培育完整的人——大学通识教育的性质、课程与影响

Unto a Full-Grown Man——Nature,Curriculum and Influence of University General Education

大学教育具有通识教育与专业教育的双重性质,但应以通识教育为本,以培育完整的人为宗旨,这是大学的本质属性。通识教育是实现这一宗旨的路径,通识教育的实施具有多样性的选择,其中美国大学的“名著阅读”和“活动课程”的模式颇具典型性,对世界其他国家和地区的通识教育产生了广泛的影响。实践证明,良好的通识教育,不仅能够促进大学自身的组织建设,提升学术文化与教育水平,利于培养人的理性精神,激发学习热情,提升国民整体素质,凝聚互信与共识,促进社会协调发展,也是实现我国高等教育内涵式发展的需要,是提升国家和民族核心竞争力的重要路径。

While university education has the dual nature of general education and professional education,g eneral education should play the fundamental role in developing a whole-person.A variety of choices are available to carry out general education.Among them,the model of“Masterpiece Reading”and“Activity Curriculum”in American universities is quite typical,which has a broad influence on general education in other countries in the world.Practice has proved that good general education can not only promote the university’s own organizational construction,improve academic culture and education quality,but also help to cultivate students’rational sense,stimulate their learning enthusiasm,enhance the overall quality of the citizens,build mutual trust and consensus and push society into a coordinated development.