论16—17世纪英国的教育变革

Education Reform in England in the 16th and 17th Century

16—17世纪的英国处在传统社会向近代社会的转型时期,经济、政治和社会结构发生很大变化,教育领域亦发生重大变革。随着民族国家的逐步确立,王权不断扩大,社会各阶层为了适应时代的变化,做出了适应自身利益的教育调整:贵族的教育主要是为了满足统治者的需要,培养治国人才;对中等阶层来说,主要是为了提升自己的社会地位,满足当时社会的需要;对于社会下层来说,是为了提高他们的识字水平,养成良好的生活习惯。这一时期英国社会各阶层教育的变革,折射出了英国教育世俗化、大众化的走向。

Britain in the 16th and 17th centuries was in the period of transition from a traditional society to a modern society.With great changes in economic, political and social structure, the educational field had also undergone great changes. With the gradual establishment of the nation-state and the expansion of the royal power, various social classes have made educational adjustments to suit their own interests in order to adapt to the changes of the times:For the aristocrats,the education is mainly to meet the needs of the rules and to train them for governing the country;For the middle class, the main purpose is to improve their social status and meet the needs of the society at that time;For the lower class, it is to improve their literacy level and develop good living habits. During this period, the changes of education in all social strata in Britain reflected the trend of secularization and popularization of education in Britain.