Identifying the Factors Influencing Knowledge Production in the Curriculum Field to Achieve the Scientific Goals of Iran’s Twenty-Year Vision Document

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to identify and explain the internal and external factors influencing knowledge production in the curriculum field in line with achieving the scientific goals of Iran’s Twenty-Year Vision Document.

Methodology: This applied study employed a qualitative exploratory design based on grounded theory. The study population consisted of faculty members in the field of curriculum planning at the Science and Research Branch of Islamic Azad University, Tehran. Ten experienced faculty members were selected through purposive sampling, and data collection continued until theoretical saturation was reached. Data were collected through unstructured interviews using open-ended questions. Following recording, transcription, and organization of the interviews, the data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding procedures. To enhance the rigor and trustworthiness of the qualitative findings, the criteria of credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability were considered throughout the research process.

Findings: Analysis of the interview data resulted in the identification of 41 common codes, six major concepts, and two overarching categories. The concepts of educational environment and interactions, research activities and communications, and organizational structures and processes were classified as internal or endogenous factors. In addition, prevailing social and cultural attitudes and policies, researchers’ individual characteristics, and available financial and material resources constituted contextual or exogenous factors. The resulting analytical model indicated that knowledge production in the curriculum field is a multidimensional phenomenon simultaneously influenced by educational, research, organizational, sociocultural, individual, and economic factors.

Conclusion: The development of knowledge production in the curriculum field requires a systematic and integrated approach to both internal and external determinants. Strengthening educational and research interactions, improving organizational structures, establishing supportive sociocultural policies, empowering researchers, and ensuring sustainable financial and material resources can enhance universities’ knowledge-creation capacity and facilitate progress toward the scientific objectives of Iran’s Twenty-Year Vision Document.