Analysis of Policies and Performance of Sport and Physical Education in the Fifth Development Plan (1973–1977)

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Social Sciences,University of Mohaghegh Ardabili , Ardabil, Iran.

10.30484/ganj.2025.3276

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to scrutinise the policies, initiatives and performance of the Fifth Development Plan (1973-1977) in the field of sport and physical education, evaluating how far the plan's objectives were realized within the wider context of the Pahlavi state's cultural and social modernization agenda.
Method and Research Design: The approach used in this paper is descriptive-analytical, relying on the documentary evidence of official government records, performance reports, and legislation that have been kept at the National Library and Archives of Iran (SAKMA), backed up by library resources and authoritative historical studies.
Findings and Conclusion: The Fifth Development Plan envisioned ambitious objectives for the development of the sports infrastructure, such as stadiums, sports halls, and swimming pools, along with the institutionalization of a sports culture in schools and wider society. However, archival evidence shows that the actual implementation of these initiatives faced serious structural barriers. The findings reveal a pronounced chasm between the intentions of the plan and its achievements due to the persistence of managerial, economic, and infrastructural problems that had been emphasized by critics like Bahman Abadian, policymaker and the former head of the Planning Department at the Plan Organization in the Pahlavi era. Overambitious targets were based on skyrocketing oil revenues; mismanagement in budget and project prioritization lay at the heart of the failure of the plan. These constraints thus caused the impediment to the complete realization of sport and physical education development as intended, making the era's vision for comprehensive athletic advancement incomplete.

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References

English Translation of References
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7800/220؛8811/220؛8908/220؛19727/220
20740/220؛1399/297؛2975/297؛4076/297
4487/297؛5816/297؛8748/297؛8908/297
9288/297؛25788/297؛30989/297؛32566/297
51616/297؛122196/293؛؛
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History

  • Receive Date: 01 April 2025
  • Revise Date: 06 April 2025
  • Accept Date: 18 May 2025

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