Shayesteh Madani Lavasani
Slum living is an urban phenomenon akin to the recent decades, and the reason why it has obsessed the minds of researchers is due to the problems and difficulties it brings about for its residents and citizens. What the present research is after is to investigate the anthropological culture of slum living via qualitative methods and its relation to the educational status of the students dwelling in such regions. For this purpose, the slum region “Hesar Khate Chahar”, which is 40 kms far from Tehran and located in Karaj, was picked up for study. The goal of this study is, in fact, to identify the different qualities of life in this region by means of a deep view from “introspection”. The results of this research show there are two types of families inhabiting this area that enjoys two different attitudes toward their children’s education. Both groups are economically poor, but what differentiate between them are their cultural attitudes toward the education of boys and girls. Their economic and social statuses are identical, but the cultural differences these families enjoy have brought about a disparity in the success and failure of their children. Testimonies reveal that the families with a rather higher level of culture that have resided in this area over a longer period of time, and are more conversant with the cultures of urban and slum living, have more successful children in comparison with other families.
