Retrospection And Establishment Of China University Curriculum Outlook

The Chinese university curriculum outlook is an issue that needs studying in higher education theoretical research, but how was China traditional university curriculum outlook formed? How did it play its role in different historical period? What challenges will it face and what problems will it meet in new era? How should we find effective ways to solve the problems both theoretically and practically? This study bases on the theory paradigm of"beginning with the practice", sorts out and analyses the history of Chinese university curriculum outlook, summarizes and reflects Chinese traditional university curriculum outlook, finally attempts to construct a completely new university curriculum outlook.The paper at first analyses the history development of Chinese university curriculum,which can be divided into two periods with the demarcation line of the establishment of new China. According to the different historical features, there are three stages before 1949: the founding in the end of Qing Dynasty (1895-1912); the reform in the early Republic of China (1912-1927); the arrangement in the government of Republic of China (1927-1949). After 1949, there are also three stages: the socialist transformation in the early years of new China (1949-1957); the reform when building socialism in an all-round way (1957-1966); the reform and development since the open door policy (from 1978 to now).The development process of Chinese university curriculum displays three features. From the aspect of the degree that China university relied on the foreign counterpart, the curriculum followed a way from transplant and imitation, to study and use for reference, then to self-innovation. From the aspect of different countries from which China university learned, the curriculum was first after Japan, Germany, America and Russia, then America as its destination. From the aspect of the relationship between university and the government, there was a tendency that the government took more control over university curriculum with the stability of the regime. The paper then further analyses the features of China university curriculum: the past and present was reflected in attached development, and its value-orientation was reflected in extreme social interest and"advanced special talents", and the outer characteristic was manifested in"public frames"and"instructional plan".The traditional university curriculum outlook's theoretical basis embodies such society-oriented philosophy as pragmatism, behaviorism, cognitive psychology, or structural functional sociology, with"society-based"as its remarkable feature. Therefore, different types of reforms on university curriculum, for example, humanism education reform, general education reform, or quality education reform, which were all guided by traditional university curriculum outlook, are nothing but patches here and there on existing curriculum, and cannot solve the problems in current curriculum system once and for all. Curriculum under this concept must be one without"human". Reconstruction of university curriculum outlook then becomes an urgent problem.The reconstruction of university curriculum outlook represents three aspects of ontology, epistemology and methodology, so as to answer three questions of the meaning of university curriculum, the method to understand and master the university curriculum, and the way to achieve the university curriculum's goal. The study endeavors to construct a new university curriculum outlook on three aspects of ontology, epistemology and methodology. Ontology regards university curriculum as a practical being, and the curriculum is dynamic, processive, and empirical in an open system. Epistemology stresses the idea of understanding and mastering curriculum beginning with human in practice, and university curriculum takes its shape in student curriculum, teacher curriculum, institute curriculum and state curriculum. The true situation of university curriculum is reflected in the game of multi-practice subjects'curriculum right. Methodology of university curriculum expresses its idea that the curriculum functions as system's"agency"and a"balancer"that coordinates the multi-practice subjects'right relationship; and it emphasizes that problem consciousness and reflection behavior must begin from the practice in curriculum system building and curriculum right coordination. The three aspects in university curriculum of practical being, practical subjectivity and reflective thinking can all be integrated to the point of"practice". Therefore, the curriculum outlook which this paper tries to construct is named"practical university curriculum outlook".