Translator Education in the Light of Complexity Theory: A Case of Iran’s Higher Education System

Abstract

In the fast-growing world of translation studies, many students may not receive adequate training at universities. A new multi-facetted approach is therefore needed to be applied in translator educational programs to meet the students' needs and professional expectations. In order to describe the complex interrelations in translator education systems and propose a research framework that takes into account its dynamism, complexity theory is used as an analytical tool that proposes better ways of thinking about the world of education. This study attempts to bring new insights into translator education by showing how the main tenets of complexity thinking can be applied metaphorically in translator education and how the implications of this theory can be applied in translator educational programs at universities in the context of Iran's higher education system. According to this perspective, the competitive top-down approach, which is traditionally applied in Iran's educational system can no longer be effective and should be replaced by a participative bottom-up approach.