“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,而杜威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。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 19^(th) 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 linked States.During the late 19^(th) 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.