Research On The Relations Between Higher Education And Social Development

In 1943, Winston Churchill expressed his well-known opinion in his Harvard lecture: "The empire in the future will belong to the one with brains." University is the sacred place for knowledge and great learning;it breeds buds and new factors of civilization;it plays an irreplaceable part in the advancement and development of human the society. A new epoch, which is characterized by political multi-polarization, economic globalization, cultural pluralism and information cyberization, has arrived. The fact that science and technology change rapidly, knowledge is on the upswing, and the competition for overall national strength gets increasingly intense has made it obvious that international competition lies in the competition for training talented people and building up first-class universities. Under such background, with the implementation of the strategies to revitalize the country through science and education and to strengthen the country through talented personnel, the strategic position of education in China has appeared distinctly. As is well known, first-class universities and research-oriented universities have become a barometer of the modernization of education, and they represent the level of scientific, cultural and educational development of a country. Speeding up the pace of building up world-wide first-class universities has become an inexorable requirement to rejuvenate the Chinese nation, and meanwhile, it has also become an urgent need to sharpen our core competition edge, and to occupy an advantageous position in international competition. In light of these considerations, I think it holds theoretical values and practical significance to study the relations between higher education and social development.Following this train of thought, the Introduction of my dissertation explains the background, purpose and significance of my study, and then puts forward the approaches and directions of future research, and the possibility of innovation after commenting on and describing the theories and practices concerning higher education and social development.Chapter Two discusses the idea of a university and its connotation. By analyzing the 800 years' development of the idea of a university in western countries, it contends that university has different ideas at different historical periods and reveals different features and spirit of the age.Starting with the relationship between the idea of a university and higher education,Chapter Three states that the pursuit of science and academy is the primary goal of a college, and that higher education can carry forward and cultivate national spirit, and embody the spirit of the times.Chapter Four expounds the influence of higher education on social development, and the important role that higher education plays in the information society and knowledge economy. It maintains that university should not "be divorced from the society", but, at the same time, it must take an objective stand toward society.Chapter Five elucidates the characteristics and values of higher education by analyzing the connotation, essence, features, and social functions of knowledge. It states that the fundamental responsibility of university is to spread, carry on, and create knowledge, for the purpose of contributing to social development.Chapter Six illustrates the humanistic value of university and the role intellectuals play in social development. The function of university and that of intellectuals are interdependent. On the one hand, as the matrix of knowledge and the cradle of moral values in modern society, university undertakes the significant task to nurture intellectuals;on the other hand, intellectuals cannot reveal its modern functional traits without the above-mentioned functions prescribed by college.In the light of the fact that China is now in the historic phase of social transition, Chapter Seven sociologically analyzes the effects higher education has on social transform, social stratification and social mobility, and brings to light the role higher education plays in the formation of a credential society, and the part credentials plays in people's choice of profession and the structure of their social positions.Chapter Eight describes the origin and development of the Chinese colleges and universities. By straightening out the ancient Chinese educational ideas and systems, the class of scholars, and the relations between intellectuals and nation-state, it manages to illuminate that the origin of the Chinese university and that of the western university have diametrically different cultural foundations and societal motivations, and that the Chinese university at different developmental stages has different influence on social development.Chapter Nine argues that, as regards the Chinese college, it has far-reaching significance to establish a group of research-oriented and high-level universities, which will help sharpen China's core competitive edge and fulfill China's grand goal of constructing a well-off society in an all-round way. To materialize this goal, developing disciplines is the master key, bringing up creative talents is the aim, and establishing and improving higher education systems is the guarantee.Chapter Ten describes the relations among the college, the government and the market. It contends that the relations among the three should be correctly handled, and the three elements need to be constantly reorganized and consolidated, and that higher education development depends on the government and should conform to the market, while at the same time the university must maintain its own independence.Chapter Eleven diagnoses the problems in present Chinese colleges and universities. Theses problems not only require colleges, the society, the school authorities, staff members as well as students to make concerted efforts to think about and act on them, but also require the researchers of higher education to make in-depth study in terms of theories and practice.Chapter Twelve discusses the possible way out for present Chinese colleges and universities. University is the wonderful creation of human beings, and it should not cut itself off from social development and the needs of the times. Only when Chinese colleges and universities successfully merge into the historical course of globalization, accomplish the mission of nurturing talented people, doing scientific research and serving the society, can they earn public recognition and support, and maintain the state of continuous development.