چكيده لاتين
The present study aimed to investigate Iranian and foreign stories with a focus on caring thinking and to evaluate their effectiveness on primary school students. A sequential exploratory mixed-methods approach was employed. In the qualitative phase, deductive content analysis was used, while in the quantitative phase, a quasi-experimental design with experimental and control groups, including pre-tests and post-tests, was implemented. In the qualitative phase, Iranian and foreign stories for the “C” age group were purposefully selected with maximum diversity and analyzed until theoretical saturation was reached. Qualitative findings revealed that Iranian stories, such as If Snowmen Don’t Melt…, Goodnight, Commander, and Where Is the Coal Mine?, emphasize emotion-based thinking, activity, and social norms, placing emotional interactions and practical actions at the core of their narratives. However, stories like The Pigeon and the Clock and Two Planets paid less attention to these components. Foreign stories, such as The Essay, The Enemy, and The Red Bird, while focusing on emotion-based thinking and activity, adopt a universal approach with greater emphasis on moral values and empathy. A comparison of Iranian and foreign stories indicated a shared focus on emotion-based thinking and activity. However, the lesser attention in Iranian stories to empathy-based and value-based thinking compared to foreign stories highlights the need to strengthen these components in local content. In the quantitative phase, the statistical population consisted of second-cycle primary school students in Isfahan during the 2024-2025 academic year. A sample of 90 students from District 4 was selected using multistage cluster sampling. From second-cycle primary schools, three schools were chosen, and one sixth-grade class from each school was randomly selected: one as the control group and two as experimental groups. The educational intervention was conducted through 10 inquiry circle sessions using Iranian and foreign stories. To measure caring thinking, the Hedayati Caring Thinking Questionnaire (2018) was used, and data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Quantitative findings showed that the educational intervention had a significant positive effect on the caring thinking of the experimental groups compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Bonferroni post-hoc tests indicated that the effect was significant in the foreign story group (p < 0.05) but not in the Iranian story group (p > 0.05). Multivariate analysis of covariance revealed that Iranian stories significantly impacted empathetic thinking (p < 0.05), while foreign stories significantly influenced value-based and active thinking (p < 0.05), which aligns with the qualitative findings. However, a direct comparison of overall effectiveness between the two experimental groups showed no significant difference (p > 0.05). In conclusion, both qualitative and quantitative findings confirm that literary stories are effective tools for fostering caring thinking in primary school students. Iranian stories, with an emphasis on local values, enhance empathy-based thinking, while foreign stories, with universal themes, promote value-based and active thinking. The shared focus of both groups on emotion-based and activity-based thinking highlights the high potential of stories in developing emotional and practical skills. However, the limited overall effectiveness of Iranian stories and their lesser focus on empathy-based and value-based thinking underscore the need for revising the design of local story content. Additionally, using high-quality translations of foreign stories in inquiry circles can reduce cultural gaps and enhance the effectiveness of educational programs in strengthening the components of caring thinking.
