作为概念体系的自由教育及其发展脉络——兼与博雅教育、通识教育辨析

Liberal Education as a Concept System and Its Development Track——Comparison between Liberal Education and General Education and Common Education

自由教育不是一个简单的概念,而是由教育理念、教育方式和教育策略构成的一个概念体系。博雅教育与通识教育均是自由教育的下位概念,是实现自由教育理念的教育方式。自由教育在不同的历史时期有着不同的意蕴,但在历史变迁中始终有一些未变的因素,即个体自由、个性发展以及合理的知识结构三个基本因素,其中个体自由是前提,个性发展是目的,合理的知识结构是手段。对自由教育发展脉络的梳理及其相关概念的辨析,有助于澄清对该问题的理论认识,对当前的教育改革与发展具有深刻的实践意义。

Liberal education is not an simple concept, it is a concept system composed by educational ideas, education methods and education tactics. General education and common education are the below-concepts of liberal education, and they are education tactics for bringing about liberal education idea. In different periods, the meaning of liberal education was different. However, there were some elements which had never changed in history, such as individual freedom, personality development and rational knowledge-structure. In these three fundamental elements, individual freedom is the premise, personality development is the goal, and rational knowledge-structure is the measure. Surveying the development track of liberal education is useful to understand this issue, which could give some hints to our present education reform.