Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
(PhD), Head of the Basic Sciences Research Group, Research Institute of Curriculum Planning and Educational Innovation, Associate Professor at the Research Institute for Education, Organization for Educational Research and Planning, Tehran, Iran
2
(PhD), Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
With the increasing use of supplementary textbooks by students, a fundamental question arises as to the processes and implications underlying their usage, and why—despite the availability of official textbooks published by the Ministry of Education—students and even teachers continue to rely on supplementary materials. This study, applied in purpose, employed a grounded theory approach. Data were collected through interview with teachers and principals working in the education system, as well as experts and authors from different provinces of Iran, who together constituted the research population. For sampling, purposive sampling was used for teachers and principals, while snowball sampling was applied for experts and authors. The total number of participants was 27. Findings, categorized and analyzed based on Strauss and Corbin’s systematic grounded theory framework, indicate that economic, individual, social, and educational factors (causal conditions); weak supervision, lack of coordination among responsible bodies, legislative deficiencies, and internal conflicts of interest (contextual conditions); and family concerns, the need to complete learning, and superficial expectations (intervening conditions) have all contributed to the widespread use of supplementary textbooks. Respondents’ strategies for engaging with these materials included individual evaluation of supplementary textbooks, modifications in assessment processes, and attention to students’ varying levels. The perceived consequences included a market-oriented rather than cultural approach to education, the dominance of tools over educational goals, and a tendency toward superficial teaching. Overall, the results suggest that inadequate educational proficiency and profit-seeking practices constitute the core of the implications of the use of supplementary textbooks.
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