Essentialism education thought?

Question 1: What are the main basic viewpoints of essentialist educational philosophy? Essentialism is a school of modern western educational thoughts, also known as traditionalism education and conservatism education, which is opposite to progressivism education. It appeared in the United States in the 1930s, became the mainstream in the 1950s, and lost its dominant position in the United States in the late 1960s.

The essentialists have different philosophical views, but they are consistent in their educational views. They all emphasize the importance of "ethnic experience" or "cultural inheritance", and think that the experience of most people who have passed the test of history is more meaningful than their personal experience, and more meaningful than the experience of children who have not passed the test at all. They also believe that there are "all kinds of best things in culture" in human heritage. There is "a basic core of knowledge", that is, the so-called * * * identical cultural elements, which include all kinds of basic knowledge, skills and traditional "attitudes" and "ideals". These elements are for everyone to learn. The main task of the school is to teach these cultural elements to the younger generation.

Essentialists are critical of progressive education (see Progressive Education Movement). Baglai believes that progressive education emphasizes learners' interest, freedom, current needs, personal experience, psychological organization and students' initiative, but ignores efforts, discipline, long-term goals, ethnic experience, logical connection and teachers' initiative, completely abandons strict academic performance standards as the basis for upgrading, and ignores the systematicness and orderliness of learning. Therefore, it not only reduces the quality of education, but also weakens the "democracy" in the United States. Kandel believes that, like a progressive educator, attention to learning must be based on the principles of learners' ability, interest and purpose; However, essentialists believe that those interests and purposes must be transformed by experienced teachers, because teachers are the masters of the logical organization of teaching materials and understand the process of educational development. These views of Baglai and kandel are the most common views of essentialists.

Essentialist educators emphasize systematic learning centered on disciplines, advocate restoring the status of various disciplines in the educational process, and compile teaching materials in strict accordance with the logical system. They also believe that some subjects with special value for cultivating students' thinking, such as Latin, algebra and geometry, should be regarded as compulsory courses in middle schools. Essentialists generally attach great importance to the cultivation of intelligence and believe that the resources of intelligence and moral power contained in children should not be wasted. To promote the improvement of intelligence, the goal of education should be to develop people's intelligence.

Because of the special emphasis on systematic learning and intellectual cultivation, the essentialists advocate that the leading role in the education process lies in teachers, who should belong to the center of the education system and give full play to their authoritative role; If students are not interested in learning elements, they should be forced to learn. They believe that in the process of education, students' freedom should not be regarded as a means, but as the purpose and result of the process.

Question 2: Introduction to Essentialism Essentialism is a school of modern western educational thoughts, also known as traditional education and conservative education, as opposed to progressive education. It appeared in the United States in the 1930s, became the mainstream in the 1950s, and lost its dominant position in the United States in the late 1960s.

Question 3: What is Dewey's educational thought called? Pragmatic educational thought. He advocates that education is life, education is growth, and learning by doing.

Question 4: Essentialism education view and its enlightenment to China's current education reform.

Essentialism education has a unique and incisive view, which pursues the improvement of social culture and education quality, emphasizes the inheritance and development of the same elements of human culture and national culture, and emphasizes and attaches importance to the cultivation and leading role of teachers in students' development. Advocating receptive learning is an educational reform in China, which pursues diversified development and walks out of a single antagonistic pattern, and has important enlightenment significance.

Keywords: education reform; Essentialism; Courses; Teaching; conflict

The economic crisis from 1929 to 1932 has brought reflection on American education and criticized the progressive education measures under the guidance of modernist education theory. It is considered that this kind of education curriculum is aimless, teachers lack training, methods and organizational forms are laissez-faire and lack of discipline, which is an "annoying fly in the ointment." I is the main reason for the decline of American education quality and the disappearance of traditional social culture. Therefore, in order to make up for the defects of progressive education, the education sector has set off a "return to basics" movement, and new educational thoughts are surging, among which essentialism is a typical one.

First, the theoretical basis and main points of essentialism

1. Realism. The central idea of realism is "independence principle or theme", which holds that everything in the universe is an objective reality independent of the human body, but it does not exist in consciousness, but the object of cognition cannot exist independently without the subject of cognition. Li therefore, on this basis, essentialism holds that the whole process of education is to make people's ideals and wisdom know and study this eternal world (reality) and form people's knowledge; The unity of man and society is based on serving and obeying society, and education must also cultivate students for the development of society and let them remember the eternal nature of knowledge in the universe (society).

2. The combination of functional training theory and the theory of the same elements. The theory of "functional training" has always played an important role in the whole field of psychology and pedagogy. Early functional psychology advocated "formal training" for children with valuable subjects such as ancient language, grammar and mathematics. Later, Thorndike and others developed this theory, thinking that the transfer of old and new learning situations is due to the existence of the same components or elements between them, thus establishing the "theory of the same elements" 1, which developed into the field of education, showing the prevalence of "substantive training" advocated by progressivism. Essentialists accepted the idea of progressivism and thought that "real education is the training of wisdom" (Best).

In fact, the essentialist educational theory is not a philosophical statement of educational problems, nor a simple speculative statement of education. Its pursuit is: education quality and social and cultural development. Its slogan is: popularize education, pay attention to social and cultural transmission and rational cultivation, and set high standards and strict requirements on students. On this basis, the essentialist educators have determined a set of curriculum teaching system with their own characteristics.

Second, the essentialist view of curriculum and teaching

1. Essentialism curriculum view: The theoretical foundation of curriculum with "cultural development" and "* * * the same element" as the core is the core part of Essentialism education thought. In their view, the goal of the curriculum and the role of education will continue to pass on the traditional spirit and essence to the new generation. While human culture is developing and changing, there is a relatively stable "the same elements in human culture and national culture". The so-called "the same elements of culture" mainly includes * * * the same ideas, * * the same understanding, * * the same norms and * * the same spirit. In short, it refers to basic knowledge and skills. Therefore, "the same elements of culture" should be regarded as the standard of school education curriculum, and it is emphasized that "adhering to social welfare and social progress" should be the basic criterion when selecting the content of teaching materials.

In the organization and presentation of course content, it emphasizes subject courses. Essentialists believe that the most effective and efficient way to provide students with differentiated and organized experiences is subject courses. If the school curriculum provides students with undifferentiated experience or knowledge, students will inevitably distinguish and organize themselves, which will hinder the effectiveness of education. Therefore, the meaning element still emphasizes the "discipline-centered" curriculum system. They advocate academic subjects, emphasize the new three arts, namely mathematics, science and foreign languages, and pay more attention to the logical system and organization of courses.

In terms of curriculum requirements, it emphasizes the national unified curriculum standards. In their view, only when the curriculum is unified can people learn the same cultural elements, which are necessary for people in social life and communication.

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