Study On Values Education In British Schools

In contemporary west, "Values Education" is widespreading educational thought and practical form. Trend of values education has swept the whole world since 1980s. In the background of pluralistic society, the developed countries such as Britain and America has implemented values education plan in public schools at first. Among them, British school's values education is most typical and worth studying, because of the rich results and experience from its development of theory and practice, so that it has provided important enlightenment for reform of values education in China' schools. Values education in British schools is close to prosperity of western axiology and even a practical attempt to solve crisis of value basis, rectify tendency of scientism, combat utilitarian opinions on education and advocate life meaning and value-seeking.This thesis has followed the guidance of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, as well as has synthetically used literature survey, historical research, comparative analysis and multidisciplinary approach in order to keep unity of history and logic, and combine macrography with micrography. This thesis has persisted in principle of seeking truth from facts and using for reference, and studied deeply on social condition, theoretical foundation, historical progress and actuality of values education in Brithsh schools; Then it has linked with distinctive culture tradition, social system and national mind to reveal features and tendency of British school values education, and analysed advantages and weaknesses of British school values education to draw lessons from it.Values education in British schools, has formed in certain culture tradition and actual background. It has been exposed to the factors of economy, politics, culture and times. Firstly, this thesis has started from economical background and revealed market-oriented economy's requirements for its value orientation; then it has explored political background of British school values education and expounded the key role of multi-democratic system and policy of ruling party; finally, this thesis has analysed the influence of liberalism, conservatism and multiculturalism.Values education in British schools, has been established on specific philosophical basis and theoretical foundation. Firstly, this thesis has started from existence of human to interpret logical connection of value and education, value-nature of human, and certified anthroposophical basis of values education accordingly, then, this thesis has investigated axiological background of values education to explore the lufluence of British educational values to its values education; Finally, the thesis has researched on theoretical foundation of values education in British schools, and analysed a series of educational viewpoints of humanism, post-modernism and value-pluralism to reveal their prescriptive effect on values education in British schools.Values edcation in British schools, has experienced three stages:religionary, secularization and nationalization. Before the 20th century, British school values education was in the religionary stage, its main forms were earlier religious education and classical gentleman education. The promulgation of 1870 Elementaty Education Act meant government involvment in public education, and British school values began get rid of control from church and stepped in secularization. At the end of 20th century, Curriculum 2000 put specialized curriculum of values education into national curriculum system, and values education entered the stage of nationalization.Values edcation in British schools, has been affected by the factors of state system, cultural tradition and times, from the macro-view, middle-view and micro-view, its aims has been divided into national aim, school aim and curicular aim. Its content has contained moral values, political values, religious values, scientific values, aethstic values, environmental values and ecnomic values according to value categories, and has penetrated into academic knowledge of various subjects.Values edcation in British schools, has been carried out through overt curriculum and hidden school life, the former has included specialized curriculum and national curriculum, the latter has covered extra-curricular activities, pastoral care, school ethos, psychological counselling, career guidance and so on. From the methodological view, the approaches of British school values education has been divided into descriptive approach and prescriptive approach; from practical view, its concrete methods has covered direct instruction, dilemma discussion, collective worship, circle time and role-playing, etc.Values education in British schools, has presented general characteristic of religiousness, diversity, confluenting and gradual-developing by the influence of secularization, modernization, democratization and globalization; It has also followed theoretical study on education, reform of school curriculum, thought of educational democracy and utilization of network technique, and embodied trend of totalization, centralization, democatization and networking.Values edcation in British schools, has been exposed to humanism, empiricism, hidden curriculum and post-modernism, so then it has embodied subjectivity, practicalness, penetrability and openness. Meanwhile, British school values education has affected by scientism, relativism, laissez-faire and utilitarianism, and possessed weaknesses of significance, legality, system and effect.Values edcation in China's schools, should draw lessons from British school values education and abide by:taking both account of centralized dominance and multiple co-existence, uniting individual value orientation and collective value orientation, harmonizing value reason and instrumental reason, and integrating value guidance and value discourse.Under circumstances of pursuing "function" and "utilization", China's school values education has fallen into inappropriate and embarrassing situation; the certain extent of empty preach and constraint indoctrination has also made effect of values education weakened. Therefore, seizing intrinsic prescriptivity of values education must be based on clarifying the relation of value and education from philosophical existentialism and humanistic teleology, integrating values education into human's existence and situation, and understanding value-nature of human and the essence of education, so then we can develop the theory and practice of values education on account of existence of human.