Childhood and adolescence are fundamental periods of mental and emotional growth. It is during these years that individuals’ character and social behavior are formed. Progressive social planning must therefore take into account the educational needs of this portion of the population, which for now resides within its potential phase and that will become dynamic city dwellers of the future.

Demographic and economic issues combined with static and rigid educational systems can portray an explosive situation. The children and adolescents of today continue to be equipped for future with the provisions of yesterday. Official records indicate that more than10 million students are presently enrolled within the first eight years of schooling in Iran.

It appears that the participation of non-governmental organizations in educational planning can on the one hand culminate in discovery of new methods and on the other help the educational system to compensate for its inflexibility and overcome its barriers.

The “Child and Adolescent” department of the Cultural Research Bureau has undertaken such a mandate. It has taken the initiative to address the following topics independently:

• Theoretical research about child and adolescent literature in Iran: its importance, the different genres, literary criticism and history.
  
  
• Production of reading material for children and adolescents: stories, poems, scientific books and plays.
  
  
• Preparation of curricula and content for teaching Persian language skills as mother tongue or second language for bilingual regions of the country.
  Research in educational systems.
  
  
• Image production: photography, painting and graphic arts.
  Iranian studies.

As a recent addition to the Bureau, many of the above projects of the “Child and Adolescent” are still in the initial phases. This group however has undertaken the bold step of preparing new educational curricula beginning with elementary school texts for teaching of the Persian language during the early years. It has presently completed the first three years.