Evolvement Of The Meaning Of Liberal Education

Liberal education is an old educational idea, but it still has great impact to our education. Its meaning has been changed tremendously in all ages. In the Ancient Greek, liberal education stressed reason, but had low opinion to vocational education. In the middle age, liberal subjects in the Ancient Greek became Seven Liberal Arts, and liberal education became the basis of the theology education and university education in the middle age. In Renaissance, humanities were added to liberal education. Before the modernization of Capitalism, liberal education had predominated the domain of west education. But with the advancement of natural science and industrial Revolution, especially utilitarianism and pragmatism have a strong impact on the liberal education in the university. With the development of the age, liberal education had new contents. In the same era with Newman, Huxley thought natural science should become part of liberal education.In the modern times, democracy is part of liberal education. Liberty contradicts authority, and liberal education is a non-authoritarian education. Liberal education is not of noble class, and it is melted into democratic society.Liberal education is still changed, while it keeps its own character. It pays attention to understand the world as a general one. It can protect students from narrow sights because of narrow speciality and is significant to decrease the side-effect. Liberal education's low opinion to vocational training shows that it is conservative character, which we should give up.According to the developing history of liberal education, the thesis analyses evolvement of liberal education and tries to find relations and difference between all kinds of liberal education.