مطالب

Purpose: One of the methods of curriculum design is based on the positive education approach. Therefore, the aim of this study was to design and validate a curriculum model based on the positive education approach in Iran's secondary education. Methodology: This study was applied and mixed-methods in terms of objective and implementation, respectively. The research population in both design and validation parts consisted of experts and scholars in the fields of educational studies, educational management, educational psychology, and research and planning experts for the compilation of secondary education textbooks. The sample of this study, based on the principle of theoretical saturation, included 22 individuals who were selected through purposive sampling and were subjected to semi-structured interviews and completion of a researcher-made questionnaire. The data obtained from the interviews and questionnaires were analyzed using coding methods based on grounded theory, exploratory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. Findings: Coding findings revealed that for the curriculum model based on the positive education approach in Iran's secondary education, 50 components were identified in 4 categories: causal factors (16 components), contextual and intervening factors (18 components), strategies (8 components), and effects and outcomes (8 components). Validity was confirmed through triangulation method and peer review, and reliability was calculated at 77 percent using the inter-rater agreement method. Findings from the exploratory factor analysis showed that the factor loading of each of the 50 components was appropriate, and 11 components were able to explain 86.4 percent of the total variance of the curriculum based on the positive education approach in Iran's secondary education. Structural equation modeling findings indicated that the curriculum model had a suitable fit and significantly impacted all four categories: causal factors, contextual and intervening factors, strategies, and effects and outcomes. Conclusion: Curriculum specialists and planners, based on the categories and components of this study, can take effective steps towards improving the curriculum based on the positive education approach in Iran's secondary education.

As a formative assessment procedure, self-assessment aims to converge learners’ and teachers’ views in assessment. Hence, reducing the perceptual mismatches between the learners’ and the teachers’ assessment would positively affect the learning process. For this aim, the present study investigated to what extent the learners’ assessment of their writing before and after being provided with a list of rating criteria, agrees that of their teachers. Therefore, a body of 6 EFL writing teachers and 27 EFL learners participated in this study. The learners were asked to rate their writing before and after being provided with rating criteria developed by the researchers. The teachers also rated the students’ writings following the same criteria. The obtained results showed a significant difference between the students' scores on the first and second assessment occasions. The teachers’ and the students’ assessment on the second time also were found to significantly correlate. Moreover, the analysis of the students’ comments showed that while they rated their writing on some limited aspects of writing in the first rating occasion, they assessed their essays using more components in the second assessment phase. Overall, the findings revealed that providing the learners with rating criteria would not only reduce the perceptual mistaches between the students’ and the teachers’ assessment but through involving the students’ voices in their assessment would promote democratic classroom assessment. Pedagogical implications of the study are discussed.