Local Educational Materials Of The 20th Century And Its Cultural Functions Investigated

Local teaching material is not only belonging to educational region, but also an organic part of local and traditional culture. The history of the transformation of local teaching material in one country can reflect its historical track of local educational development, as well as the importance which is attached to its traditional culture. Local teaching material has a history of more than 100 years in China. As other educational contents in school education, it takes on the significant task which imparts science knowledge and excellent traditional culture to the next generation. Coming into 21^st century, as every country regards education as the greatest force of development, a new climax of educational reform begins to appear all over the world. Chinese educational system has experienced several significant reforms since 1980s. With the further development of entire education system, local teaching material is paid great attention again, and different regions begin to exploit great amount of local teaching materials with regard to the local practices. However, the educational administration and most researchers haven't done any focused and systematic research on the transformation history and cultural functions of the Chinese local teaching materials. which would hinder the fast development of our local teaching materials. The historical local teaching material is the treasure of Chinese traditional culture, and we should attach great importance to it. or we would lose this rare cultural inheritance. Therefore, from the point of view to protect, inherit and develop the excellent traditional culture, the article figures that the systematic research on Chinese local teaching material over the century and the revealing of the cultural connotation and function has both significant theoretical and practical worth, and vital meaning of cultural protection and inheritance.The research is based on relative theories, takes the quality research model, and comprehensively applies documentary method, practical analysis, theoretical analysis, culture comparison and investigation to have a systematic research on the century's history and cultural functions of Chinese local teaching material. We find that the development of Chinese local teaching material experienced three periods and five climaxes. The first period is from the end of Qing Dynasty to the beginning of the 20^th century, and "The School Constitution for Emperor's Sanction" in 1903 and "The Records of Local Region" in 1905 are the signs of the first climax of the local teaching material research. The second period is from 1911 to 1930s and 1940s, and it contains three phases: the phase of Xinhai revolution, the phase of war against Japanese and the phase of liberation war. "The General Curriculum for Elementary School" in 1932 is the symbol of the second climax of the local teaching material research. The third period is from 1949 to present, and it also contains three phases: the first phase is the first ten years since the building of new China; the second phase is the period of Cultural Revolution, and the third phase is from the period of reform and opening-up to present. "The Inform of Ministry of Education on Compiling Local Teaching Material for Elementary, Middle and Normal Schools" in 1958 is the symbol of the third climax of the local teaching material research. In the June of 1987, the National Education Committee held a meeting on national local teaching material at Jiande in Zhejiang Province, which is the sign of the fourth climax of the local teaching material research. "The Decision of State Department on Deepening the Entire Education Reform and Promotion of Quality Education" in 1999 and "Compendium of Elementary Curriculum Reform" from the Ministry of Education in 2001 are the symbols of the fifth climax of the local teaching material research. On the transverse space distribution and development, Chinese local teaching material shows several characters: it develops widely on the whole; it develops fast during the climaxes; the development is not balanced among different regions, and local teaching material promotes the local culture and exerts its cultural functions through it.The course of education and training of the next generation in school education is the course of cultural inheritance; therefore, curriculum and textbook are the main tools that school education uses to conduct cultural inheritance. Since these tools become a kind of new culture, the curriculum and textbook could possess the cultural connotation and function and equip with double attributes as the tools of cultural inheritance which reflects the requirements for the choice of culture value in different periods, regions, nationalities, colonies and estates. The various value requirements for culture can be quickly, accurately and effectively passed on by the curriculum and textbook in school education. During the developing course, Chinese local teaching material creates and expands the rich traditional culture, devotedly fulfills its duty of inheriting and developing Chinese traditional culture through the school education which provides a special place and opportunity to publicize, educate, train and cultivate the next generation, and exerts the crucial cultural functions: the functions of cultural choice, cultural inheritance and cultural creation, in the course of educating the next generation. During the exertion of cultural functions, through the principles of acculturation and enculturation, it cultivates students' cognition, emotion and action towards local region; promotes students' socialization of the identification with local region to realize the cultural functions of local teaching material.