A Comparative Study of Arts Education Curriculum of Primary Schools in Iran and Canada

The rationale for conducting this study was based on an interdisciplinary approach between art and curriculum. The main purpose of this study is to examine Iranian and Canadian primary arts education curricula based on four components: Goals, content, teaching methods and evaluation methods. The research method was comparative, using Bereday’s four-step approach. The strategy of sample selection is “different systems, different results”. Data were collected using information in official government databases, books, and publications, that were analyzed based on John Stuart Mill’s agreement/difference method. The findings revealed significant similarities and differences between the primary schools’ arts education curricula in Iran and Canada. The similaritieswere found to be based on the goals and the differences mainly in the content of curriculum. Regarding the goals, although both countries have used their national cultural backgrounds in formulating the goals, Canada also has considered the native and folk culture in development of the curriculum. Furthermore, in Canada, the emphasis is on awareness of inner emotions as a prerequisite for the production of art. From content aspect, dance and music education is not included in the Iran’s arts education curriculum, and in Canada, the storytelling falls under the category of drama. As to the teaching methods, inviting artists to teach art is not conventional in Iran’s education, but in Canada, artists teach art alongside teachers. Moreover, the purpose of artseducation evaluation in Canada is to improve learning, while in Iran, the measure of learning ability is generally considered.