A thematic and methodological analysis of Shiraz university PhD dissertations in philosophy of education

Abstract

This study was conducted with the aim of analyzing PhD dissertations in the field of philosophy of education at Shiraz University in order to identify their thematic orientations, research approaches, research methods, as well as their the overall trends over time. This study covers all the PhD dissertations in the field of philosophy of education, defended at Shiraz University until 2020, which includes 29 cases. These dissertations were analyzed using qualitative deductive and inductive content analysis method. The results of the analysis of the cases showed that the dissertations of Shiraz University have been conducted in 11 thematic orientations, among which, Islamic education, formal Iranian education and sociology of education have been more recurrent. The inferential approach is the predominant research approach of the dissertations and among the 14 research methods extracted, content analysis has the largest share. The findings Show that dissertations defended during 2010s have improved compared to those of 2000s, in terms of diversity of research topics, research methods and their concern for the current challenges and issues of education of Iran.

Keywords

• philosophy of education
• phd dissertations
• thematic trends
• research approach
• research method