On The Ideas And Curriculum Of Liberal Education In English Universities

Liberal education plays a significant role in talent development. Exploring liberal education idea and curriculum in English universities, will provide guidance and reference for liberal education reform and development of Chinese universities.Everything has its generated source, subsequent development will connect with history inevitably. People regard liberal education in English universities as a complete idea, it has three ideological origins. First source is Aristotle and Cicero proposed their free educational philosophy in ancient Greek and Roman times; second is Vittorino da Feltre and Pietro Paolo Vergerio preached humanism education philosophy in Western European Renaissance; last is general education in American universities.Some schools of thought appeared in the history of English educational thought, such as thought of scientific education, classical educational thought, educational thought of utilitarianism, educational thought of analytic philosophy, thought of new education. These representatives all mentioned liberal education in English universities in their educational thought. Thomas Henry Huxley is the representative of thought of scientific education, he discussed a new concept of liberal education. Secondly, two main defenders of classical educational thought, John Henry Newman and Richard Winn Livingstone raised their own views of liberal education. Others also discussed their unique perspectives of liberal education in English universities. For instance, John Stuart Mill, the representative of educational thought of utilitarianism; Alfred North Whitehead, the representative of thought of new education; Paul Heywood Hirst, the representative of educational thought of analytic philosophy.The representative ideas of liberal education in English universities lay a solid ideological foundation for the implement of liberal education curriculum in English universities. Oxford University which belongs to classical university, it has liberal education marks since established. Until now, the current curriculum of Oxford University still carries out liberal education ideas. The current engineering sciences, physics and philosophy curriculum of Oxford University embodied liberal education ideas in English universities effectively. Since the 19th century, University of Manchester which belongs to civic university, liberal education has a certain proportion in its curriculum, and cultivates lots of high quality students. The curriculum of Integrated Foundation Year, Joint Majors and Development Studies contain elements of liberal education. The implement of liberal education in English universities has three distinctive features, which is the connotations of liberal education idea is gong to be abundant; joint curriculum diversification; students have a great right to choose.In recent years, mainland universities in China also explore effective path of liberal (general) education, the road is not plain sailing. People’s recognition of liberal education is not clear enough, university’s standard of liberal education curriculum lack of clarity and liberal education curriculum management model is not advanced enough and so on. To solve these problems, we can turn our perspective to England, reference liberal education idea in English universities, learn liberal education curriculum experience. Then based on our universities development status, propose some countermeasures, for example defining reasonable clear idea of liberal education, setting scientific liberal education curriculum, giving full choose right to students and so on.