Journal of Social Problems of Iran

Journal of Social Problems of Iran

From ideal to reality :How do students narrate the process of their scholarly frustration

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
YarMohammad Ghasemi 1
Behrooz Sepidnameh 2
Mohammad Sadra Moradi 3
1 Full Professor Department of Sociology and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ilam University, Iran.
2 Associate Professor Department of Sociology and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ilam University, Iran.
3 Master of Sociology, Department of Sociology and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ilam University, Iran.
10.22059/ijsp.2026.400665.671338
Abstract
The higher education system in Iran, alongside certain opportunities, has been grappling with various challenges, one of which is the issue of the erosion of students'education.Therefore,this study aims to investigate how the students narrate their frustration process towards their schooling and the factors affacting it. According to the constructionism nature of the study phenomenon, the interpretative research paradigm, qualitative procedure, and qualitative content analysis were used as the study methodology. The study population includes all students in Master level in Ilam University in 2025 who were selected using purposive and theoretical sampling and based on theoretical saturation principle. In order to collect the data, an in-depth interview was conducted among 14 participants. The data analysis strategy was conducted using thematic coding and analysis. The study findings included 13 core themes and 71 subthemes. The results showed that the students pursue to study because of self-actualization, social comparison, and policy-influenced role enactment. The participants held idealized conception of academic excellence toward being a student before they enrolled in MA level, however, when they attended the university, they exposed to the factors including: commodification of knowledge, institutional neglect, dysfunctional governance, social anomie, therefore, these factors changed their ideals into mirages. Consequently, they became disempowered subjects, exhibiting academic passivity, intellectual despondency. Therefore, they have to choose the anarchic and digitalized life as a lifestyle.
Keywords
Frustration
Students
Reality
Subjects
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Journal of Social Problems of Iran
Volume 17, Issue 1
July 2026
Pages 237-273