Shandong Based Social Education

Social education is an important part of the whole China education, but it has not been given enough attention all along. Although there have been some achievements about social education in recent works on the history of education, yet generally speaking, there lacks the systematic and comprehensive studies on the social education in Shandong Base Area during the periods of Anti-Japanese War and Liberation War, and the analysis on the reciprocal relationship between the development of social education and the societal transition of Base Area. Therefore, it is necessary to overcome this limitation and strengthen the study of social education.Influenced by the thoughts and practices in modern social education, such as the populace education, the rural education and so on, the Chinese Communist Party had paid much more attention on the education of workers and peasants and so developed social education movements widely in the Base Areas after its foundation. Guided by Marxism and Leninism, following out the basic principles of the new democracy education, and according to changes and needs of war situation, the democratic government of Shandong Base Area had promulgated such documents about the social education policy and guideline as The Implementary Schemes of Shandong Province Wartime National Education, Carrying Out Educational Reformation Thoroughly and Large-scale Mass Cultural Education Movement, and Mass Educational Work Brief, and others. Meanwhile, the social education movement had been put into practice widely in the Winter Academic Movement, the village school and the spare-time school for adults and other forms.Going through the two periods of Anti-Japanese War and Liberation War, with emphasis on the social education of peasants, according to individual needs and interests of peasants themselves, linking closely with army building, power establishment, anti mopping-up struggle, great production movement, land reform, supporting the front and other movements, the social education in Shandong Base Area had done wide ideological mobilization in a in-depth and meticulous way, and created various learning organizations, which took all peasants in the social education movement. From the voluntary to the organizing and normalized one, from the initial developing stage to the reforming and adjusting stage, the Base Area social education movement is unprecedented in the rapid speed, the large number of people and the great effect in the modern history of China education. The social education had obtained great success in mobilizing the masses. The cultural level and political consciousness of the people in the Base Area had been promoted generally, and meanwhile their national and democratic consciousness had been enhanced generally. It had played a very great role in the victory of the war and the consolidation and establishment of the Base Area.The social education of the Base Area, which occupies an important position in the modern history of China education, embodies the characteristics of the new democracy education sufficiently, and is provided with the vivid epochal character. The social education during this period had provided the embryonic form for the education after the foundation of the People's Republic of China, and accumulated a wealth of experience, and trained men for profession. At the same time, because of the influences from the war circumstances, the target of education and the guidelines of education, there are lots of lessons, which can be used for reference.