American Model For Trends: Chinese University Of Transformation (1915-1927)

The reformation of universities and colleges from 1915 to 1927 has not been for a long time studied as an independent subject, whose ideas of teacher training programs in universities, board of directors system, optional courses and credit system, students self-governing system and educational activities in universities are worth researching as a shift from Japan to the U.S.A in the process of modernization of university education in China. Research on this period has not only academic value but also profound enlightening and reference value to the reform of university education in current China. This paper is based on the reform of the States Southeast University in that period explain the exterior influence on the shift from Japan to the U.S.A, the detacted contents and features of its reform and the influence of American university model.The reform started in 1915, almost at the same time with the New Culture Movement, when students with a full knowledge of American education returned to China and found various jobs in universities. That is the direct cause for the shift. They adorned John Dewey's thoughts which gave a color to the reform in the Chinese universities. The main features in the university management in China at that time were as follows:1. Board of directors, the president and professors constituted the administration2: Students self-governing system and no sex distinction3. To cultivate both universal geniuses and experts under the credit system with a curriculum of compulsory and optional courses .4. Teacher training programs in the universities and the establishment of research institutes. The universities in China have since become democratic and society oriented.However, there was some controversy on the education goal in Chinese higher education circle. The criticism from the American new humanism to John Dewey's pragmatism also affected the interpretation of modern university spirit among Chinese universities. The magazine "Xueheng" amend to re-evaluate the pragmatism influence on Chinese universities from its united issue, which revealed the conflict between the opposing ideas and the pragmatism in the American culture and education circle and the influence of the new human system to the Chinese students back from the U.S.A. The conflict between being humanistic and being practical in the 1920's education reform in China has also come to night. The State Southeast University is the typical representative that come to battle in conflict between the introduction of foreign experience and the preservation of native culture.Following an overall research on the university reform in China in the 1920's, the paper concludes that the key points for the university reform in china are: 1. to establish democratic administration; 2. to cultivate universal genius and experts; 3. to avoid instant success and quick profits. 4. to handle correctly the relationship between internationalization and localization.