The Birth Of Normal School Education In China And Its Development

Preschool normal education in China starts in the early twentieth century, when China is undergoing a great change which never occurs in its past thousands of years’ history. In this sense, the birth of Chinese preschool normal education is a product of the declining Chinese traditional sinology; the spreading western education thoughts; the rising women education and the upsurge of starting normal education. Since its birth, preschool normal education in China has undergone a tortuous and difficult progress from being attached to receive nursing, traditional women education and European religious education to be typical Chinese, scientific and standardized. By using the method of literature, this paper summarizes social environment and social foundation from which comes Chinese preschool normal education; schematizes the history of Chinese preschool normal education from its attachment to independent development and analyzes the confrontation of different power and ideological trends characterized by three oppositional pairs-the traditional Chinese women and career women;"the Chinese essential" and " the Western refinement"; the private and the government. Besides, this paper also attempts to concern itself with the present development of preschool normal education in China, hoping to propose beneficial suggestions so as to help the present preschool normal education.This thesis is divided into four chapters:The first chapter elaborates reasons for working on this topic, its significance; review of related studies, definitions of relevant concepts and research methods and innovation. The second chapter discusses the social basis of the birth of preschool normal education in China, including the transformation of traditional academics (social basis), the spread of western education thoughts (intellectual basis), opinions of establishing normal education and developing women education (public basis), and the popularity of preschool education institutions (demands of reality). The third chapter analyzes the development of preschool normal education in China. Preschool normal education in China has turned from being an attachment to have its independence. As an attachment, preschool normal education in China undergoes its attachment to receive nurse, to traditional women education and to European religious education; while its independence is represented by its movements for independence in China and its exploration for typical Chinese style, scientific experiments and regulation. The fourth chapter analyzes the development of preschool normal education in China and proposes suggestions for the contemporary development of preschool normal education.