The Research For The Female Education Pattern Of The May 4th Movement Period

The May 4th Movement period was an important period in the development of Chinese female education. With the opening-up of modern China, western knowledge, \vestern politics, and western arts waved into China like the tide, which gave the traditional social formation unprecedented efFects. China's traditional female education was then facing unprecedented chance of developing, and tough challengeas well.Before the May 4th Movement, female education was somewhat changed as comparedto that before the Revolution of 1911, yet was still limited to the outdated feudal pattern. The return of the students studied in Europe or America, and the coming of Dewey, the famous educator and thinker, brought the education trade a fresh brecze, and impelled the development of various kinds of thoughts. That the leaders of new culture movement fighting for democracy, for freedom, for equality, for femafc rights to enjoy equal education as male, became one of the key social issues at that time. Those leaders also built better public opinion and culture atmospherc for the development of female education, and constructed a new pattern of female education with the characteristics of early 20th century on the base of western female education pattern and Chinese traditional pattern, taking people's thought on female education and the feasibility of the new pattern into consideration.That ftmale education pattern consisted of several concrete female educationelementary patterns, including female primary education pattern, female ordinary middle school education pattern, female higher education pattern, female vocational education pattern, and female social education pattern etc.The female primary education pattern embodied the characteristics of giving the same education to both sexes, realized the education of both sexes in the same class as classmates with no difference in the content of study.In consideration of people's thought on female education and the feasibility of the new pattern, the female ordinary middle school education pattern stipulated that female should have their own middle school separated from male, certain differences from male education in the educational contents, course arrangement, or class hours should be allowed, and female students should be strictly controlled in respect of educational administration.The construction of female higher education pattern gave female material benefit in higher education. It established separate female colleges and universities giving them the chance to receive the same higher education as male.The female vocational education pattern contained various ways as independently established female vocational school, vocational education department in female middle school, and social vocational education institutes. As for the subjects, female vocational education was divided into six subjects in full consideration of female physiological characteristics and the custom of labor division: agriculture, industrv, commerce, vocation, vocation continuation, and teacher-training.The female social education pattern consisted of populace school, populace education promoting committee, populace education lecturing committee, workers' continuation school, workers' night school, rural continuation institute, workers'mutual help group, newspapers and magazines etc. Part of this pattern was "brought in" from Europe or America, and part was originally created. The later social education was enriched or changed on this base.The female education pattern constructed during the period of the May 4th Movement played an important role in promoting female liberation, and gave a solid base to the development of female education.