Explaining the Role of Educational Management in the Development of Students’ Political Culture: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

This study aimed to explain the role of educational management in the development of political culture among university students in Tehran. This qualitative study was conducted using conventional qualitative content analysis. The participants consisted of 22 individuals from universities in Tehran who were selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation, including 7 faculty members, 6 educational, cultural, or student-affairs managers and experts, and 9 postgraduate students. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, and sampling continued until conceptual saturation was achieved. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed through identification of meaning units, initial coding, constant comparison, development of subcategories, and abstraction of overarching categories. Credibility and trustworthiness were enhanced through member checking, peer review, systematic documentation of the analytical process, and reflexive note-taking. Data analysis generated 168 initial codes, 64 final conceptual codes, 12 subcategories, and three overarching categories. The first category, “educational and awareness-building functions of educational management,” included political literacy and awareness, critical thinking, political ethics and responsibility, and connection of university education with social issues. The second category, “participatory governance and the formation of political experience in the university,” encompassed student participation in decision-making, dialogue and exchange of views, practical participatory experiences, and enhancement of belonging and political efficacy. The third category, “creation of an organizational and cultural context for political culture development,” included managerial justice and transparency, psychological safety and tolerance of diverse viewpoints, support for cultural and social activities, and institutional trust. Overall, educational management influenced political culture through three interconnected pathways: cognitive empowerment, participatory experience, and organizational legitimacy. The development of students’ political culture requires an integrated educational management approach that simultaneously strengthens political awareness, critical thinking, meaningful participation, fairness, transparency, psychological safety, and institutional trust, thereby transforming the university into a setting for the practical experience of social responsibility and constructive participation.