“儿童中心” 论在美国的兴起

The Rise of the Child-Centered Idea in the United States

在19世纪末、20世纪初的美国,儿童观的转变、儿童研究运动的兴起、新的儿童教育理念的传播以及改革学校呼声的不断高涨,为“儿童中心”论在美国的兴起准备了条件本文旨在通过对历史文献的梳理,考察这一时期美国教育界的相关思潮,分析“儿童中心”论的兴起和在早期阶段的主要含义。19世纪末20世纪初,在公立学校课程改革的论争中,帕克运用赫尔巴特学派“集中”的概念较早明确提出了儿童是学校中心的观点,儿童研究运动的代表人物霍尔提出了“儿童中心的”学校理想,而杜成则通过比较新旧教育的差异,将“儿童中心”作为新教育的基本特征c在同样使用“儿童中心"概念的教育家的思想中,这个观念所指陈的问题不同,其含义也存在明显差异。对“儿童中心"论兴起背景与过程的探讨,有助于更合理、更充分地把握这个观念的准确含义及其历史价值。

At the end of the 19th century, shifts in conceptual frameworks, the rise of research activities, the spread of early education theories, and a call for school reform, all worked together for the emergence of the child-centered idea in the United States. This article traces the rise of the child-centered idea and its early definition in the United States. During the late 19th century debate surrounding curriculum reform at public schools, Francis Parker used the Herbartian term concentration in his elaboration that children constitute the core of school missions and operations. Child-centered research pioneer G , Stanley Hall proposed the idea of the pedocentric school based on his studies. And John Dewey emphasized that child-centeredness is a key characteristics of new education compared to the old. Despite the common use of the term child-centered, a clear definition of this term is long overdue. We believe that a full review of the history and background behind this term is necessary to understand it.