations towards learning English as well as their attitudes towards the language. The results suggest that English has an active status in Urmia, alongside Turkish, Persian and Kurdish, and is regarded as an important international language among Iranians living in Urmia as well as one that accrues a number of social benefits to its users. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: The aim of this study was to review the interventional studies about educating existential concepts to the nurses working in cancer care. Materials and Methods: In this systematic narrative review, the papers published in English and Farsi databases of PubMed, Elsevier, web of since, Scopus, ProQuest, ERIC, Google Scholar and Ovid, MagIran and SID, from 1990 to 2018 were reviewed. Methodological quality of the studies was independently assessed by, using checklists developed by Greenhalgh, and Cochrane Center. No statistical pooling of the outcomes was performed, due to heterogeneity of the outcomes. Results: After wide search, the 17 studies entered to this narrative study. The results showed that educating the existential concept to the nurses dealing with cancer patients can improve their self-competency in providing efficient care to these patients and their ability in decision making. It also enhances their quality of life and decreases the death anxiety and emotional exhaustion. Conclusions: There were limited and low quality interventional studies about the effects of educating existential concepts to the nurses dealing with cancer patients. These studies showed that knowing this philosophy can help nurses to address caring needs of cancer patients more efficiently. The specific method or content of education cannot be recommended because of the large differences in the methodologies between the studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of the planned pre-electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) family teaching on depression, anxiety and stress of caregivers of patients with mental disorders receiving ECT. Design/methodology/approach: In this quasi-experimental study, 130 participants were randomized allocated into intervention or control groups. The planned family teaching program consisted of four 90 min sessions held during four weeks. Assessments occurred at pre-intervention (one week before the first session), and post-intervention (one months after the four session). Data were collected using demographic questionnaire and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Mean comparisons were performed using Student's t-test while effect sizes were estimated by Cohen's d coefficient. The significance level was considered less than 0.05. Findings: The mean scores of the depression, anxiety and stress levels in the intervention group were significantly reduced compared to the control group (p=0.001). Originality/value: The family pre-ECT teaching intervention and counseling decreased the depression, anxiety and stress level of family caregivers of patients with mental disorders receiving ECT and the maintenance of other favorable conditions at baseline. These results suggest that even a short-term educational intervention for family members of patients received ECT can improve emotional outcomes of treatment in the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Iranian howzevi (seminarian) have been key to the Islamic regime's development. This paper takes as its critical focus the branding of the howzevi as the unenlightened for their support of the regime. I take de Certeau's reading as poaching to look at how life scripts or ideologies failed to work through women's bodies. Drawing on fifteen months of fieldwork, I describe how they unsettled ideologies in their reading of de Maupassant's "Clair de Lune." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Falling was distinguished as leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries among elderly; there is a lack of information regarding the falling risk factors in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the falling risk and correlated factors in community-dwelling elderly.Design/methodology/approach This cross-sectional study was performed on 280 elderly using a multi-sectional questionnaire in Karaj, Iran. The simple stratified random sampling was used. Adult who were over the age of 60, living independently, able to ambulate independently and safely, no cognition problem and speaking in Persian entered in the study. Exclusion criteria were residing in assisted living facility or unwilling to participate. Several statistical tests including logistic regression analysis were used to analyse the data.Findings The mean age of participants was 69.55±8.82 and 51 per cent of them were female. The results showed that there are significant differences between low-, medium- and high-risk groups regarding age, marital status, diabetes, blood pressure and osteoarthritis (p<0.05). Due to finding, the main predictors to higher chance of falling were age (OR=1.61; 95% CI 1.025–1.097), marital status (OR=1.485; 95% CI 1.170–1.279), vision acuity (OR=1.603; 95% CI 1.297–2.223), activities of daily living (OR=2.10; 95% CI 1.047–3.859), heart disease (OR=1.448; 95% CI 1.268–1.728), osteoarthritis (OR=1.238; 95% CI 1.711–2.127), falling history (OR=1.026; 95% CI 1.015–1.089) and medication (OR=5.975; 95% CI 1.525–23.412).Practical implications Better understanding of falling risk factors can lead to the implementation of effective preventive intervention, thus reducing public health expenditure, and improving the quality of life.Originality/value This study was conducted for the first time to assess the risk of falling in older people in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the experiences of one of the authors teaching philosophy for children (P4C) in Iran, the paper asks whether respecting children's rationality, in the form of cultivating their ability and disposition to think critically, is in their best interest in an authoritarian context such as Iran. It argues that, in authoritarian contexts, respect for children's capacity for rational thought must be balanced with responsibility for their safety in their community. In other words, children's 'best interest' must consider children both as individuals and as members of communities. The paper proposes that P4C should be used not only to teach analytic critical thinking and foster a 'critical spirit,' but also to help students develop the practical wisdom to judge where, when, and how best to use these skills and dispositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can the desired culture of a dictatorial system be transmitted from one generation to another? The focus of dictators on children could be an answer. Factually in such a system, children are located in a value system which teaches them what to do or what not to do in purpose of being good for the political system since the very beginning of their lives. In Iran, the traditional educational system teaches children to act as adults; people who are able to discern which action is bad and which is good. The exceptions are usually the ones who deconstruct the cultural/political structure and begin to resist based on their agencies. In the present paper, we argue the process of education (formal and informal) in Iran based on two sets of material cultural remains. The first is the Qajar (nineteenth- and early twentieth-century photos of children) and the second is the school compositions of 19 students found in the bag of a teacher who died in the devastating earthquake of Bam in 2003, in South Eastern Iran. The bag was found during a contemporary archaeological project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While economic sanctions are successful in achieving political goals, they can hurt the civilian population. These negative effects could be even more detrimental and long lasting for future generations. This study estimates the effects of economic sanctions on children's education by exploiting the United Nations sanctions imposed on Iran in 2006. Using the variation in the strength of sanctions across industries and difference-in-differences with synthetic control analyses, this study finds that the sanctions decreased children's total years of schooling by 0.1 years and the probability of attending college by 4.8 percentage points. Moreover, households reduced education spending by 58 percent—particularly on school tuition. These effects are larger for children who were exposed to the sanctions for longer. The results imply that sanctions have a larger effect on the income of children than their parents. Therefore, ignoring the effects of sanctions on future generations significantly understates their total economic costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Middle Eastern Studies / Ortadoğu Etütleri is the property of Turkmen Cooperation & Cultural Foundation Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study aimed at bringing together the notions of language play and focus on form (FonF) through a cross-sectional investigation of playful language-related episodes (PLREs). PLREs, as a remarkably under-explored aspect of second language (L2) learners' focus on form, peer interaction and language play, were analyzed in an Iranian EFL context with 86 learners at elementary, intermediate and advanced level of L2 competence. The analysis of 46 hours of the participants' group interaction implied the facilitative role of L2 competence in the linguistic scope of PLREs. Different categories of PLREs also showed (slight) proficiency-based variations. The elementary learners, for instance, seemed more inclined to instigate pragmatic PLREs than formal ones. In this paper, major findings of the study are discussed in light of learners' L2 competence. Elaborating on this pivotal notion, I conclude the paper with a note on the pervasiveness of PLREs, ideas for more investment in L2 play and suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pedagogy Studies / Pedagogika is the property of Vytautas Magnus University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Evidence-based nursing (EBN) is an approach to make effective clinical decisions based upon personal clinical expertise and patient preferences and values in combination with the most current and relevant research and evidence available on the topic. This approach uses the evidence-based practice (EBP) as a foundation. In spite of extensive training in EBN for nursing students in Iran, appropriate articles have not been summarized suitably as to EBN's effectiveness. The present study aimed to systematically review the effectiveness of EBN education on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of nursing students in Iran. Methods: For a systematic review on the topic, different searching methods were applied by searching on the following key words: training, learning, evidence-based nursing, nursing education in B.A. course, nursing students, workshop, knowledge, attitudes, skills, Iran. Their English equivalents were included. Databases that were searched included SID, Magiran, Medlib, Iranmedex, PubMed, Google Scholar, and CINAHL. We included studies that had recruited undergraduate nursing students, articles that had the key words in the titles, all studies conducted in Persian and English up to 2016, and the studies which used at least one educational intervention for evidence-based teaching. Results: Based on the results of automated and manual database searches of over 313 papers, 143 articles were eliminated by studying their titles based on not reporting teaching EBM to undergraduate nursing students, and 160 articles were removed based on content. In all, eight articles were related to the topic of the present study, indicating that EBN education promotes knowledge, attitudes, and skills of nursing students. Conclusion: This study found that EBN educational methods can promote knowledge, attitudes and skills in undergraduate nursing students, but the review does not reach a conclusion as to the advisability of one strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Teachers' writing proficiency and writing assessment ability and their role in improving writing instruction in second language learning classrooms are issues that have not been investigated empirically and rigorously. To bridge the gap, we investigated the writing proficiency, writing assessment ability, and written corrective feedback beliefs and practices of Iranian English teachers who gave feedback on learners' writings. Methods: To this end, 103 Iranian teachers who had the experience of writing instruction and assessment in their classrooms completed two writing tasks, assessed and gave feedback on two writing tasks, and responded to a researcher-made questionnaire inspecting their feedback beliefs and practices and research interest. Results: The data analysis showed that the teachers' writing proficiency did not satisfy the expectations and standards. Their writing assessment ability was also not accurate. Moreover, the data obtained from the questionnaire indicated that the teachers mostly gave unfocused direct written corrective feedback; they did not use technology in writing instruction; and most of them did not ask the learners to revise the texts which received feedback. Furthermore, the results showed that a majority of the teachers did not study the research papers because they did not have time and lacked access to the journals. Conclusions: As the findings of this study showed, more research is needed to improve the quality of writing instruction in Iranian classroom context. More research seems necessary especially in different contexts to come up with practical suggestions for teachers who give WCF on their students' writing and assess and grade writing. These are critical issues that merit investigation in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the impact of an asynchronous online discussion forum on the development of students' ability in and attitudes toward writing in English. Two groups of third-year students (N = 60) majoring in English were assigned to two treatment and control groups, each receiving different types of feedback. Students in the treatment group were required to participate in an online learning environment and exchange feedback with their peers, whereas students in the control group received the traditional face-to-face feedback provided by the teacher. The results of a pre-test, a post-test, and a survey revealed that students' writing in the treatment group significantly improved, both semantically and syntactically, and they expressed more positive attitudes toward writing. The findings also indicated that as a result of engaging in the asynchronous online discussion forum and exchanging feedback with peers, students exhibited more control over their work, involved more effectively with the learning tasks, collaborated more with their classmates, and employed self-assessment strategies to independently revise or rewrite their work. The implications of the study offer guidelines to improve and facilitate writing skill in EFL contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The conditions caused by the spread of COVID-19 have compelled higher education to make new efforts in the education system to prepare new routes and new openings in the post-COVID era to avoid any disruption and reduce costs. In this regard, this study has considered the challenges of Iranian higher education institutions in the post-COVID era. The research approach was qualitative and phenomenological, and then, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 samples from two groups of chief executive officers and faculty members. The thematic content analysis method was used to analyze the qualitative data. The results showed four possible challenges in Iranian higher education institutions, which indicate the fact that it is necessary for universities' management in the post-COVID era to be prepared to advance its goals, and to prioritize the review of education, research, and executive methods, based on the circumstances. In the four challenges, this study improves current knowledge regarding university management in the post-COVID era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The current convention for treatment of children with myelomeningocele (MMC) is timely surgical intervention combined with long-term follow-up by a multidisciplinary specialized team. This study aims to investigate the outcomes of MMC patients treated at Namazi Hospital. Methods: All children presenting to Namazi Hospital with myelomeningocele between May 2001 and August 2020 were eligible for this study. For those with a documented telephone number, follow-up phone surveys with the patient's caregivers, on top of the review of the medical documents were carried out to assess mortality, morbidities, and the functional outcome of the care provided to them. Results: A total of 125 patients were studied (62 females). All of the patients were followed up for a mean duration of 6.28 years (range 1–23 years). The majority were located in the lumbosacral area. All of the patients underwent postnatal surgical intervention for MMC in Namazi Hospital. Mean age at surgery was 9.51 days. There were statistically significant differences between urinary and bowel incontinence and presence of scoliosis, MMT grading of the lower limbs, school attendance, number of readmissions, and requirement of laminectomy at the initial surgical intervention. Conclusions: This study is the first to characterize the long-term outcomes of MMC patients in Iran. This study illustrates that there is a great need for improved access to and coordination of care in antenatal, perioperative, and long-term stages to improve morbidity and mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Teaching inhaler techniques to nursing students is crucial. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of simulation-based education on patient training correct inhaler technique in nursing students. Methods: This is a single-blind, randomized controlled trial in which nursing students are randomly allocated into two groups of control (n = 41) and intervention (n = 40). The students' mean score of correct inhaler technique was measured before and one week after intervention, using checklists of inhaler techniques. Results: The mean score of control group was significantly lower than the intervention group (p <.001). The results also revealed that there was no significant difference in students' level of confidence regarding the ability to educate patients on inhaler techniques before the intervention, while all students were shown to have higher levels of confidence in this term after the intervention. Conclusions: Simulation is an effective way to train nursing students in the correct inhaler techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have had an increasing trend globally during the last two decades. They are emerging as flexible and complementary tools in open education. Nevertheless, their development demands substantial resources, and challenges persist in effectively involving faculty. This study aimed to explore the factors influencing MOOCs development based on e-learning experts' perspectives within the Iranian universities of medical sciences. Methods: This qualitative research was conducted in 2022 using the content analysis method. Purposeful sampling was used to select experts authorized in e-learning within Iranian medical sciences universities with at least two years of experience. Sampling continued until data saturation (n: 15). Data was collected using a semi-structured interview administered through online written approaches. Thematic analysis techniques were applied, involving the identification of codes. The data was analyzed at the level of open coding (items), axial coding (components), and selective coding (concepts) in a round-trip process. Results: Thematic analysis resulted in 28 codes, 12 themes, and 4 categories. Influential factors on MOOCs development and engagement included: 1) structural factors (rules/regulations, clarity, structure); 2) human resources (empowerment, support, attitude, motivation); 3) cultural factors (symbols, unity); and 4) political factors (equity, participation, and negotiation, profit). Conclusion: The development of successful MOOCs programs encompasses various factors, including cultural, human resource, political, and structural elements to empower and actively engage faculty members in MOOCs. Restructuring may be required regarding the multivariable changes to consider open, online education as a part of innovative educational pathways in universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The mean age at marriage of Iranian women increased by three years between the mid-1980s and 2000 during a period of great socio-economic change, particularly affecting the 1971-1975 and 1976-1980 birth cohorts. This paper analyses the marriage timing and life course experience of these cohorts of women and highlights the contribution that ethnicity and changes in the socio-economic context made to the sharp marriage delay experienced by the 1976-1980 birth cohort. A discrete time hazard model is applied to the 2000 Iran Demographic and Health Survey data, which are linked to a range of time-varying district-level contextual variables created from the 1986 and 1996 Iranian censuses. The findings suggest that the marriage postponement experienced by the younger birth cohort is related to improvements in women's education and can partly be explained by the increased opportunity costs of marriage, which resulted from limited access to education after marriage. The findings also suggest that differences in marriage timing between areas predominated by certain ethnic groups became less evident for the younger birth cohort. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study wants to investigate the role of English Language Teaching and Learning in Iran. This study also wants to investigate the effect of the relationship between the language learning strategies of the students and language teaching strategies of teachers on the academic achievement of the students. The importance of English as a world language, the advance of technology and education reform envisaged by the new Constitution are key determinants for new developments for English language teaching and learning in Iran in this decade. This paper will first focus on the role of English and the problems of English language teaching in Iran. It will also touch on the part of education reform which is related to English language teaching. Then, it will state what has been planned or already done to improve the English language teaching and learning situation in Iran, now and in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on a study designed to find out the information needs of nomadic students in Iran in order to present a library service model to meet their needs. The results show that the preferred information format of the majority of students was print, especially books. Most of the students stated that they were in need of cultural and medical non-educational books. The study led to improved and expanded library services for respondents who are deprived of such services, including audiovisual services, extending the book collection, loaning books, advertising books and other publications, reference services, technical services and providing needed information to them. The paper presents for the first time a model for providing library services for nomadic students. Both practitioners and researchers in the nomadic library services domain will benefit from the synthesis offered in this paper, as it puts together convergent views on what nomadic students currently need. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To bring attention to medical ethics and to enhance the quality of health care in Iran, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education has introduced a strategic plan for medical ethics at a national level. This plan was developed through the organization and running of workshops in which experts addressed important areas related to medical ethics. They analysed strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and outlined a vision, a mission and specific goals and essential activities surrounding medical ethics. The current strategic plan has six main goals that will be reviewed in this paper. Some major activities that were carried out in recent years, and some future plans, will be also reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: E-learning and virtual university in the recent years have been among the important applications of information and communication technology in the world, and most famous universities in the field of education development have taken important steps in this regard. For as much as the importance of learning and development in every community and to keep pace with global developments in the field of learning and teaching, becoming familiar with this area and its implementation is necessary. Purpose: The present research aimed to describe the quantity and quality of publication trends of E-learning based on Scopus reports. Methods: This study was conducted on 23805 documents on E-learning published through 2013. The results were analyzed based on date of publication, type of documents, language of the documents, source of publications, subject areas, authors and their affiliations, and the countries involved in developing the articles. Citation indicators formed the second phase of investigation in the present study. Results: With a negligible amount of fluctuation, the number of publications on E-learning has increased steadily over years, with the greatest number occurring in 2012. In Iran, the first article to be found on E-learning belongs to 2002 and the greatest number of articles was related to 2012 (47 documents, 24.6%). Data analysis based on document types indicated that out of the 23805 documents, 11336 (48%) were conference papers and 9548 (40%) were articles. In Iran also, among the 191 documents under study, 92 (48.16%) were conference papers and articles. Moreover, 23077 documents (97%) were published in English and the rest were presented in other languages. The largest number of documents belonged to the United States (6238 documents, 38%), and Shih from Taiwan was the most prolific author. Thematically, the greatest number of documents was produced in computer sciences (11659 documents, 35%). Besides, the largest number of documents was published in lecture notes in computer sciences followed by computers and education. The most cited articles from 1996 up to 2013 included 20 documents on the H-index zone. According to the results, from early 1996 to 2013 (when the data were retrieved), the 23411 documents had received a total of 69939 citations. In Iran, the 191 documents had received a total of 241 citations, implying an average of 1.2 citations per document. Conclusion: The steady growth in publishing E-learning in this period has apparently coincided with development of E-learning. In Iran, however, we witnessed a slow growth in production in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Education is a human right and access to high quality education is key to sustainable socioeconomic development. Improving the quality of higher education institutes is essential for generating the productive human resources. Assessing the quality of higher education from the students' perspective can be considered a crucial factor in the monitoring of service quality in universities. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of educational services in a higher education institute, the Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), in the west of Iran. Design/methodology/approach - A multistage sampling method was used to select 346 students from the KUMS, who were enrolled in the second semester of the academic year 2015-2016. The SERVQUAL questionnaire was used to gather data on students' perceptions and their expectations about the quality of educational services. The authors used a statistical significance level of 0.05 to examine the gap between the students' expectations and their perceptions of service quality in five dimensions, namely tangibles, responsiveness, reliability, empathy and assurance. Findings - The results showed that there was a negative service quality gap in all five dimensions. The overall mean score of students' expectations and their perceptions was 3.19 ± 0.44 and 2.4 ± 0.45, respectively. The score gap between the overall mean score of perceptions and expectations of students was -0.79, which was statistically significant (po0.0001). The highest and lowest quality gaps were related to the assurance (-0.84) and tangible (-0.70) dimensions, respectively. Originality/value - The study indicated that the quality of educational services provided in the KUMS did not meet students' expectations in five dimensions of service quality. Thus, it warrants further investigations to determine how to improve the quality of educational services in higher education institutes such as the KUMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet and Social media is a ubiquitous phenomenon affecting many areas of life, including education. From various disciplines have used some forms of social media in their personal as well as professional lives, the English Language Teaching (ELT) teachers are no exception. Many studies on the area have been conducted such as those reviewed by Inayati (2013), and Tess (2013). However, despite the fact that Iran is among the high users of a number of social media, such study in Iran is still scarcely found in International journals. Therefore, this paper addresses the issue by studying how Iranian ELT teachers perceive social media in relation to their teaching as well as their general attitudes towards this type of media. A number of ELT teachers in recent popular social media (telegram, whatsapp) were surveyed with regards to their attitude and perception of social media use in teaching English. Analysis of the survey results showed that generally, the participants indicated positive attitude towards the employment of social media in ELT. In addition, most participants also showed high awareness of the educative potentials offered by social media in ELT practices, and several factors which could potentially hinder the actual use of social media were also identified. Some implications were drawn based on the findings of the study, some of which are related to the aspect of education management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explored the effect of a pedagogical blog on Iranian EFL learners' creative and critical thinking skills using a mixed-methods approach. In the pedagogical blog, the researchers asked learners divergent and evaluative questions based on Lindley's model (1993). The quantitative data were collected by administering Creativity Test Questionnaire (ATC) and the Persian version of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test and were analyzed using SPSS Version 16.0 software. The qualitative data consisted of the posts written by the participants of the study in the class blog and were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that the pedagogical blog significantly improved the participants' creative and critical thinking skills, which were represented in their posts by the main themes of fluency, elaboration, and flexibility as components of divergent thinking and inference, evaluation, induction, and reconstruction as features of open and active critical thinking skills. Further findings and implications are discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study was to assess the effects of doodling on the learning performance of high school female students in Tehran. The design of this research was a pre-test-post-test with a control group. A group of 169 junior high school 12-13 year-old students was chosen for this study. After being taught a section of the Natural Science course, the students were asked to answer questions related to the lessons. After that, their grades were used as the pre-test scores. The post-test was carried out after the devised treatment. During ten sessions of the same course and teacher, the students were each given a blank sheet of paper and were asked for doodling if they felt like doing it. After each session, a couple of relevant written questions were asked to evaluate how well students had learned the lessons. The experiment and control group both consisted of 27 randomly selected students; participants in the experiment group were doodlers and those in the control group did not doodle. To evaluate the doodling effect a t-test analysis was performed. Comparison of the grades showed that the experiment group outperformed the control group significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many parts of the world, higher education has increased female chances of paid work and reduced the economic benefits of marriage. In Iran, however, female labour force participation has remained in low rates despite considerable improvements in female education. In the absence of direct economic benefits of education for women, this paper uses data from the 2009 Time Use Survey, representing urban areas of Iran, to explore another pathway of the impact of education on transition to marriage. It is postulated that female education can lead to later marriage by changing women’s role priorities, at least in two ways. While enrolment in education is time-consuming and incompatible with requirements of marital life, higher education can increase the chances and desire for engagement in alternatives to the roles related to marriage. The findings provide partial support for both explanations. These findings not only deepen our understanding about differentials in the time use and the potential pathway of the impact of female education on marriage, but also provide important information for policy makers who are concerned with marital and fertility behaviours of the large cohort of young educated women in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 outbreak, the ongoing pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019, has become a clinical threat worldwide. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of educational intervention, based on the health belief model (HBM), on adopting COVID-19 preventive behaviors in clients referring to urban health centers in Zabol City, Iran. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on clients referring to urban health centers in Zabol City (Southeast of Iran) in 2021. A total of 160 participants (80 each in the intervention group and the control group) were selected using the convenience sampling approach. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire was completed by all participants before and one month after the educational intervention. The educational intervention was conducted using an educational program based on the HBM for 4 weeks. The intervention was performed during 8 sessions of face-to-face interactions in the classroom (two 1 hour sessions per week). The statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS software, version 22. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), t-test, and paired t-test. The P was considered 0.05 in this study. Results: The mean age of participants in the intervention and control groups was 35.0±12.34 and 33.87±11.33 years. The mean score of awareness, perceived sensitivity, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived self-efficacy, and COVID-19 prevention behaviors significantly increased one month after the intervention (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results indicated the effectiveness of educational intervention based on HBM on COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Therefore, it is recommended that health centers employ educational intervention programs based on this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: It seems that education focusing on the perceived threat is effective in informing people about water scarcity. Therefore, due to the position of educated people as role models in society, the present study aimed to assess the effect of education based on the perceived threat on water conservation behavior of students of Behbahan Faculty of Medical Sciences. Material & Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 62 operating room students of Behbahan Faculty of Medical Science in the academic year of 2017- 2018, selected via multistage random sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire assessing demographic characteristics, perceived threats, and water conservation behavior which was completed by students before the intervention. Thereafter, written and visual messages based on the perceived threat were prepared and presented in PowerPoint format with the cooperation of professors for four sessions in the last minutes of the classroom, and an opportunity was given for group discussion and exchange of opinions. In addition, message posters were installed in appropriate places, such as restrooms, and were sent to students using the SMS system. Two months later, the questionnaires were completed again. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 15) using the Paired t-test, Covariance analysis, and Pearson correlation coefficient. A p-value less than 0<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of participants was 20.61±1.32 years. There were 32 (51.6%) female and 30 (48.4%) male students. Before the training, the mean water conservation behaviors, susceptibility, and severity scores were 47.98±16.36, 61.74±21.23, and 59.03±21.09, respectively. After training, the aforementioned mean scores increased significantly to 77.55±14.59, 86±0.54, and 83.38±8.53, and there was a significant relationship between the variables (P<0.05). Discussion & Conclusion: The education caused an increase in students' perceived threat to the water shortage crisis and promoted water conservation behavior. It is suggested that similar studies be carried out in other groups to check the generalizability of the results at the community level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research in the areas of processing and production of plants applied in pharmacology and pharmacy is one of the oldest cultural and scientific characteristics of Iranians. A look at the mythology of Shahnameh and history of Iran shows that the scientific infrastructure of ancient pharmacology began in ancient Iran. After the introduction of Islam to Iran, it gradually developed among Iranian scientists, and using plant treatments became institutionalized in popular culture. The prophetic hadith about the characteristics of Iranian scholarship is a decisive evidence of this fact. The recently published papers about Iranian herbal medicines effective in the treatment and prevention of diseases were searched. The extended use of herbal products and the widespread and unsparing nature of Iran with all its varieties of climate, especially the use of medicinal plants and modern herbal medicines, and the brilliant achievements of scientists from the distant past until now has motivated the Minister of Health and Medical Education in this respect. Thus, the processing and utilization of herbal medicines and efforts in innovation and offering useful drugs is increasing every day. It is clear that any development of quantity in this regard should necessarily be in pace with quality improvement, consider the new horizons of knowledge and research, and obey the highest international scientific standards and recognized values confirmed by the international scientific society. It is hoped that this pharmacopeia, which is based on the international guidelines and standards and represents the high level of quality of herbal medicines produced in the country, be considered by the medical community and have a beneficial and crucial role in the promotion of public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Female sex workers (FSWs) are the second most affected population by HIV in Iran. However, their HIV testing practices are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate testing and its associated factors among HIV negative FSWs. Materials and Methods: Using facility based sampling, 1005 FSWs were recruited in 14 cities of Iran in 2010. Biological and survey data were collected through dried blood spot testing and standardized risk assessment questionnaire, respectively. In this paper, the prevalence of HIV testing and its correlates were explored among 714 HIV-negative FSWs using descriptive statistics and logistic regression models. Results: Overall 65.4% had not tested in the past year. Only 27.5% had tested in the past year and received their results. FSWs who perceived themselves at risk of HIV (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 8.35, 95% CI: 1.46, 47.6), had received free condom during past year (AOR = 3.90, 95% CI: 1.67, 9.14), started sex work at an older age (AOR18–24 = 2.83, 95% CI: 1.14, 7.0; AOR >24 = 2.76, 95% CI: 1.11, 6.84), and knew an HIV testing site (AOR = 5.67, 95% CI: 2.60, 12.4) had a significantly higher chance of having a recent HIV test result. Conclusions: Less than one third of FSWs in Iran knew their recent HIV status. Interventions to help FSWs evaluate their potential risk for HIV and integrate HIV testing services in condom distribution programs, could be viable strategies in increasing HIV testing uptake among FSWs. Health policy makers should also try to de-stigmatize HIV testing, identify the barriers to HIV testing, and make HIV testing sites more visible to FSWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the level of resistance to change in implementation of total quality management (TQM) in Iranian schools and investigate the influence of principals’ and teachers’ gender and years of experience on resistance to change. Design/methodology/approach – This study presents the results of survey research carried out in Iran. The participants of this study are secondary school principals and teachers. The researchers employed descriptive analysis on data collected. Independent sample t-test was used to determine the difference in resistance to change based on teachers and principals gender, and one-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis H-test were applied to determine the difference in resistance of teachers and principals based on years of experience. Findings – The researchers found that the level of resistance to change in Iranian schools is medium; the most important factor for resistance to change is confidence in the status quo. Gender has an effect on resistance to change only for teachers. Years of experience do not have an effect on resistance to change. Originality/value – The study identifies some useful points for school’s principals and teachers to implementation of TQM in school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies the amount of variance in mathematics achievement in high- and low-achieving schools that can be explained by school-level factors, while controlling for student-level factors. The data were obtained from 2679 Iranian eighth graders who participated in the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Of the total sample, 1422 and 1257 students were from high- and low-achieving schools, respectively. Two-level hierarchical linear modelling was applied. The results indicated that of the total variance in mathematics achievement, 27.95 and 6.70% were due to between-school differences in the high- and low-achieving schools, respectively. Controlling for the school-level factors, the better-performing students were those with a higher level of confidence in learning mathematics in both samples. After controlling for the student-level factors, inadequacies in school resources and school type yielded the strongest link to achievement in the high- and low-achieving schools, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]