A Study On Value Orientation Of Contemporary Citizenship Education In China

Rights are the "engine" of social development. Only through reasonably carrying forward the rights, we can promote individual subjectivity, ensure the dignity and the bottom line of person’s behavior; Only through vigorously carrying forward the rights, we can seek more social justice, accordingly bridge society gulf; Only through vigorously carry forward the rights, we can ascend people’s thought, ideology and idea, so as to promote the overall development of our country modernization. As the main channel of cultivating consciousness of civil rights, citizenship education should guide young students and the major people vigorously to learn, advocate, practice, defend and promote civil rights, in this way we can cultivate independent, free and equal rights citizens. On the basis of analyzing China current citizenship education under obligation priority value-oriented leaded to the lack of the people, the lack of independent personality of the individual and the lack of citizen literacy, this research think that, today, China citizenship education should seek a the rights priority value-oriented road, and we think that our ideal citizen is the one, who fully recognizes his/her rights, fully independent in personality, pursues society justice, promotes democratic, civilized and harmonious development in the international area.According to the above problems, this study will dissertate from four chapters with the construction train of theoretical analysis, historical review, status quo scrutiny, whole construction.Chapter Ⅰ is for the theoretical analysis. On the basis of explaining the related concepts of citizen, citizenship, citizenship education as well as the citizenship education value orientation, define the purpose of this study:that is, from time, this study of "contemporary" especially means to the period after1978; from the content, this study is the theory and practice of the whole research; from the theoretical basis, this study is with the foundation of Liberal Theory of Rights and Marx’s Humanism Thoughts as the theoretical basis.Chapter Ⅱ is for historical review. We reviewed in the context of the development of Chinese and Western citizenship education, and examine their characteristics and differences. We sorted out Chinese Citizenship education from the four periods of Late Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China, the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and after Reform and Opening up, and combed the western citizenship education from the ancient times, modern times and contemporary times to trace. From the comparison we finded that Chinese and Western citizenship education were taking different path:Western society emphasized individual rights, the rule of law, democracy, freedom, but China Social underlines country, group, ethics, and obligations. From above, we can see different countries, different histories, different cultural traditions embody different diversity, but there are also many places that we can learn from.Chapter Ⅲ is for status quo scrutiny. Through examining our contemporary citizenship education goals, content, and integrated features, we analyzed citizenship education existing problems of lack of the people, individual independent personality and civic literacy of our contemporary citizenship education from four aspects such as social, cultural, institutional and value orientation. That is, the lack of a high degree of development of the commodity economy and the related democratic ideas of the Enlightenment was the social reasons for this problem; the harmony philosophy of the harmony between human and nature leading to heavy overall light personal, the home country isomorphic political view leading to the rule of man and re-light the rule of law, ethics-based values leading to the heavy obligations light rights were cultural reasons; system absence and institutional dislocation of citizenship education were the cause of the system; did not seize the core and essence of citizenship education, not to draw on the successful experience in citizenship education at home and abroad, did not correctly grasp their own fundamental interests and needs were the understanding cause of citizenship education value Orientation deviation.The fourth chapter is for the whole construction of citizenship education. Clearly stated that the value orientation of the development trend of China’s contemporary citizenship education should be the one of rights priority guidance, and further elaborated rights priority meaning and key points, establishing foundations and its realization mechanism. This study indicated rights priority citizenship education value orientation should be a way of showing respect for people, respect for individual rights, respect for individual freedom choice. On the relationship between the individual and the community and the country, incline to cultivating individual subject consciousness; tend to civil rights priority in the relations of citizens’ rights and responsibilities; tend to advocate justice priority between justice and good; tend to the democratic development guiding nationalism on the relationship between democracy and nationalism. The establishment of rights priority value orientation is necessary requirement for human survival and the subjectivity development, is an inevitable choice for a harmonious society and our country modern development. This study put rights priority value-oriented implementation mechanism into effect from three aspects such as intellectual Enlightenment, the institutionalization of citizenship education and specific cultivating strategies:in citizens’ intellectual enlightenment, rights priority should carry on human rights, justice, the rule of law, freedom, equality of the Intellectual Enlightenment reganding internal conscious as a starting point and the individual liberation as the purpose-oriented; in citizenship Education institutionalization, rights priority citizenship education should regard cultivating citizens as our country’s educational purposes, ensure independent status of Civics in school education. In training measure, rights priority citizenship education should give freedom to students so that students can practice rights in school life, create a democratic, equal and harmonious relationship between teachers and students, enhance teachers’ rights awareness, establish civil rights advocacy group in school.