The Performance of Modernization in Education

On the Modernization of Education in Jiangsu

Liu Zhengwei, Department of Chinese Language, Huaiyin Teachers College, Jiangsu

I

Modernization refers to the process of transformation from an agrarian society to an industrial society, and the changes at all levels of the whole society caused by it. Educational modernization is an important and integral part of China's modernization and, arguably, the key part. Because without modernized people, it is difficult to build a modernized society. The so-called modernization of education "refers to the historical process of the gradual transformation and evolution of traditional education, which was compatible with the thousands of years of self-sufficient feudal agrarian economic base and the feudal autocratic system of government, to the modern new style of education, which is compatible with the modern large-scale industrial production and the development of capitalism. In other words, it refers to the historical process of learning and borrowing from Western educational experience, transforming and renewing traditional education, and striving to catch up with the world's advanced level of education through a number of educational reforms after the rise of modern capitalism." ①

As far as the study of the modernization of Chinese education as a whole is concerned, the study of the modernization of regional education is an important part of it. As Mr. Luo Rongqu said, "If the modernization of such a large country as China, which is vast and populous, is examined as a whole, it is indeed difficult to see its great changes, but if it is broken down into different regions and examined at different levels, the changes are still quite considerable." ② In fact, in a sense, the study of the modernization of Chinese education should first be based on the study of regional modernization, and only through the study of the modernization patterns of education in one representative region can we enrich and more accurately grasp the trajectory and characteristics of the evolution of China's educational modernization. Jiangsu, as one of the most typical and advanced regions of China's educational modernization, has a more important significance and value in studying the course of its educational modernization.

On the study of the modernization of Jiangsu education, the academic circles at home and abroad have achieved some influential results. These results can be broadly divided into two categories, one is about the modernization of Jiangsu and its surrounding areas of the region as a whole and thematic studies, many of which relate to the level of modernization of education in Jiangsu; the other is about the modernization of education or the modernization of education in Jiangsu, thematic studies; these research results, undoubtedly, has a certain pioneering significance and high academic value. But needless to say, because of its own research focus is not mainly in the modernization of Jiangsu education, therefore, if the modernization of Jiangsu education as a perspective to examine, it will be found that the above research is only involved in the modernization of Jiangsu education on one side, has not been revealed from the overall Jiangsu education modernization evolution trajectory and its characteristics. Therefore, its shortcomings are quite obvious. First, thematic research has been emphasized, and the results have been repeatedly produced, and the character research and school research are especially prominent, but the lack of Jiangsu education as a whole in-depth observation. That is to say, there is no comprehensive study on the overall direction of the modernization of Jiangsu education and the development level of each stage. Therefore, it is difficult for us to touch the overall evolutionary path and characteristics of the modernization of Jiangsu education in the above results. Secondly, when examining and studying the process of modernization of education in Jiangsu, the modernization of education in Jiangsu is often examined from the perspective of the modern Jiangsu region rather than from the modern, historical perspective to reveal its influence on the modernization of education in Jiangsu in terms of politics, economy, and culture, which is the most typical of which is that Shanghai is often rejected out of the map of Jiangsu, and the issue of the modernization of education in Jiangsu is studied in a fragmented way. In fact, administratively, Shanghai has been one of the capitals of Jiangsu Province from the late Qing Dynasty to the establishment of the Nanjing National Government in 1927. In the flourishing of modern Jiangsu education, Shanghai, as an important birthplace of modern education and the earliest window for the spread of Western learning, played a pivotal role in the modernization of Jiangsu education. Shanghai is also Jiangsu education modernization of the important convergence of the driving force to the most influential Jiangsu Province Education Association, for example, since 1905 in Shanghai, until 1927 was banned, has been active in Shanghai. Shanghai in a long time to become the province and even the national education modernization theory research, practice and reform of the center, therefore, leaving out the Shanghai study of Jiangsu education modernization, not only will lose its regional integrity and the original face of history, but also can not really reveal the process of modernization of Jiangsu education and the overall level.

Two

Binder said: "In the course of history, there is a central point from which things diverge. This point is called the starting point. It can be a single event or a large number of events." ③ The modernization of education in Jiangsu had its genesis in 1861. 1861 was an important boundary marker for the transition between old and new education in Jiangsu, the starting point of modern education. In this year, Feng Guifen wrote "School? Hut Protest". In this book, he put forward the social change ideological program "to the Chinese ethics and famous religion as the original, supplemented by the art of wealth and power of other countries. This ideological program later became the foreign affairs movement "in the body of the West" of the precursor. Feng Guifen quite a long period of time in Suzhou, Jiangning and other places in the famous academies in charge of the chair, so he has a deep understanding of the reform of feudal education in Jiangsu and give considerable attention. His ideas of reforming the imperial examinations within the traditional feudal education system, setting up academies, and adopting Western learning fully reflected the requirements of the times. These ideas laid the ideological and theoretical foundation for the development of new education in Jiangsu during the foreign affairs movement. As a concrete embodiment of this idea, Feng Guifen to Jiangsu Governor Li Hongzhang actively suggested that the establishment of a wide range of dialect halls in Shanghai, the adoption of Western learning, etc., adopted by Li Hongzhang, and put into practice in 1863, to the foreign affairs school based on the new style of education in Jiangsu started one after another. It is not difficult to see, Feng Guifen change the traditional education ideas, the start of modernization of Jiangsu education, has a direct role and influence. Obviously, in the transmutation of the old and new education in Jiangsu, this year is the center of the transformation of the historical process Binder said, from then on, Jiangsu education began to move away from the traditional education of the road of no return, therefore, it is identified as the starting point of the modernization of Jiangsu education, should be more appropriate.

The lower limit of the study period of the modernization of Jiangsu education is determined in 1927, mainly for two reasons. First, from the administrative division, from 1861 to 1927, Jiangsu administrative map is relatively complete, the examination of the modernization of Jiangsu education in this period, better able to grasp the overall situation; 1927, after the establishment of the national government in Nanjing, Nanjing, Shanghai has been divided into a special city, the map of Jiangsu Province has undergone a major change, the original pattern of modernization of the education and the process was forced to interrupt. Second, from the relationship between the central government and the local government, since the 1860s, due to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and the invasion of foreign enemies, the Qing Dynasty gradually formed the so-called internal and external political pattern. Governor of Jiangsu's administrative officials, from Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Liu Kunyi to the Beiyang government during the direct warlords entrenched in the province, Jiangsu local administrative power has been in the expansion of the period. Expansion of local power, an important effect is that the modernization of education in Jiangsu in the process of modernization of education in China can maintain a relatively independent and ahead of the curve, thus reflecting the modernization of education in Jiangsu personality and characteristics. 1927 Nanjing, after the establishment of the Nationalist Government, the Nationalist Party politically to implement a one-party dictatorship, the implementation of dictatorship, the local political power in Jiangsu has been weakened, the development of education in Jiangsu was also forced into the national integration track, its uniqueness, and the development of education in Jiangsu. Jiangsu's educational development was also forced into the orbit of national integration, and its uniqueness was eclipsed. Based on the above considerations, the lower limit of the study is set at 1927.

The modernization of education in Jiangsu went through three stages from 1861 to 1927. The first stage, 1861-1898, is the beginning of the modernization of Jiangsu education; the second stage, 1898-1911, is the development of the modernization of Jiangsu education; the third stage, 1912-1927, is the promotion of the modernization of Jiangsu education.

Any modernization is inseparable from tradition. For a long time, Jiangsu, as a state with a flourishing literary style, has formed an excellent academic style and tradition of respecting literature and education, and making use of the world. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Jiangsu's feudal education was pivotal in the country, and talents were often better than those in other provinces. Famous academies were distributed in the north and south of the Yangtze River, such as Nanjing's Zhongshan Academy, Suzhou's Ziyang Academy, Yangzhou's Meihua Academy, Anding Academy, and Jiangyin's Nanking Academy, etc., which, together with the Confucianism and Confucianism of the various prefectures and counties, constituted a more developed system of Jiangsu's traditional education. Obviously, this more developed system contains a strong feudal and conservative elements, and even some factors constitute Jiangsu education modernization resistance, but it is worth pointing out that, in the invasion of foreign enemies and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement successive impact, this feudal education system has changed, some of these factors are transformed into Jiangsu education modernization of the starting factor.

According to Connell, "modernization is the development of an exploratory and creative attitude of mind, both of the individual and of society." ④ Feng Guifen's Protest in the School House was birthed at a time when the traditional educational thought, system and order in Jiangsu province were taking absolute precedence. Therefore, his thoughts were not only individualistic but also socio-political reflections. The various reflections made by Feng Guifen and the educated people in Jiangsu before and after him were fundamentally the inevitable result of the push for social change. Although the examination of new educational institutions, the period of the foreign affairs movement, the new school in Jiangsu, only a few, and then the social studies, voluntary schools, academies, government schools and other components of the strong feudal education system can not be compared, but it is in the extremely volatile internal and external reaction to the situation, and is linked with the modernization of the military, so that this change, although localized, but for the changes and evolution of Jiangsu education The modernization of education in Jiangsu was established. The beginning of the modernization of education in Jiangsu began under the influence of the dual forces of cultural elites with a modernization orientation like Feng Guifen and enlightened local governors such as Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang. 1895, inspired by the Sino-Japanese War defeat, the rate of the modernization of education in Jiangsu accelerated in a short period of three years, and the content of the curricula, the form of the school, the values, and the reform of the system rapidly demonstrated the tendency to deviate from traditional education, especially in the church schools. Tendency, especially the founding of the church school, the traditional schools pose a challenge, Jiangsu Province, the primary primary school, secondary school also appeared one after another, after 1898, Jiangsu Province, the prelude to educational change.

The period of the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty was a critical period for the transformation of old and new education in Jiangsu Province, and also a period of initial laying of the pattern of new-style education. This period of Jiangsu education modernization has been further developed. Liu Kunyi, Zhang Zhidong joint petition "Jiang Chu three fold" for the development of Jiangsu education modernization opened the prelude, Duanfang, Zhang Jian, Luo Zhenyu, Li Ruiqing and other officials and gentry for the period of various types of new education in Jiangsu planning, initiation and the rise of an important role in promoting. In order to promote the universal opening of the new school, Jiangsu Province has set up three all over the opening, Jiangsu Province has set up three provincial educational administrative institutions date school office. 1906 after the establishment of the national provincial educational administrative system, Jiangning, Suzhou, the provincial capital is still set up two provincial educational administrative institutions date school office, and the establishment of a school to make, and become an important administrative force for the promotion of the new style of education, a situation that is unique in the country. This situation is unique in the country. "The teacher's training is the first thing to do". Jiangsu not only emerged Zhang Jian's private Tongzhou Normal School, and opened the first national private teacher education, and created to cultivate teachers in three provinces as the goal of the Sanjiang Normal School, and so on. Prioritize the development of teacher education has become a prominent issue in Jiangsu during the New Deal. At the same time, all kinds of new schools have also been established, forming a primary school based on primary schools, secondary, industrial and specialized schools in a three-pronged pattern. It is worth noting that, as the end of the Qing dynasty to prepare for the constitutional movement, the rise of local self-government in Jiangsu, Jiangsu's compulsory education and the rapid development of the school of law and politics in this period, the latter even to the point of losing control.

From the Xinhai Revolution to the establishment of the Nanjing National Government, is the period of Jiangsu education modernization to promote. During this period, politically, Jiangsu Province has always been controlled in the direct line of the warlord's sphere of influence, from this point of view, Jiangsu's political situation is relatively stable. Historians often refer to this period as the golden age of national capitalist development. As the cradle of modern national capitalism in China, Jiangsu's relatively stable political situation undoubtedly brought historic opportunities for the development of commerce and industry in Jiangsu, and objectively created favorable conditions for the modernization of education in Jiangsu. 20's around the time of the formation of the new intellectuals in Jiangsu and the emergence of the group, they went from the backstage to the foreground, forming a force for change in the old education. From the creation of the educational administrative system, the development of the educational funding system, to the launch of social and vocational education, and lead the way in the country; from the dissemination of modern educational science theories and the development of educational experimental activities, to the secondary point, as well as the emergence of higher education, the model of Jiangsu's modernization of education has gradually taken shape, which is the educational change with the times, continuous innovation, based on the input of theories and systems to the development of higher education as the focus of the model of the middle and higher education, which is the model of educational change with the times, continuous innovation, and the input of theory and system. , and the development of higher education as the center of gravity of the model.

Three

Jiangsu is located in the southeast coast, the special geographic location, as well as the sensitivity of the Jiangsu gentry group to the educational changes made Jiangsu become the theoretical birthplace of China's educational modernization. As mentioned earlier, as early as in the period of the foreign affairs movement, Feng Guifen put forward to "China's ethics for the teaching of the name, supplemented by the art of wealth and strength of the countries" of the idea of Jiangsu and even the country's modernization of education began to have an important impact. From the foreign affairs movement period to set up a foreign language school and military school, to the end of the Qing dynasty before and after the new government in the country to take the lead in advocating the establishment of compulsory education and teacher training, and then to the Beiyang government period to the Southeast University of Education and Jiangsu Provincial Education Association as the two major positions, and constantly imported Western education theory, educational experiments, vocational education, secondary and higher education, it can be said that, Jiangsu has always been the theme of China's educational modernization of continuous innovation. province. Although, to a certain extent, it reflects the inevitability of the deepening of the theme of China's educational modernization at different stages, in terms of the situation of all the provinces in the country, the transformation of the theme of Jiangsu's educational modernization was often ahead of its time. In other words, Jiangsu was often the pioneer of China's educational modernization, leading the national academy with thematic changes and constant innovations. This feature was determined by the fact that the Jiangsu gentry group was good at introducing and introducing theories and had a strong sensitivity to educational changes. After the Republic of China, Jiangsu a large number of foreign students returned home after their studies, many of them specializing in education, so this advantage, other provinces can not be reached.

The Jiangsu gentry group has always been quite enthusiastic about the import and absorption of modern educational theories. If Luo Zhenyu's early years founded the "World of Education" is mainly through Japan in a timely manner to Jiangsu and the whole country to import a number of educational systems and theories that can be drawn on, then, around the 1920s, many international students active in the academic community in Jiangsu, especially students studying in the United States, the import of this enthusiasm for educational theory to a climax. From universities to primary and secondary schools, and even kindergartens, from educational ideology, teaching content, and teaching methods, the learning and experimenting of the American Deweyan theory of pragmatism in Jiangsu's academic circles was extensive and long-lasting, and it can be said, in a certain sense, that Jiangsu thus became a pioneer in the introduction of and study of Western educational theories throughout the country in the 1920s. The impetus for the modernization of education in Jiangsu came mainly from the scholar-gentry community, which lacked the strong administrative power of advanced education modernization provinces such as Hubei and Shanxi, and therefore often looked to the establishment of an institutional system to guarantee the modernization of education. During the New Deal period, also before the establishment of the national provincial administrative system of education, in Zhang Zhidong and others advocated, Jiangsu has created three to promote the new style of education of the provincial administrative organs of the date of the school affairs department. After the national system of provincial administration, jiangsu province still retains two provincial administrative institutions date school affairs. In order to ensure the mobilization of educational funds, the education sector in Jiangsu, under the unremitting efforts, Jiangsu established an independent education funding system. Taking the implementation of compulsory education as an example, in the early 1920s, some counties and cities in Jiangsu Province introduced the compulsory education mu donation. Subsequently, all over the province formally introduced universal education mu donations, Jiangsu is the first in the country to establish legalized and institutionalized compulsory education funding system in the province. Hubei and Shanxi in this regard, although more or less do something, but in the national influence and characteristics is difficult to compare with Jiangsu.

The center of gravity favors the overall structure of secondary and higher education. Jiangsu in the beginning of modernization stage, its structure and Hubei and other provinces are more similar, from higher, professional school, but into the modernization of education to carry out the stage is gradually began to pay attention to primary education. Jiangsu Province was one of the early provinces in the country to propose and implement compulsory education. In connection with this, the strategy and policy of prioritizing the development of teacher education was established. However, the situation changed around the 1920s. On the one hand, Jiangsu's economic development in this period was more rapid, especially the faster development of industry and commerce, which enhanced Jiangsu's economic strength and created conditions for the investment in Jiangsu's secondary and higher education; on the other hand, economic development and the rise of some cities objectively put forward higher requirements for the talents cultivated by education, so the structure of Jiangsu's education underwent a big change, and primary education, although it still accounted for a considerable share Therefore, the structure of education in Jiangsu has changed considerably, although primary education still accounts for a large proportion, its status and influence in the country has given way to secondary and higher education. 1923 statistics, the number of students, for example, all types of education in the country, elementary school students accounted for 96.8% of the total number of students, secondary school students and college students accounted for 2.69% and 0.51%, respectively, it can be said that, the proportion of secondary and higher education is very weak in the proportion. Jiangsu elementary school students accounted for 94.75% of the total number of students, lower than the national average of nearly 2 percentage points, in the country accounted for the 6th; secondary school students accounted for 4.14% of the total number of students, higher than the national average of nearly 2 percentage points, ranked in the provinces of the country's top; higher education accounted for 1.11% of the national average of higher education students is exactly 1, ranked second only to the Beijing area. It is not difficult to see, the Republic of China in the early period of Jiangsu education modernization of the formation of the structure of the center of gravity in the middle and higher education, which is very obvious with Hubei, Shanxi and other provinces differences. ⑤

The pattern of Jiangsu's education modernization also reveals many outstanding problems. First, the contrast between the ideal and the actual is large. The driving force behind the modernization of education in Jiangsu came mainly from the scholar-gentry group. This group to the dissemination of theory and research, rich in ideals, while actively absorbing advanced education theory, practice, this feature to the development of education in Jiangsu brought a lot of new weather. But the other side of the problem is that, because rich in ideals and focus on the theme of innovation, therefore, a variety of educational trends come and go, a dazzling, such as compulsory education, vocational education, social education, civilian education, the theme of the constant change, and even fell into a new overly ambitious misunderstanding, coupled with the lack of strong administrative forces involved, resulting in the implementation of the province's education and the promotion of lack of a holistic view, and impede the implementation of the breadth and depth of the implementation of the should be achieved. The breadth and depth of implementation were hindered. Some of the gentry delimitation of the region and scope, to the experts appointed themselves, although rich in the ideal of reforming education, but idealism is too strong, in fact, their own, especially in the south of the Yangtze River, to a certain extent, it is precisely they divided the province's education system into pieces, resulting in the mandatory insufficient, which determines that the education of Jiangsu, although the steady development of the culmination of the difficult to form. At that time, some people on the state of education in Jiangsu had lamented: "Su Chang Tong Shanghai's educational situation, the study of education, more people, the school is more developed ...... its even more, in the academic world, the self-appointed notification of education is too much, so the school from the wind, people from the school, disagreements, the appointment of the person when more difficult. " Secondly, the popularization of education was difficult. Jiangsu education modernization model favors secondary and higher education, from the internal structure of education and the economic development of Jiangsu and the demand for education, there is a certain degree of reasonableness, that is, the scale of development of primary education to pay attention to secondary and higher education to maintain an appropriate proportion, thus avoiding the serious structural deviation as in Shanxi, but placed in a fairly long period of observation, it will be found that this orientation has caused the promotion of Jiangsu primary education and popularization of primary education in Jiangsu, ultimately restricting the level of modernization of the province's education in depth. Although Jiangsu has been paying attention to the expansion of primary education, the scale and popularization rate have been in a depressed state. 1923, the enrollment rate of children in Shanxi had reached 83%, but until 1930, the number of children enrolled in Jiangsu was only 624,240, and the number of school-age children in the whole province was 4,620,406, with an enrollment rate of 13.55% (7). Compared with Shanxi, its universalization of education can be said to be difficult and far away. Thirdly, the imbalance of educational development between the south and north of Jiangsu has intensified. The impact of Jiangsu's economic development on the modernization of education was analyzed earlier. It should be said that both Hubei, or Shanxi, the imbalance of economic development within its territory on the impact of education are very significant, but one because of the above two provinces in the process of modernization of education in the local administrative leaders play a more significant role; two because of its territory of the disparity of economic development is not as big as Jiangsu, therefore, Jiangsu, Jiangsu and, Jiangnan, Jiangnan, and the economic disparity between the city and the countryside, exacerbated the imbalance of education within the territory of Jiangsu. The imbalance in education. In the south of the Yangtze River and the urban area, the economy is prosperous, secondary and higher education shows vigorous vitality, while the relatively weak economy of the north of the Yangtze River and rural areas, not only the lack of secondary and higher education, but also the primary education is seriously constrained. For example, the birthplace of modern national industry - Shanghai, Nantong, Wuxi and other places of education is said to be the most developed areas of Jiangsu and even the country, while the north of the river Shuyang, Jiangdu and other places of education funding is often stretched to the limit, the teachers for the pay strike happened repeatedly, the overall level of its quite low.

Note:

① Tian Zhengping: Modernization of Chinese Education Series, General Preface, edited by Tian Zhengping: Modernization of Chinese Education Series, Guangdong Education Publishing House, 1996 edition.

② Luo Rongqu: New Theory of Modernization, Peking University Press, 1993 edition, page 296.

③ Binder: "The Crisis of Political Development", cited in Hubei University, Institute of Chinese Thought and Culture, edited by: "The Modern Transformation of Chinese Culture", Hubei Education Press, 1996 edition, p. 82.

④ Cited in Hubei University, Institute of Chinese Thought and Culture, edited by Hubei Education Press, The Modern Transformation of Chinese Culture, Hubei Education Press, 1996 edition, p. 32.

⑤ Tao Xingzhi: "Statistics of Education in China", The Complete Works of Tao Xingzhi, vol. 1, Hunan Education Press, 1983 edition, p. 311.

⑥ Hou Hongjian: "For the current situation of education in Jiangsu feelings", "Education Magazine", Vol. 8, No. 2.

⑦ Ministry of Education: The First Chinese Education Yearbook, C, edited by Kai Ming Bookstore, 1934, pp. 486-487