On The American Life Adjustment Education After The Second World War

Life Adjustment Education was the representative of Progressivism in secondary education in American after the World War II.The curriculum reformation was the core procedure.Life Adjustment Education aimed at high dropout rate,deparation of classroom and practice,helping young people to adapt to the post-war life.In short,this is a kind of training to help young people adapt to life.It mainly included "citizen knowledge","family life","leisure and entertainment","health","work experience"and so on.It emphasized "the student center" and "the social center",curriculum content arranged around the real life specific issues.It stressed the cooperation between school and family,community,university.In the 1950s,the Life Adajustment Education movement was conquered by conservatism,McCarthyism and the Soviet forces,and finally failed.This dissertation summarizes the characteristics of life adjustment education in chronological order.It is divided into four chapters to elaborate the occurrence,development and end of life adjustment education.During World War II,American schools became a tool for serving the war.This has led to problems in schools:low enrollment,juvenile delinquency,and high dropout rates.The study of the history of American secondary education shows the pursuit of democracy and science in secondary schools.At the same time,the philosophy of progressive education emphasized the "democratic cooperation","children's interest",and the rise of "the cult of efficiency".Society of the early 20th century which pursue "effective" and "useful" inspired the Life Adjustment Education.The U.S.Office of Education,the American Youth Commission,the Education Policy Commission,the National Association of Secondary School Principals exist as intellectual support for Life Adjustment Education.The "Prosser Resolution" in 1945 marked the beginning of the Life Adjustment Education movement,and the five local meetings discussed the possible problems in the field of practice.USA faced the prospect of unemployment and economic recession after World War II.In the field of education,the school enrollment rate increased,the number and quality of teachers decreased.The war crisis made people aware of the importance of practical education.In this case,Life Adjustment Education came into being.The First Commission on Life Adjustment Education for Youth guide the practice through opening seminar,working with authorities,publishing guiding books.Life Adjustment education includes three aspects:civic education,family education and work education.It aims to cultivate qualified civil society citizens,family members and practitioners."The Illinois Curriculum Program" and the "Basic Living" are representatives of local practices during this period.They focused on conducting basic surveys,promoting the merit of social and academic courses,focusing on school and community collaboration,and setting up a "common learning" course to cultivate the attitude,ability and habits of youth.The Second Commission on Life Adjustment Education for Youth,with the continued support of the public and the government,has won a brief boom.The performance of Life Adjustment Education in this period is divided into four types according to the emphases of state practice:"fact finding" orientation,"experimental program" orientation,"discipline development" orientation and "school-college cooperation" orientation.The states have shown some common trends in the implementation process:Encouraging Life Adjustment Education programs designed by theirself,providing local consultancy services by professional organizations,secondary school principals hold the leadership of Life Adjustment Education,closing secondary school and university relations,promoting community participation,designing a variety of ways to use local resources.Catholic schools will combine the Christian doctrines of cultivating the future world citizens with Life Adjustment Education to fostor citizens with dual identities.Life Adjustment Education has a great influence in Catholic schools.It is well Known in Taiwan.The Second Commission on Life Adjustment Education for Youth was moving forward hard with the destroy of McCarthyism.The dissolution of The Second Commission on Life Adjustment Education for Youth in 1954 marked the disintegration of the Life Adjustment Education movement,and the course ownership transferred from educational experts to subject discipline experts.Life Adjustment Education was critisized by conservatism and McCarthyism.Soviet' s satellite may prove to be the straw that beaks the camel's back.Reasons such as financial constraints,conflict between general educators and vocational educators,irresponsible management and the higher requirement of teacher led to the death of Life Adjustment Education.After the 1980s,many educators sympathized Life Adjustment Education for its criticism.As an educational reform movement,Life Adjustment Education has vanished,but its advocacy of pragmatism,social efficiency,social reconstruction spirit did not disappear.The rise of "Career education" shows the vitality of Life Adjustment Education.Life Adjustment Education implemented the ideal of progressive education at the national level,and its practical wisdom developed the progressive education concept.It finally achieved the mass of senior school in American,and realized the secondary school movement;and also,it responded to the demands of industrial democracy.It closed the relationship between school and community,secondary school and university,exploring the relationship between efficiency and human-nature.