Theory And Practice Of Teacher-student Intersubjectivity

The teacher-student relationship is the most primary, important, frequent, active interpersonal relationship in the process of education. Compared with favorite educational environment, curriculum content and teaching methods, it is very difficult to achieve a high-quality teaching without a good teacher-student relation. The condition of relation between teacher and student often directly determines teaching models, affects the background, way and final education result of teaching activities. The relation between teacher and student has different characteristics with different instructions. How to recognize and grasp its essence and characteristics is always a key issue for educators both at home and abroad.From the beginning of 1980s in China theorists have started the lasting discussion on the relation between teacher and student. No matter teacher-dominated, or student-as-subject theory, or double-subject discussions, all has not disengaged from the Cartesian binary pattern. Derivate from the subject-object rules, in the identical context, one party is the subject, while the other party is inevitably the object. The subject is active, while the object is being processed. The teacher-student relation is the give-receive relation of knowledge, a relation of control and anti-control. Therefore the unification of a teacher-student is both infeasible and impossible.Since the end of 1990s, the philosophical turn in the West from subjectivity to intersubjectivity, together with the influence of Habermas' communication theory, have precipitated people to open up their mind gradually, and to go out of the difficult position of binary pattern. Realizing that "the other people are not the objects", teachers and students are both involved in the education context, and an inersubjective relation has been gradually established. This research is precisely done based on this background, tracing the basic developments of the major points and practices of the new teacher-student relation both in China and the West, explaining the basic theories and essential features of teacher-student intersubjectivity which is interactive, understanding, equivalent. The theoretical values and the practical strategies of teacher-student intersubjectivity are elaborated for teaching, moral education and class management.Chapter 1: Based mainly on historical developments of teacher-student relation in China and the West, taking the representative educational approaches as the content, the logical frame of the social basis, the theory basis, the practical results and evaluation are discussed. Combining summary and review, a reflection of the historical developments of the teacher-student relation is conducted to find out the limitations in the study of the relation in different stages.Chapter 2: The starting of intersubjectivity theory and its epistemological, survival, commutative and practical basis are discussed for an interpretation, unification and conformity of the different intersubjectivity theories. Some of the basic intersubjective ideas in ancient China concerning knowledge and morality are considered, by comparing and contrasting with those in the West. This serves as a theoretical basis.Chapter 3: As for the limitations of the paradigm in teacher-student subject-object relationship, the author attempts to prove the possibility, rationality and necessity in teacher-student intersubjectivity. After discussing the dichotomy and subjectivity dichotomy, the connotation and essential features are argued. The essential status of teacher-student intersubjectivity is established.Chapter 4: A thorough argument is conducted on the understanding of teacher-student intersubjectivity, discussing from the aspects of theoretical motivations, effective premise and medium in understanding. Teaching and practical strategies in accordance with teach-student intersubjetivity are proposed after analyzing its teaching features and effects.Chapter 5: The theoretical connotation of intersubjective moral education is interpreted with a discussion on the developments of moral education values and representatives of problems in present moral education. Practical strategies concerning teacher-student intersubjectivity are proposed: premises, guarantees, conditions, elements and approaches.Chapter 6: The shift of class management from subjectivity to intersubjevtivity is interpreted from the prospective of general management theories and class management. The features, principles and strategies in class management are further analyzed.