A Study Of The History Textbook Of The Junior High School Under The New Curriculum Reform

In the 21 st century,China launched the Eighth Basic Education Curriculum Reform,which aims to change the traditional outlook of education,advocate quality-oriented and student-oriented education,and foster students' all-round moral,intellectual,physical and aesthetic groundings.One of the crucial aspects in the Curriculum Reform is the reform of textbooks.The 8th Curriculum Reform has witnessed the carrying out of two major reforms in junior high school history textbooks.The first reform was conducted in 2001,when the Ministry of Education compiled the junior high school history textbook based on the “Criterion for History Curriculum in the Full-time Compulsory Education(Experimental Draft 2001Edition)”.Besides,the model of “Multiple Textbooks under One Outline”was adopted.The second reform was carried out in2011,when the Ministry of Education unified junior high school history textbooks under the “Criterion for History Curriculum in the Full-time Compulsory Education(Experimental Draft 2001Edition)”and implemented the model of “one textbook under one standard”.The history textbooks compiled by the Ministry of Education embodies the continuous deepening of the curriculumreform in Chinese basic education,which is in line with the needs of the development of the times.This article,against the backdrop of the 8th Basic Education Curriculum Reform,takes Volume 2 of the seventh grade history textbook as a cut-in point,which clarifies the general situation of the 8th Curriculum Reform as well as how the version compiled by the Ministry of Education was prepared and finalized.The overall characteristics of textbooks are as follows:from the aspect of compilation method,it has put a great emphasis on clarifying knowledge points and expanding students' knowledge range;from the aspect of compilation philosophy,it has absorbed new historical research results;from the aspect of the content,it aims at cultivating students' patriotism and the awareness of seeking for national unity.From perspectives of the structure and content,the article compares Volume 2 of the seventh-grade history textbooks compiled by the Ministry of Education with the one compiled by the People's Education Press.It explores their differences in such points as the textbook system,auxiliary system,text layout,knowledge points,historical facts and character evaluations.It suggests that textbook system of the version compiled by the Ministry of Education is more sequential andlogical,which combines historical facts with historical clues.Its auxiliary system is clearly classified,whose content is formal and objective.What's more,its emphasis on figures and historical evaluation are embodied in the interpretation of multiple identities of the characters as well as the combination of historical facts and theory.The article also details the deleted and added knowledge points in Volume 2 of the seventh-grade history textbooks compiled by the Ministry of Education compared with the one compiled by the People's Education Press.The junior high school history textbooks compiled by the Ministry of Education have been brought into adoption since2017.The article analyzes the actual use of the seventh-grade history textbooks based on a social survey,and consequently proposes resolutions to the existing problems,including understanding and implementing the spirit embodied in the New Curriculum Reform,improving professional skills and competence of teachers,reforming and upgrading teaching methods,cultivating students' interests in learning,as well as effectively guiding students to learn.