The Research On The Modern Childhood From The View Of Paedagogy

Childhood means children's life which depends on the adult's awareness and attitudes. The modern conception of childhood claims that children's present living is the premise of children's future life, so children need special care and training. Conception of childhood was found in the eighteenth century, then every century is known as the children's century. According to the conception of childhood, people have the corresponding educational thoughts and actions. The emergence of the modern school is the product of childhood's century. Based on the age, the schools classify the children who belong to the schools and can only learn at school. The study of the modern childhood not only is the logic starting point of development of school education, but also has important significance for the criticizing and reflecting of the current school education.Chapter1discussed the different childhood in various subjects. The historians think that modern childhood is a manifestation of the social progress. The psychologies claim that the childhood is the primitive of the human and many psychological problems of the adults can be traced to the childhood. The anthropologies figure that the childhood is constructed by the culture which is different in different societies and don't lie in the top of the value chains. The compared views think that the later-emerged modernity countries can find sources from the traditional childhood to resolve the disappearance of the modern childhood. The imagination of the modern childhood is the product of the literature which acts on the children's life and shapes the social understanding of the childhood. The researches of the culture study the dissimilatory childhood which is under the mass culture of commodity. In the contemporary childhood studies, the children's own conscious is valued. The views pointed above are important resources when people reflect on the contemporary school education theory and education acts.Chapter2analyzed the understandings of the modern education theory about the childhood. Since the Enlightenment, the childhood has been incorporated into the modern school system. From then on, the school education must consider what should be given to children that can help children live and participate in social practice independently. The dissertation selects three thinkers of the modern educational history who are Rousseau, Herbart, Dewey, and discuss the subject which they talked about. They believe that the first task of school education is to cultivate the Ration. Rousseau is the first education thinker who discovered the childhood. He claimed that the value of the childhood should be attached great importance. Education should make the children's talent ration grow freely toward the right direction through the negative educational means, and make them become the individuals who can take independent action. Herbart thought that the students'interests and ideas are formed through the teaching, and by doing so, the students can attain the sense of judgment, and make wise social actions. Dewey believed that the growth of the children's experience is the most important objective in school education which is the main product resulted from the interaction between the subject and the environment. In the process of the growth of the experience, the abstract thinking plays an important role. The objective knowledge is incorporated into the subject's experience by practicing. Their pedagogy is the pedagogy of enlightenment, which is the main reference when we reflecting on the contemporary Chinese educational practice.Chapter3analyzed the progressive conception of the childhood in Chinese history. From the May Fourth Movement, the concept of Chinese childhood is liberated from adult standard. There are many slogans about the childhood such as "The worship of Childhood""Child-Centered" in this period. Based on the traditional conceptions about the childhood, people construct a new conception about the childhood. The new viewpoints emphasize the children's interest and the education of the children's interest. The representative of the new views about the childhood is Ye Shengtao who propagandizes the views through children literature, educational novels, etc. However, under the movement of "Salvation over Enlightenment", the new conception has buried soon.With the focus point shifted to the modern era, Chapter4discusses the concept of childhood in the practice of contemporary Chinese society which including system construction and educational practice. Since the founding of PPC, the institutions of marriage, criminal, social welfare, and education have provided cornerstone to construct a modern concept of childhood which consistent with western mainstream. Signing of the Convention on the Rights of the Child can be viewed as a symbol of modern concept of childhood. It confirmed the children rights of existence and development. From the perspective of educational institution, the lives of children are not in the sight of education policy-makers. However, from the prospect of educational practice, the main objective is to culture of the subjectivity (ration) and its marks the transform of Chinese education from the traditional to the beginning of modernity. The theory of New Elementary Education ("Life and Practice") holds that the transform of survival of teachers and students is the root of education change. Besides, the New Curriculum Reform of China advocates a child-centered culture of Curriculum, and set the "Research Study" as the demonstration of the methodology of school cultural change. All those tough and twist Chinese education practice finally let the school education gradually approached the modern childhood.The last chapter analyzed the traditional concept of childhood and contemporary issues of childhood which including overprotection and the examination-oriented education, the dissertation proposed such views:school education has its own unique nature; schools should not only set the "children" as their only subject, but also incorporate the whole childhood and be viewed as the basis of the entire operation. School should never deprive the life from the concept of childhood. From prospective above, education should protect the integrity, richness and progressive of children life. Integrity means fitness between life and teaching. Richness stands for all kinds of possibilities in environment. progression is the development of experience. It not only inherits the western modern education thought, but also develops Chinese contemporary educational practice logically. The conception of modern childhood will be another position for the school education to play social cultural criticism function and show its education subject independence.