The Influence Of Church Schools On The Chinese Modern Education

From the 40's of 19th century, the western missionaries started to enter China largely-scaled. In order to "spread the gospel", and achieve the goal of expanding Christianity in China, the missionaries opened many Church schools in China. The Church school system appearance broke the Chinese traditional education idea. It was a big challenge to the Chinese traditional imperial examinations and had a profound influence for the development of modern Chinese education system.The Church school impelled the advancement of modern Chinese education. The appearance and the development of the Church school had a kind of direct demonstration and the imitation function for Chinese education system. From educational model to school system, from course content to school regulations, missionaries directly participated the Chinese modern education movement.This thesis divides three parts as followed:First part:: Promoted the teaching curriculum and the content renewal.The Chinese tradition education completely became the training base of imperial examination which lacked the cultivation of natural sciences content; the teaching method recites by the memory primarily; the purpose of education was to talent a person to the feudal despotic rule to need. The management, curriculum and the school tradition of Church school are western-style. The Church school became the instructor and introductory of modern west culture and the education system. The curriculum of Church school mainly was religion and natural sciences. In the Church school, the technical curriculum held a quite great proportion. At that time, the scientific courses included mathematics, physics, chemistry, the astronomy, the geography, the zoology and botany and so on which were practical courses, and also it included some other social science courses which opened the student's vision. Mathematics was one of the most prominent. The translation of teaching material from Church school has accelerated the dissemination of the western culture in the Chinese society, and some textbooks also being used for the new style's school in China. Specially, the technical aspect books had direct impetus function for the new style education to China.Second part : Advanced the educational system richness and imperfectness. The end of the Qing dynasty, traditional school mainly included the private school, the academy and central Imperial College. It had not simply formed the integrity of school system. But the missionaries introduced the western compulsory education system, beside the elementary school, the middle school, they also organized the universities, this was the beginning of higher education in modern China. Many universities were developed from Church universities. From then, China started to appear many high-level talented educational institutions, and finally it has formed the complete three levels of compulsory education system.At the same time, the Church school also positively set up some kinds of special colleges, like the school of translation, the female school, the special education school and so on. It caused the Chinese modern teaching system and the talented person to the multiplication. The Chinese tradition education content and fostered talent's goal decided the training pattern and the type unitarily. The Church school besides has provided the pattern for the Chinese modern compulsory education system establishment, it also positively participated and impelled the multiplication of education form.Third part : Advancement education modern pace of reform. The missionaries positively established the Church schools, and expanded western-style education which affected China, in the same time, they challenged the Chinese tradition ossifies using the education ideology with the western education thought. The Church school was instructed with modern bourgeoisie tradition. The Church school enabled the student to obtain the development on all the aspects of behavior, wisdom, sport, and beauty. It was the comprehensive education in the modern significance. The Church schools system broke the ossified traditional education idea. The Church school has opened the education reform. The Church school challenged the imperial examination system and gave Chinese a new style education demonstration. The missionaries positively participated in the Chinese modern education reform. The missionaries directly were appointed as school principals or teachers. It was a common phenomenon for the missionaries to work in the offices of the government operated schools. The missionaries set up the Church schools which were the main body of the Chinese western-style education at that time. In the late Qing dynasty education reform, the missionaries acted as the advisers and the point soldiers, they proposed each kind of reform plan.Conclusion:The missionaries organized many Church schools in China in the modern period of time. They passed through the appearance, the development and moving toward into mature. The goal of church encouraging education was for missionary work, or called "by studies auxiliary the Church", but the appearance of the Church schools broke Chinese people's old education idea. It had strongly challenged the imperial examination education system, and had a profound influence for the development of modern Chinese education system.While affirmed the positive role of the development of Church school to Chinese modern education, we also had to embark from historical background, clearly recognized this fact of the missionary massively constructing Church schools, it also had the cultural expansion aggression, some of them using culture dissemination and education to interfere the Chinese internal affairs, even attempted to control the new style education system personally the. This also became the foreign invader. For this essence we must have a clear understanding.