Designing a Model for the Development of Reproductive Forgetting in Primary Schools

The present study was conducted with the aim of designing a model for the development of “reproductive forgetting” in primary schools. In terms of purpose, this study was applied, and in terms of approach, it employed a qualitative research design using grounded theory and the systematic approach proposed by Strauss and Corbin. The research population consisted of university professors, primary school principals, and experienced teachers in Ardabil Province, who were selected through purposive sampling. Accordingly, 14 qualified experts were selected as participants using purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed simultaneously using the constant comparative method through three stages of open, axial, and selective coding. The findings indicated that a total of 120 open codes, 55 concepts, 10 axial categories, and 6 main categories, including causal conditions, the central phenomenon, strategies, intervening conditions, contextual conditions, and consequences, were extracted. The central phenomenon of the study was identified as “reproductive forgetting in primary schools,” referring to a systematic process of reviewing, refining, and recreating educational knowledge, experiences, and practices. The results revealed that this phenomenon emerges from the interaction between mindset transformation and the renewal of professional knowledge and develops within the context of school culture and structure under the influence of instructional leadership. Moreover, strategies such as transforming educational processes, reconstructing professional experiences, and changing organizational behaviors play a key role in its realization. The primary consequence of this process is the professional development of teachers in primary schools. Overall, reproductive forgetting is introduced as an active, multi-layered, and organizational process that does not merely involve the elimination of previous knowledge but rather its purposeful reconstruction to improve learning and enhance the educational system. Accordingly, it is recommended that simultaneous interventions at the individual, organizational, and cultural levels of schools be implemented to realize this approach.