从神话到历史：教育中未曾发生的“哥白尼革命”

From Myth to History: The "Copernican Revolution" That Never Happened in Educational History

卢梭的教育思想常被教育史学界誉为教育重心从成人转向儿童的重大转折,是教育史上的“哥白尼革命”,由此形成了流传百年的美丽“神话”。借鉴儿童史、社会史等学科研究成果,从儿童服饰、儿童艺术、成年人对儿童的态度和对儿童教育的关注等来看,14—18世纪欧洲社会在儿童观和儿童教育观念发生的重大变化,说明欧洲近代儿童观变迁具有深刻的历史基础,并非是卢梭的先知先觉。从卢梭教育思想对18—19世纪欧洲教育的影响来看,教育史上这一所谓的“哥白尼革命”,不过是一场因崇拜卢梭而虚构的“革命”。虽然卢梭曾对西方教育的历史变迁产生了重大影响,但人为夸大这种影响并无助于科学的历史认识。

Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s thoughts on education have been commonly acclaimed by historians of education as a significant turning point since when the focus of education shifted from adults to children, thus bringing about a “Copernican Revolution” in the history of education and leading to a “myth” lasted for more than a hundred years. Drawing upon the research results from child history, social history and other disciplines, this study examined children’s dress, children’s arts, adults’ attitudes towards children and adults’ attention to children’s education, and found that there were significant changes in the view of children and children’s education in the European society during 14th and 18th century. This reveals the profound historical foundation of the changes in the view of children in modern Europe. Therefore, the authors argued that the influence of Rousseau’s thoughts on European education during 18th and 19th century, the so-called “Copernican Revolution” in education, is an imagined revolution as a result of the worship of Rousseau. Despite the great significance of Rousseau in the transformation of Western education, an intended exaggeration of his influence does not bring the scientific historical understanding.