| Iran has had a rich heritage of craftarts and mentorship and apprenticeship practices. Both men and women craftartists were employed at Persepolis in 518 BCE. Today, many craftartists can still be seen working in their workshops in bazaars such as the ones at Esfahan, Shiraz, and Tehran. Most of the craftartists apprentice young people in their craftart. However, craftart education is mostly absent in public schools. This study explores the ways four craftartists in Iran educate their apprentices in their craftart, how they pass down their knowledge to them, the kinds of exchanges that support the learning that takes place between them, the kind of knowledge that is communicated, and some implications for my own teaching. The study argues for the importance of non-formal but professional craftart learning that takes place outside the public and private schools in Iran. The study will suggest that mentorship is a critical way of teaching.;Using an ethnographic qualitative approach, the study looked into the mentoring practices of a sculptor in Kurdestan, a charough maker (traditional shoe) in Zanjan, a metal engraver in Tehran, and a glassblower in Tehran. Data were collected over four summers and included open-ended interviews, field notes and journals, Blog postings, photography, videotaping, and interactions within and outside of the workshops. Both mentors and their apprentices participated in the study.;The study found that the creative and cognitive process of learning in a mentorship and apprenticeship setting involves the whole person in an environment of social engagements that provide the grounds for significant learning to take place. The study shows that the traditional ways of mentorship and apprenticeship are innovative and have contributed to the practical and theoretical aspects of education in Iran. The study suggests that mentorship and apprenticeship should not be regarded as the sole focal point of education, but rather be considered as contributors to the general field of education, where they will support methods of teaching and learning. |
