Moral Education Curriculum In Institutions Of Higher Learning From The Perspective Of Knowledge

To seek knowledge is a person's nature. "Can morality be taught?" The problem by Socrateshas aroused the argument about the relation between knowledge and morality. The West epistemological tradition has dated from the judgment "morality is knowledge". It also expressed the internal relation between knowledge and morality that the ancient intellectual in China obeyed the Confucian way to learn, namely from "understanding things and achieving knowledge" to "cultivating one's morality, housekeeping, administering a country and managing the world".Since the 20th century people have worshiped knowledge very much, especially the scientific knowledge to the addicted degree. Knowledge evolves into the scientific embodiment. Objectivity, neutrality and loss of value become the criteria of selecting knowledge. The 20th century is a century of seeking universal knowledge and objective knowledge guiding, which embodies emphasizing knowledge moral education in particular. Meanwhile, the voice of criticizing the type of moral education keeps continuous. However, the exploration of going beyond the type of moral education always goes to the other new way. Hence, to look into the problem of knowledge in school moral education becomes the essential choice of this paper. Based on the current reform in moral education of new curriculum in institutions of higher learning and the thinking about the boundary of research problem and the strong actual demand, the research range shrinks to moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning from the perspective of knowledge Knowledge is the result of human cognitive activity. Knowledge activity is a cognitive activity. Knowledge is not only the result of human cognition, but the power of shaping person. Knowledge changes the connecting way between people and the world, and also the living ways of human being. Hence, we can say human is knowledge being.As a spiritual way of understanding the world, morality needs the knowledge basis. Morality is the life meaning connection between "me" and "you", and the realization of the meaning. Whether as a kind of "knowledge", or a kind of "intelligence", morality connects individual life experiences and demands. Individual moral choice directly results from the value of individual life practice.Moral knowledge results from understanding of the spirit of moral and the subjective cognition of objective ethical connection. It is the symbols that express the subjective value relations. It includes not only the moral idea system, but also the ways of moral behavior. Moral knowledge belongs to collective consciousness and individual knowledge. It's integrated knowledge. It embodies rules and has some hierarchy natures including objective moral spirit and subjective individual moral experience. It has three types of moral knowledge, namely theoretical moral knowledge, normative moral knowledge and individual moral knowledge. Compared with other knowledge, it has some different characteristics, such as subjective, controlling, situational and generative ones. Its value mainly embodies manifesting moral reason, offering knowledge basis for individual morality socialization; shaping people's character and becoming the important power of individual moral development; becoming the resource of moral capital in the modern society; making school moral education curriculum possible as knowledge resource.Moral knowledge is the cognitive basis of moral education curriculum in school. Moral knowledge is chosen and integrated and makes moral education curriculum the field in which people meet with moral knowledge, and becomes the space in which person is cultivated.In institutions of higher learning moral knowledge mainly shows some aspects in moral education curriculum, including teacher's view of curriculum, the text "Thoughts and Moral Training" and its implement, and the college students' experience and understanding of the knowledge basis of moral education curriculum. According to the present investigation and interview of the moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning, this paper analyzes and judges many present problems. Though the connection between moral knowledge and moral education curriculum after recollection, the author thinks the problems mainly lie in the following aspects: the conservative views of curriculum, loss of integrating thought; single curriculum design, neglecting individual life difference; provincial curriculum context, loss of globalization mind; value-oriented instrumental teaching, weak human connotation; dull teaching methods, short of life breath. To postmortem these reasons is to explore the reform of moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning based on moral knowledge.The reform of moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning from the perspective of knowledge needs to establish the intergraded view of curriculum, the designation of "life-practice" curriculum, the view of trans-culture moral education curriculum, the view of teaching in the meaning world and the choices of the way of individual moral narration.The reform of moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning under from the perspective of knowledge makes moral knowledge and people meet together and exert the power of modeling people's. The power is necessary in modeling persons' characters which promotes individual moral reason, expands moral freedom and seeks transcendentality and the realization of person's liberation.This thesis is classified into seven chapters. The basic content and research aim is as follows.Chapter One summarizes documents. This part summarizes the correlative research home and abroad about knowledge and moral education, knowledge and moral education curriculum to establish the base of this research.Chapter Two is introduction. This part puts forward to the research problem "the reform of moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning from the perspective of knowledge", makes clear the research goal and its significance and sets the goal of this research.Chapter Three is about knowledge and morality. Knowledge and morality are essential variable. To explore the two essential variables is to establish the cognitive base in philosophy and ethics. This chapter is divided into four aspects: firstly, generalizing "knowledge", including its implication and category; secondly, generalizing "morality", including its attribute and implication and the mutually independent relation between them; thirdly, discussing the relation between knowledge and morality, including the knowledge base of morality and the unity between knowledge and morality, illustrating the united correlation between moral knowledge property and its goal; finally, explaining "moral knowledge" including its form, implication, characteristics, categories and value to clarify the cognition of moral knowledge in philosophy and ethics and establish the theoretical base of the research theme. Chapter Four is about moral knowledge and moral education curriculum. Moral knowledge and moral education curriculum are also essential variables. To explore the two essential variables is to seek the theoretical base of the research theme, namely the knowledge base of moral education curriculum. It includes three aspects. Firstly, discussing the subject position, the foundation as well as the characteristics of moral education curriculum etc. Secondly, mentioning moral education curriculum, the platform on which people meet with moral knowledge. Thirdly, exploring moral knowledge, the cognitive base of moral education curriculum.Chapter Five mainly discusses the current situation and recollection of moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning from the perspective of knowledge. From the perspective of the relation between moral knowledge and moral education curriculum, this chapter intends to explore the problems and reasons in moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning. This chapter mainly covers three aspects: firstly, to review the construction and development about moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning since the reform of 1978 in China and point out the basic problems existing between them; secondly, through the questionnaires to investigate the current state of teachers' view on curriculum and the implementing of "Thoughts and Morality Training" in institutions of higher learning, analyze the moral education curriculum text and communicate with college students about the knowledge view on moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning and extract many problems existing in reality; thirdly, by means of recollecting the problems existing in reality, to explore the reasons of these problems as follows: the conservative views of curriculum, loss of integrating thought; single curriculum design, neglecting individual life difference; provincial curriculum context, loss of globalization mind; value-oriented instrumental teaching, weak human connotation; dull teaching methods, short of life breath.Chapter Six mainly discusses the reform of moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning from the perspective of knowledge. This part proposes the essential strategies to solve the problems. It includes five aspects. Firstly, it argues that the reform of moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning from the perspective of knowledge is based on the transition of the view on curriculum so we should establish the integrated view of moral knowledge; further explores the basic content of integrating moral education curriculum. Secondly, it argues that the reform of moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning from the perspective of knowledge should embody individual difference, attach importance to the principle of "life-practice"; it specifically illustrates the two basic categories. Thirdly, it discusses the theory of trans-culture moral education, analyzes the choice of moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning from the perspectives of trans-culture, and illustrates the view of the globalization of moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning. Fourthly, it discusses "meaning" and "meaningful world", the meaning formation and expression in teaching activities, the nature of teaching in the meaningful world; it illustrates the teaching view of the reform in moral education curriculum from the perspective of knowledge, namely, in implementing moral education curriculum to establish the meaning correlation between moral knowledge and people to bring into play the characters of morality shaping persons. Lastly, it discusses the befalling promoted from life incidents to education ones, the characteristics and moral value as well as educational expressing methods of befalling; it specifically illustrates the channels in which the reform in moral education curriculum from the perspective of knowledge liberates individual moral knowledgeChapter Seven is conclusion. This part concludes the essential strategies of the reform of moral education curriculum in institutions of higher learning from the perspective of knowledge, discusses the limitations and shortage in which moral knowledge molds person's character and forms these important conclusions that in implementing the moral education curriculum moral knowledge promotes individual moral reason, expands moral freedom and seeks transcendentality and the realization of people's liberation.