Social constructivism

Recent studies within the past four decades have confirmed the effectiveness of Student-Centered Learning (SCL) over Teacher-Centered Learning (TCL). Furthermore, the emergence of 21st-century learning skills and competencies necessitates education systems to change their previous practices and equip their students with these skills and competencies. However, implementing SCL has not gained considerable attention among education authorities and EFL teachers in Iranian high schools. This study aims to explore EFL teachers' understanding of SCL and their perceptions of the obstacles to implementing it in Kermanshah, Iran. To this end, the study employed a convergent mixed-methods design that combined 24-item questionnaire data with 9 structured interviews using the NVIVO Software Version10. The questionnaire analysis revealed that there is a wide gap between the participants’ perceptions of SCL and their practices in the classroom. Moreover, the analysis of the interviews led to extracting three main themes of institutional, teacher-student-parent, and socio-cultural obstacles that impede implementing SCL in EFL classes and indicate that TCL practices are still running. The results revealed that teachers hold general perceptions of SCL. However, due to some constraints, they adhere to the TCL.            

The introduction of technology into various areas of social life, including sports and sports competitions, has grown significantly in recent years. One of these technologies is the video assistant referee (VAR) in football matches, and the present study aims to investigate the sociological nature of this technology and its impact on the social structure of Iranian football.This research was conducted with a qualitative approach and using thematic analysis method. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 sports experts (including referees, coaches, university professors, veterans and analysts of the Iranian Premier Football League).The findings showed that VAR makes sense at three levels: from the perspective of technological determinism as a determining force in behavior and decision-making; from the perspective of technological effects as a tool for promoting justice and social control; and from the perspective of social constructionism as a phenomenon whose meanings and functions are redefined in the interactions and lived experiences of actors. On the one hand, this technology has led to a relative enhancement of the sense of justice and increased social trust in referees, but on the other hand, it has brought consequences such as weakening the referee's symbolic authority, reducing collective emotion, transferring the locus of protests from the field to the media, and creating cultural inequality due to differences in infrastructure. Also, institutional distrust and poor media transparency were identified as the main obstacles to the full acceptance of VAR in Iran.VAR technology in Iranian football has a dual effect: on the one hand, it increases the accuracy of refereeing and the sense of justice, and on the other hand, it causes psychological tensions and changes in social and cultural interactions. The findings of this study can be beneficial for sports policymakers, the Football Federation, and the media in optimizing the implementation of VAR and reducing its negative consequences.