The Dalton Plan In China

The target of thesis focus on the Dalton Plan in China from 1921 to 2010.The full name of the Dalton Plan is the Dalton Laboratory Plan. Our educational circles first come in contact with it in 1921 and the middle school tried out at the end of 1922. Then Educational Review started the Dalton Laboratory Plan column at the end of 1921. Within the next one or two years, every chief educational newspapers and magazines published more than 150 articles about it. The 9th Association of National Education Committee which was hold in 1923 has passed a bill that new school system and normal school should try out the Dalton Plan. Yunnan Education Department also has determined to try out this plan in national middle school the next year. During that period, the Dalton Plan became a household word. Over 60 schools have taken this plan into action. The Dalton Plan came to a climax. As Su Xincheng who is an advocate of this plan said:"the Dalton Plan seemed had an apparent advantage at the moment, while essentially declined". Before Helen Parkhurst visiting China, during the period from the autumn of 1924 to 1925, there was neither thesis nor monograph about the Dalton Plan. Meanwhile, some schools'Dalton experiments end in failure, and then they converted it to Class Teaching again. Until Helen Parkhurst visited China, another climax comes. But from then on, it's quit the stage of history without being noticed.Since the Dalton Plan had a long history in China, the thesis prefers to research it in the complicated criss-cross puzzle instead of the timeline:from the verticals, we try to research it through a historical retrospect and to know how they were introduced into, spread, experiment and vanish. We considered it in the historical background of education development. From the horizontals, we considered the process of the Dalton Plan come into our elementary and secondary school and know what's the change of the environments, equipments, teachers and students, classes and lessons etc. Trying to draw a picture of the primary and secondary schools'situation after The Dalton Plan introduced, thus revealing for the influence of the Dalton Plan work for the school. Based on this, I select more representative cases to discuss it micro-perspective to show the process and influence of the Dalton Plan. Because of material deficiency, instability and ideological culture etc, the Dalton Plan failed eventually. But the respect of students individuality development and pursue freedom cooperation spirit had deeply into our educational thought. This became a part of our education life.