Journal of University Studies

Journal of University Studies

of establishing modern educational institutions in Iran during Qajar: An insight into the establishment and collapse of Anjoman-e MĀREF before the Constitutional Revolution

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Author
R. Samim
Associate Professor of Sociology, Institute for Cultural, Social and Civilization Studies
10.22035/jous.2023.5020.1034
Abstract
The history of new schools in Iran during the Qajar era goes back to the Constitutional Revolution that took place between 1905 and 1911. Many scholars believe that all those schools can be considered examples of modern educational institutions. But taking into account the theoretical-historical-sociological approach, the present article tries to show that not all those schools that emerged prior to the Constitutional Revolution can be called modern educational institutions. For that reason, the author argues that Dar al-Fonun that was founded the royal vizier to Nasereddin Shah and deemed as the first school was in fact not a modern educational institution because it was neither run autonomously nor did it provide equal opportunities for all in terms of education. The paper tries to explain that the possibility of establishing academic institutions, in general, and modern ones, in particular, in Iran required some kind of constitutional and legal change. In other words, a sign of change could be seen more than a decade after the establishment of Dar al-Fonun. The article concludes that this development eventually led to foundation of institutions such as Anjoman-e MĀREF. Despite its short life, Anjoman-e MĀREF was run in the style of a modern institution and played key role in popularizing education and hence, became a model for establishing modern educational institutions in later years.
Keywords
modern educational institutions
Qajar Era
Dar al-Fonun
Anjoman-e MĀREF
Ehtesham Al-Saltaneh

Subjects

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Journal of University Studies
Volume 1, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
Winter 2023
Winter 2023
Pages 23-44

  • Receive Date 06 August 2022
  • Revise Date 26 September 2022
  • Accept Date 23 October 2022