A Probe Into The Early Development Of Top-notch Education Models For Undergraduates In The United States(1920-1944)

The quality and quantity of top talents are related to the development of the national strength.In recent years,countries around the world have attached great importance to the cultivation of top talents in the field of higher education.Honor programs can be called the typical model of top-notch talent education for undergraduates in the United States.This program was introduced to the United States in the 1920s by Frank Aydelotte,known as "The Father of Honor Education in the United States",and Aydelotte carried out experimental reforms at Swarthmore College with significant impact.It is undeniable that the Swarthmore College Honor Program laid a great foundation for the development of honor education in the United States and has played an outstanding leading role.With a good foundation,American honor education can continue to develop and improve,and still plays an important role today.The paper mainly uses the literature analysis method,supplemented by the case analysis method,and hopes to provide useful suggestions for the improvement of the top talents training model in China through the analysis of the early development stages of the American honor program.The introduction of the paper briefly introduces the reason,value,research ideas and methods of the research,as well as summarizes and evaluates the related research on American Honor Education and Swarthmore College Honor Project Experiment,and puts forward the innovation points of the paper.The main part of the thesis is analyzes the theoretical and social background of the honor program that can be established in the United States.Secondly,it analyzes the boosting factors of the honor program in the process of being introduced to American universities,mainly including the person support of Aydelotte and the strong support of educational organizations;At the same time,the reasons for Aydelotte's choice of honor program reform experiments at Swarthmore College were analyzed.There are three main reasons:the small size of teachers and students at College,he support of teachers and students in the college,and the freedom of educational ideas in the academy.Thirdly,the thesis analyzes the specific measures of Aydelotte's experimental reform about the honors program at Swarthmore College,which is mainly conducted in five aspects:teaching philosophy,curriculum settings,teaching methods,examination systems and admissions strategy.Finally,it summarizes the important impact of honor program on Swarthmore College,other American universities,and the entire higher education field.Based on this,the paper analyzes the experience of honor program to the improvement of top-notch talent training mechanisms in China.This enlightenment mainly includes three aspects:individualized teaching in small-classes,external assistance,and localized reform.