教育史是什么?

What Is History of Education?

所谓教育史,是指研究者依托教育方面的史料来建构关于教育的过去及其解释,研究者的"崇高理想"是对教育历史的解释能够尽可能地接近教育的史实,即遵循历史主义的检验,这是教育史研究的全部目的和核心使命。而遵循历史主义的检验,并非指教育史研究要探究过往教育的全部真实、按照教育从前的样子复原过去,而是指教育史研究应尽可能保证确有其事或实有其事,并使研究者自己深入到过去的世界中去理解教育的过去,在过往的生活环境、观念、思潮、社会结构中理解前人关于教育的想法、信仰及行动。而这一切都是由教育史独特的知识范式所决定的:教育史就是教育史,它既不是科学,也不是艺术,它使用的是日常的语言和表现形式,有时借用科学、艺术的诸多概念来表达自己的含义,进而建构起教育史的大厦。

Nowadays, the focus on the utility of the history of education has strongly perturbed the academic researches in the history of education. It demands that the history of education serve directly the history of education as a discipline, to serve directly the reality, and to serve directly politics and policy-making. All of these demands originated in the uncertainty of the research and application of the history of education with the understanding that the history of education is a knowledge based on natural sciences but not a knowledge based on the liberal arts, a type of thinking that originated in the worship of Scientism at the beginning of the 20th Century. This research tries to deny the understanding of history of education based on the simplified explanation of the scientism paradigm and to discuss history of education as an academic research field, including the paradigms that are associated with it. This means that this type of research attempts to separate the understanding of history of education as an academic research field from the field of applied knowledge. It attempts to discuss the different meanings of ＂truth＂ and ＂reality＂ embraced in the understanding of ＂truth＂ （Wahrheit） and answer the ciuestion of ＂what is the history of education＂ as a science （Wissenschaft）. The research indicates that with regard to the question ＂ what is the history of education,＂ the history of education is the historical presentation and historical interpretation based on the historical record of the education in the past that is constructed by the educational historians whose ＂ noble dreamt＇ is to make the interpretation of the educational history as much as possible close to the educational reality of the past, verified by the historicism doctrine, which will be the unique purpose and mission of educational historical researches. However, when we talk about the verification by the historicism doctrine, it does not mean that the research on the history of education can find the truth of our educational past, nor can we recreate the educational past. It means that the research on the history of education should ensure that what he talked about was the reality or past actuality of education. The professional historian should delve deep into the past world to understand the past of the education, to understand the educational ideas, faiths, and practices in the context of past social circumstances, ideas, thoughts, and structures. All of this was decided by the unique paradigm of the educational history that the history of education was neither a science nor an art. It used the daily languages and patterns of manifestation, or it borrowed concepts from science or the arts to present its own meaning and to construct the mansion of educational history. The value of the history of education cannot be calculated by its ability to serve direct action. It should be the kind of research that is not involved in any practical interests but focuses only on spiritual satisfaction. It asks the researchers in the history of education to perform the research just for pure academic interests; to find out the real questions and values of education in the real historical, cultural, social, political, and economical context; to really understand the historical culture deeply, whether at home or abroad, and to help us understand ourselves and each other.