On Social Education In Henan Rural Area During 17 Years After The Founding Of The People's Republic Of China

The problems of rural area and peasants are the vital questions in the process of modernization in China. The crucial way to solve countryside problems is peasants' education in technology, cultural knowledge and ideology. Henan is an agricultural province, peasants' education is a key question in the development of economy and society in Henan province. From the initial period of the P.R.C. to Culture Revolution, Henan provincial government regarded rural social education as an important task and gained great success. This paper will analyze and probe it and draw experiences and lessons from it. This analysis is very significant to our today's education career, especially to final life education which has started recently. This paper will analyze the achievements and shortcomings of social education in Henan rural area during 17 years after the founding of PRC.This paper consists of three parts.The first part probes into the history background and the origin of the development of social education in Henan rural area after the founding of PRC, which will be elaborated from the following three aspects. Firstly, due to the backward education in Henan before the founding of PRC, most of peasants lost the opportunity of education, which resulted in low cultural level. Secondly, after the establishment of PRC, with emancipation in political and economic rights, many people required the improvement in cultural level. Thirdly, the work of social education in revolutionary base area provided historical experience for the work of social education after the establishment of PRC.The second part recalls the course of the development of social education in Henan rural area from such aspects as its basic clue, the source of students,the quality and quantity of teachers, the fees and the study effect. The course of peasants' social education consists of three periods. The first period( 1949.9-1957.6) is the initial growth and the steady development.The second period(the end of 1957-----1960) is the leaping forward period.The third period(1961-1966.5) is the regulating, consolidating, improving period.The third part, on the basis of being practical and realistic, analyzes achievements, shortcomings and reasons for Henan social education in village from educational, economic, political and cultural angles. And through it, the paper draws some points in order to offer some beneficial inspiration to today's social education.This paper finally gives simple comments on social education in Henan rural area, especially, the background of social education, and points out the great significance of the development of social education.