Journal of Educational Sciences

Educational Needs Assessment of the Formal General Education in the Islamic Republic of Iran Based on A Systematic Review

10.22055/edus.2025.50216.3787
Volume 33, Issue 1
April 2026
Pages 141-154
Journal of Educational Sciences

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

SOMAYYEH RAM

Assistant professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract
Learner needs constitute the foundation of curriculum planning because curriculum decisions should be guided by a comprehensive understanding of the knowledge, competencies, and developmental requirements of learners. However, rapid technological, social, cultural, and economic changes have transformed students’ educational needs, while curriculum development in many educational systems has not adequately responded to these emerging demands. The present study aimed to identify and synthesize the educational needs of students in light of contemporary societal transformations and generational changes to provide an evidence-based framework for curriculum development in Iran. A qualitative systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. The initial corpus consisted of 317 studies addressing educational needs assessment, developmental challenges of children, adolescents, and youth, as well as emerging trends in science, technology, economy, and culture published between 2011 and 2022. After applying predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 131 studies were selected for final analysis. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis and inductive coding procedures. The findings identified a comprehensive framework comprising seven educational domains, seventeen dimensions, and fifty-two categories of learner needs. These domains included religious–moral identity, scientific and technological identity, economic and vocational identity, socio-political identity, biological and physical identity, aesthetic and artistic identity, and fundamental competencies. Together, these domains provide a multidimensional representation of the knowledge, skills, values, and competencies required by students to meet the demands of contemporary society. The findings suggest that curriculum development should move beyond traditional subject-centered approaches toward comprehensive learner-centered frameworks that integrate identity development, twenty-first-century competencies, digital literacy, social participation, and lifelong learning. The proposed framework offers curriculum developers, educational policymakers, and teacher educators a systematic basis for redesigning general education curricula that are responsive to the evolving educational needs of present and future generations

Keywords

assessment
instructional needs assessment
formal public education
curriculum planning
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