从本质主义走向非本质主义:中国高教研究30年回顾

Shifting from Essentialism to Anti-essentialism:A Review of Higher Education Research in China in the Past 30 Years

中国高教研究在近30年的发展中已逐步形成了一种多元研究格局,这种多元性集中体现在多种研究范式纷纷登场并展现出从本质主义向非本质主义转变的趋向。在这一转变中,本质主义研究范式仍扮演着主导角色,其惯常采用的研究范式为思辨研究和实证研究。而非本质主义势力在迅速扩大,其标志是多学科研究范式被广泛认同和院校研究范式兴起及质性研究被接纳。多元研究范式代表了不同的学科发展理念和研究思路,是高教研究走向繁荣的重要标志。在其中,学术大师发挥了示范作用。可以预期,多元研究格局将长期存在下去,这也是高等教育学走向成熟的必经之路。

In the past 30 years,higher education research(HER) in China has undergone a gradual paradigm shift from essentialism to anti-essentialism.At the present time,the dominant HE research paradigm in China is still an essentialist paradigm,or rather,a speculative or empirical one.Nevertheless,there has appeared increasingly more anti-essentialist research,including esp.multidisciplinary studies,institutional research and qualitative inquiries.Representing distinct viewpoints and mode of thinking of various disciplines,diversified research paradigms is a key indicator of the prosperousness of HER as well as the only way for HER to grow in maturity.