Reforming Of Liberal Education Tradition In British Classical Universities In The Second Half Of 19th Century

Oxbridge is one of the two oldest universities in the English-speaking world.In the long course of growth,Oxbridge has not only accumulated profound cultural deposits and ancient buildings,but also gradually formed the academic pursuit with academic liberaldom as the core and the idea of liberal education with the purpose of cultivating elites.Historically,however,the tradition of liberal education as the secret of Oxbridge's success is not invariable,but self-innovation in order to meet the needs of the real society in the development of the times.Looking back at the British history,we can find that the 19 th century was the most frequent period of social reform in Britain,and it was also the key point of the modernization of British higher education.In order to meet the practical needs of the development of higher education in China,this study intends to explore the theme of the transformation of the tradition of liberal education in British classical universities in the second half of the 19 th century from a historical perspective,focusing on four dimensions : the establishment of the tradition of liberal education in British classical universities,the motivation of the change,the process and the result of the change,the specific structure is as follows:The first chapter is the introduction,mainly discussing the logicalstarting point and thinking path of this study,including six aspects:topic selection,research significance,concept definition,literature review,research methods and research ideas;the second chapter discusses the formation process,intrinsic demands,social basis and institutional guarantee of the tradition of liberal education in British classical universities.Firstly,the origin and formation process of the tradition of liberal education in British classical universities are sorted out.Then,the spiritual core of the tradition of liberal education in British classical universities is investigated,and the social basis and institutional guarantee of the formation of the tradition of liberal education in British classical universities is explored.It is concluded that the tradition of liberal education in classical universities in Britain was formed in the16 th century and has profound classical origins.Elite cultivation is the inherent demand of the tradition of liberal education in classical universities in Britain.The aristocratic system is the social basis of the tradition of liberal education in classical universities in Britain,and the tutorial system is the institutional guarantee of the tradition of liberal education in classical universities in Britain.By the 19 th century,the society was undergoing drastic changes,and the liberal education tradition of classical universities was facing many challenges,resulting in the need for innovation.Chapter three is about the social background and motivation of the reform of the liberal education tradition of Britishclassical universities,including the impetus of industrial revolution,the influence of political change,the impact of utilitarianism and the stimulation of scientific development.Promoted by various pressures,classical universities started the process of great changes in the second half of the 19 th century.The process and its results are constituting the contents of Chapter IV and Chapter V.This is also the focus of this study.In the criticism of exterior utilitarians and the appeal of internal reformers,the British government intervened in the classical universities in the 1950 s and 1970 s by setting up the Royal Commission of Inquiry,and finally promoted the reform of classical universities in the form of parliamentary legislation.The result of the reform is that the scientific education system can be established and improved in the Oxbridge,thus laying a pattern of Oxbridge paying equal attention to both arts and science and diversification of personnel training.Throughout this process of reform,we can find that there are a wide variety of mainsprings for the reform,including the impetus of industrial revolution,the influence of political change,the impact of utilitarianism and the progress of science and technology.As far as the goal is concerned,under the premise of maintaining elitism,the training goal of classical universities has changed from a single religious and political talent training to a pluralistic talent training.In terms of content,in the second half of the 19 th century,the teaching content of classical universities changed from a single ClassicalHumanities Education to a combination of humanities education and science education;in terms of functions,classical universities changed from a simple talent training to a combination of teaching and research,and scientific research gradually became another important function of Oxbridge.