杜威高等教育思想中的“进步主义”

Progressivism in John Dewey's Ideas on Higher Education

杜威关于高等教育的两个务虚主张是:追求真理和自由探究;两个务实主张是:变博雅教育为通识教育、变"学徒式"教育为"实验室范式"教育。追求真理、自由探究、通识教育和"实验室范式"教育,从不同角度诠释了杜威高等教育思想中"进步主义"概念的具体内容,四者共同阐明了"进步主义"概念的核心理念——民主与教育相互改造,互相促进,进步无限。支持这个相互改造过程的是创造性民主,它既是一种生活方式,也是价值理念。杜威的理想是使创造性民主代替基督教精神成为美国大学之魂,然而幽暗意识的缺乏和理性的自负已使美国高等教育走向失去灵魂的卓越。

In principle,John Dewey believes that the calling of a university is the discovery and transmission of truth, and that the core of academic freedom is freedom of inquiry. Concretely, Dewey thinks that liberal education should be transformed to general education in modern democratic society,and that apprenticeship education should be transformed to laboratory education. Four claims interprete the conception of progressivism in Dewey's ideas on higher education from different perspectives. Meanwhile,they converge on the idea that democracy and education can be reconstructed and improved mutually,and therefore progress is indefinite. This is the core idea of Dewey's progressivism. It is creative democracy that supports this kind of reconstruction and improvement. Dewey thinks that creative democracy is both a mode of associated living and a kind of value. He believes that creative democracy should become the soul of the American university instead of Christian spirit. However,the lack of dim consciousness and fullness of conceit of rationality have made American higher education shift toward excellence without a soul.