Education and Emigration - The case of the Iranian-American community

Oct 15, 2026

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This paper explores the plausibility of a hypothesis that perceived educational opportunity acts as a significant pull factor shaping Iranians’ decisions to immigrate to the United States. Drawing on literatures covering Iranian educational policy, government policy papers, and recent study and census data, it tests the link between perceived opportunity (or lack of it) and immigration. Preliminary survey results from 101 Iranian-born individuals in the U.S. suggest such a correlation may exist, motivating further research.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Historical Background

Impact of Educational Policy on Iranians and Immigration

Education and Emigration: The case of the Iranian-American community Sina M. Mossayeb Teachers College, Columbia University Roozbeh Shirazi Teachers College, Columbia University Abstract This paper explores the plausibility of a hypothesis that puts forth perceived educational opportunity as a significant pull factor influencing Iranians' decisions to immigrate to the United States. Drawing on various literatures, including research on educational policy in Iran, government policy papers, and figures from recent studies and census data, the authors establish a case for investigating the correlation between perceived educational opportunity (or lack thereof) and immigration. Empirical findings presented here from a preliminary survey of 101 Iranian-born individuals living in the U.S. suggest that such a correlation may indeed exist, thus providing compelling grounds for further research in this area. The paper expands on existing literature by extending prevailing accounts of unfavorable conditions in Iran as push factors for emigration, to include the draw of perceived educational opportunity, as a coexisting and influential pull factor for immigration to the U.S. Introduction Popular discourse about Iranian immigration to the United States focuses on the social and political freedoms associated with relocation. The prevailing literature on Iranian immigration explains why people leave Iran, but accounts remain limited to a unilateral force--namely, unfavorable conditions in Iran. Drawing on existing studies of Iranian educational policies and their consequences, we propose an extension to this thesis. We hypothesize that perceived educational opportunity is a significant attraction for Iranians in considering immigration to the U.S. To establish a foundation for our research, we provide a background on Iran's sociopolitical climate after the 1978/1979 revolution and examine salient literature on Iran's higher education policy. Following this overview, we review recent U.S. census data and other relevant indicators that supply additional insight into the educational attributes of Iranian-born immigrants. We demonstrate that recent resolutions passed by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution of Iran (SCCR) explicitly connect increasing emigration rates to educationrelated issues. Finally, we explore the bearing of perceived educational opportunity on Iranian immigration to the U.S. through a preliminary survey of 101 Iranian-born individuals living in the U.S. We regard the study as a step toward investigating the potential correlation between perceived educational opportunity (or lack thereof) and immigration. © 2006 Current Issues in Comparative Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Current Issues in Comparative Education, Vol. 9(1) Education and Emigration: The case of the Iranian-American community Historical Background The educational landscape of Iran has been significantly impacted by the emergence of the Islamic Republic. Radical shifts in the State's ideological framework have led to much change in the structure, content, and policies associated with education. These, in turn, have affected the demographics of education and corresponded with an observed increase in emigration from Iran. This section provides a brief description of the historical backdrop to these trends. In 1979 the Iranian monarchy was toppled by a broad-based revolution. Groups that initially found common ground in their desire to overthrow the Shah contended for power after the Revolution (Keddie, 1981) . In the hopes of a freer Iran, some academic and political expatriates returned from abroad at this time. However, in place of a monarchy, they found an even stronger ideological hegemony under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (Torbat, 2002) . To maintain control of the country and eliminate prospective threats to the State's ideology, the new Regime suppressed rival fa

FAQs

What main hypothesis does the paper investigate regarding Iranian immigration to the U.S.?

The paper investigates whether perceived educational opportunity (or the lack of it) is a significant attraction influencing Iranians’ decisions to immigrate to the United States.

What sources and evidence does the paper rely on?

It draws on research about educational policy in Iran, government policy papers, and figures from recent studies and census data, and it also reports empirical findings from a preliminary survey.

What do the preliminary survey findings indicate?

The paper reports findings from a preliminary survey of 101 Iranian-born individuals living in the U.S., suggesting a possible correlation between perceived educational opportunity and immigration.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by OmBimo