10.57647/jee.2026.0901.08

Designing a Spiritual Citizenship Curriculum Framework for Upper Secondary Education

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  • Zeinab Rajabi1,
  • Mohammad Javadipoor*1,
  • Hamid Reza Rezazade Bahadoran1,
  • Mortaza Samiei Zafarghandi2,
  1. Department of Educational studies and curriculum planning, CT. C. Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
  2. Institute for Educational Studies, Organization for Educational Research and Planning, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2025-03-14

Revised: 2025-06-17

Accepted: 2025-09-08

Published in Issue 2026-06-30

Copyright (c) 2026 Shirin Khorshidzadehhaghighi, Dr. Reza Zarei, Nader Shahamat (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Rajabi, Z., Javadipoor, M., Rezazade Bahadoran, H. R., & Samiei Zafarghandi, M. (2026). Designing a Spiritual Citizenship Curriculum Framework for Upper Secondary Education. Journal of Education Experiences, 9(1), 16-29. https://doi.org/10.57647/jee.2026.0901.08
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Abstract

The present study was conducted with the aim of presenting a curriculum framework for spiritual citizenship in upper secondary education. The research approach was qualitative, carried out using the phenomenological method. Participants in the study were university professors and experts in the field of curriculum studies. Using purposive sampling based on the principle of theoretical saturation,

18 individuals were selected as the sample, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using thematic coding and three stages of open, axial, and selective coding. The findings indicated that the spiritual citizenship curriculum framework comprises eight elements, including: Goal (enhancing spiritual thinking, expanding intellectual horizons, cultivating multi-dimensional personality, fostering decision-making power), Rationale (individual necessity, social necessity, educating responsible citizens, need to strengthen spirituality, building a dynamic and evolving society), Content (practical and theoretical content, creative content, objective content, content arising from students' experiences and needs), Teaching Method (debate, role-playing, field visits, storytelling, research-oriented approach, project-based approach, classroom dialogue), Teacher Characteristics (facilitation, guidance, teaching in students' language, possessing specialized knowledge), Location (local community, mosque, natural settings, social institutions and organizations), Implementation Requirements (attention to upstream documents, training expert teachers, stakeholder involvement), and Evaluation (self-assessment, process evaluation, observation, consultation, project evaluation.

Keywords

  • Lived Experiences of Specialists,
  • Secondary School Curriculum,
  • Spiritual Citizenship
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