Journal of Research in Educational Systems

Abstract The present study aimed to develop and test a causal model to explain wisdom in first-cycle high school students, based on the role of metacognition, resilience, and academic well-being with the mediation of emotional intelligence. Methods: This study was descriptive-correlational and based on structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of all first-cycle high school students in Tehran during the 2025-2026 academic year. Using multi-stage cluster sampling, 408 students were selected as the sample. Data were collected using standardized questionnaires of wisdom, emotional intelligence, metacognition, resilience, and academic well-being and analyzed with SPSS and AMOS software using path analysis and the bootstrap method. Results: The findings indicated that the proposed model had a desirable fit. All direct paths from metacognition, resilience, and academic well-being to emotional intelligence and wisdom were significant. The strongest direct effect on wisdom was related to resilience (β=0.29), followed by academic well-being (β=0.21) and metacognition (β=0.16). Furthermore, bootstrap analysis confirmed the full mediating role of emotional intelligence in the relationship between all three independent variables (metacognition, resilience, academic well-being) and the dependent variable (wisdom). Conclusion: Consequently, the findings confirm that adolescents' wisdom in the school context results from the dynamic interaction of higher-order cognitive factors (metacognition), positive adaptive capacities (resilience), and emotional-cognitive perceptions of the learning environment (academic well-being). Emotional intelligence plays a pivotal role as a vital processing mechanism in converting these resources into wise judgment and insight. These results practically emphasize the necessity of designing and implementing integrated educational programs in middle schools.

Abstract Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Student Parental Self-Regulation Scale.
Method: The present research method was descriptive and psychometric. The statistical population of the research was all parents of elementary school students in District 1 of Ardabil city in the academic year 2025-2026, from which a sample of 220 people was selected by random sampling method and they responded to the Parental Self-Regulation Scale (Sanders et al., 2017), Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale (Dumka et al., 1996), and Parental Burnout Questionnaire (Roskam et al., 2018). Internal consistency, concurrent validity, and confirmatory factor analysis were used to analyze the data. The data were analyzed using SPSS26 and Amos24 software.
Results: The results of the internal consistency coefficient showed that this scale has adequate reliability (α=0.91). The results of the correlation coefficient showed that the significant positive relationship between the two variables of parental self-regulation and parenting self-efficacy (r=0.54, P<0.01) indicates appropriate convergent validity and the significant negative correlation coefficient between the two variables of parental self-regulation and parental burnout (r=-0.42, P<0.01) indicates appropriate divergent validity. The fit indices of the confirmatory factor analysis model also confirmed the final model of this scale (P<0.001).
Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the Persian version of the Student Parent Self-Regulation Scale has adequate validity and reliability in Iranian parents and is a suitable scale for clinical and research situations.

Abstract Objective: Teaching practicum, as the core of teacher education, faces structural and operational challenges. This study aimed to identify these challenges and to develop a context-based model for improving practicum quality at Farhangian University (the PICS model).
Method: This qualitative study used inductive thematic analysis. Fifteen participants (university instructors, mentor teachers, and student teachers) were selected via purposive sampling with maximum variation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase framework. Trustworthiness was ensured using Lincoln and Guba’s (1985) criteria, member checking, and peer debriefing.
Results: Twelve subthemes and four main themes emerged: lack of flexible/realistic planning, weak structured Inspection and professional interaction, inadequate educational/technological infrastructure, and absence of a valid multi-level assessment system. Inductively, these challenges were transformed into four components Planning, Inspection, Infrastructure, and Comprehensive Assessment forming the PICS model. Each component is grounded in Kolb’s experiential learning, Schön’s reflective practice, Shulman’s pedagogical content knowledge, and Wenger’s communities of practice.
Conclusions: The PICS model, by integrating flexible planning, mentoring-based inspection, enriched infrastructure, and multi-level assessment, offers a context-sensitive framework for practicum enhancement. Its effectiveness, however, requires further field validation.

Abstract Objective: Quiet quitting is an emerging phenomenon in organizational behavior where employees merely perform the minimum defined job duties and refrain from any voluntary and extra-role behaviors. This study aimed to qualitatively analyze the antecedents, manifestations, and consequences of the quiet quitting phenomenon among faculty members of public universities in Iran.
Method: This research employed a qualitative approach using thematic analysis. The research field was public universities in Tehran, Iran. Participants included 18 faculty members who were selected through purposive and snowball sampling. The data collection tool was semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data analysis followed the six-step procedure of Braun and Clarke (2006),
Results: The findings were organized into three categories of overarching themes. Regarding antecedents, four overarching themes were identified including "structural/policy contexts", "university governance and management", "cultural/interpersonal climate", and "individual/psychological factors". Regarding manifestations, five overarching themes emerged including minimalism in educational, research, and service roles, impression management, and cold/self-protective interaction patterns. Regarding consequences, four overarching themes were extracted at individual, educational, organizational, and macro/systemic levels.
Conclusions: Consequently, quiet quitting in public universities is a multi-causal and complex phenomenon rooted in the interplay of structural, managerial, cultural, and individual factors. This phenomenon, while weakening the professional identity of faculty members, reduces the quality of teaching and research, and in the long term, endangers the fundamental missions of the university. Redesigning the evaluation system, reducing bureaucracy, strengthening organizational justice, and empowering university leaders are among the most important strategies for preventing and managing this phenomenon.

Abstract Objective: This research was conducted with the aim of identifying and explaining the harms caused by educational poverty and its consequences on educational equity and development.
Method: Applied, based on a qualitative approach, and conducted using the thematic analysis method. The participant community included education managers and specialists in educational sciences, who were selected through purposive sampling based on the principle of theoretical saturation. Thus, 13 individuals participated in the data collection process. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the thematic analysis pattern at three levels: basic, organizing, and overarching themes. To enhance the validity and reliability of the results, strategies such as participant review, peer assessment, and the use of external observers were employed.
Results: The research findings led to the identification of 50 basic themes and 25 organizing themes, which were categorized into five overarching themes: “Infrastructural and Environmental Inequalities,” “Educational Deprivation,” “Inequality in Learning Quality and Lack of Skills,” “Weak Human and Managerial Capital,” and “Psychological and Social Problems.” Furthermore, factors influencing the formation and continuation of educational poverty were identified across four dimensions: economic, social, managerial, and structural. Subsequently, a set of strategies for reducing educational poverty was presented in four general categories: “Data-Driven Management and Optimal Resource Allocation,” “Strategic Human Resource Empowerment,” “Targeted Compensatory-Social Interventions,” and “Strengthening Family and Community Participation.”

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to identify and prioritize the factors, criteria, and indicators for evaluating the teaching quality of faculty members of the Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran.
Method: This study was conducted with a mixed exploratory design in two qualitative and quantitative parts from 2023 to 2025. In the qualitative part, a framework consisting of factors, criteria, and indicators was identified through semi-structured interviews with 22 students and using the Diekelmann’s seven-stage method. In the quantitative part, a researcher-made questionnaire was developed based on the qualitative findings and completed by 320 students. Quantitative data were analyzed using the Friedman test for prioritization.
Results: In the qualitative section, 71 indicators were identified in the form of 16 criteria and 5 main factors (educational, communicative, individual professor, individual student, and environmental-organizational). In the quantitative section, the "individual teacher" factor has the highest priority, while the "environmental-organizational" factor was ranked the lowest. The most important criteria are “professor attitude,” “professor’s specialized capabilities,” and “professor-student communication.” The most important indicators identified were, in order: “professor’s availability and timely response,” “compliance with assessment principles and standards,” and “link between teaching and research.”
Conclusions: From the students' perspective, the quality of teaching depends on the individual, professional, and communicative characteristics of the professor. Developing a local evaluation system can greatly help improve the quality of teaching.

Abstract Purpose: This study comparatively analyzes transformations in Iranian higher education across the Pahlavi and Islamic Republic eras, charting its evolution from an instrumental to a strategic development framework.
Method: Employing a comparative-analytical approach with documentary-archival methodology, data were synthesized from official documents, legislative acts, and national reports concerning governance, student enrollment, and scientific output. Analysis integrated historical-institutional comparison with qualitative content analysis.
Findings: Results indicate that while Pahlavi-era higher education prioritized instrumental goals—supplying administrative and technical manpower for the modern state—the Islamic Republic era is defined by quantitative expansion, institutional diversification, and substantial growth in postgraduate education and scientific output. This reflects a strategic reorientation toward endogenous knowledge production and social equity, though critical challenges remain regarding quality enhancement and qualitative disparities.
Conclusion: Iranian higher education is transitioning toward a strategic model characterized by structural diversification and expanded research infrastructure. However, empirical evidence suggests an ongoing institutional evolution rather than a fully consolidated paradigm shift. Consolidating this transition requires enhancing educational quality, reconfiguring institutional functions, and systematically aligning academic outputs with societal and industrial requirements.