Education Department and Religious and National Identity (Survey Study: The High School Students of Baneh)

The Education Department, in addition to preparing the contents of the curriculum, is effective in the establishment of understanding others and developing cognitive, affective, and action orientation of the students through strong and stable social networks in the educational environments and participation in extra-curricular activities. This research uses theoretical and experimental literature to study experimentally the influence of schools on religious and national identity of high school students. To examine this relation, a sample containing 353 high school students in Baneh has been used. The research is done based on the survey method using a questionnaire. The findings indicate that the religious and national orientation of the teachers, membership in student associations, participation in extra-curricular activities, relationship with school officials, interactive learning, and schooling years positively predict the development of national and religious identity. Among the independent variables, the variable "national and religious orientation of the teachers" has the greatest force in meaningful and positive prediction of national and religious identity and overall 60% of the variance of national and religious identity of the students is predictable with these variables.