The Research Of Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic And Educational Theory

Thomas Jefferson,The famous American thinker and politican,who is one of the five founding fathers in America.Other than thinker and politican,edicator was one of the most important roles of Thomas Jefferson.He is not only the public education pioneer of America,but also is a practitioner of public education.Thomas Jefferson advocated universal national education to improve the nation’s political consciousness in order to resist the tyranny of the government.The public educational theory of Jefferson was a clear indication of his democratic political ideas and also was a crucial part in his probing a new developement way for the country and the people.In1779,Jefferson put forward a "Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge" to the council of Virginia,and advocated the establishment of a free public school system by the financial power of the nation,and called for universal education to prevent the government’s authoritarian rule.In his later years,when Jefferson to take the lead to create the University of Virginia,he advocated people to persue their happiness by imparting advanced knowledge.The creation fo the University of Virginia,marking the Jefferson democratic educational thought to start from theory to practice,and opened a new era in American higher education,to promote education from the political functions of the coversation to the service functions.Jefferson’s concept of education in public school movement completely and comprehensively outlined a blueprint for the United States,and whose ideas has laid a solid ideological foundation for its vigorous booming of American public education,which promotes the publication,universalness,and secularization.At the same time,Jefferson’s ideas on university development bring us many revelations,on the one hand,at both theoretical and empirical levels,and on the other hand,on the development and reform of the university.Today,the social transition in China imposes great challenges to her higher education system.How to develop a university,how to keep pace with the development of society and how to take the lead in the social development are all great challenges worthy of our serious contemplation.This paper is designed as follows.Besides introduction part,this paper includes five parts:the first part introduces the development of education in the colonial period of The United States,it mainly describes the development of elementary and higher education in the colonial period.The second part introduces Jefferson’s educational practices,it mainly describes the seed of Jefferson’s thought of education in early year and the praction of to create the University of Virginia in old age.The third part clarify the connotation of the Jefferson’s educational thought.The fourth part analyzes the social and historic background,it mainly describes the functions of inspiring democratic consciousness and teaching application skills on Jefferson’s thought of education.The fifth evaluates and analyzes historic influences,existed limitations and enlightening guidance to modern education of Jefferson’s educational theory,it mainly narrative the historical infuluence and the era of limitations on Jefferson’s thought of education.