偏远地区需要什么样的教育?——澳大利亚“红土教育”述评

What Kind of Education is Preferred in Remote Areas?——A Review of Red Dirt Education in Australia

由于偏远地区教育落后,寄宿学校带来负面影响,澳大利亚政府启动了“偏远地区教育系统项目”。约翰·根瑟等人在对偏远地区居民教育需求进行调查的基础上,提出了“红土教育”理念,认为教育应该立足于当地的现实环境,符合当地居民的意愿,应该是务实的。该研究发现,偏远地区教育的首要目标是传承和保护语言、土地和文化;偏远地区教育成功的首要标准是家长在孩子教育中的参与和示范作用;偏远地区的教学中,应开设符合地方需求的“红土课程”,教师的个性特征最受重视;为改进偏远地区的教育制度,应为偏远地区培养教师、加强学校-社区合作。偏远地区居民的教育需求和现行政策之间既有一致性,也存在差异,在教育目标、成功教育的标准、对教师的要求等方面,差异性较大。偏远地区居民虽然也接受西方文化,希望“在两个世界都强大”,但在西方文化和土著文化之间,他们更加重视土著文化,对土著文化有强烈的认同感。“红土教育”重视土著文化的价值,体现了偏远地区居民的实际需求;但没有提出可操作的改革方案;国家教育标准并没有给偏远地区充分发展教育的空间,在国家教育标准的规约下,“红土教育”理念的实现程度有限。尽管如此,“偏远地区教育系统项目”的研究方法以及“红土教育”理念,能为其他国家偏远地区教育的发展提供借鉴。

Due to the low quality of education and the negative impact of boarding schools in remote areas,the Australian government launched Remote Education System Project.During the implementation of the project,John Genther studied the educational needs of residents in remote areas and put forward the idea of Red Dirt Education.John Genther finds that the primary goal of education in remote areas is to inherit and protect local language,land and culture;the primary standard of education success in remote areas is parent involvement and role models in child’s education;Red Dirt Curriculum and the personality characteristics of teachers are highly valued;teachers should be cultivated for remote schools and schoolcommunity cooperation should be strengthened to improve the education system.There are both consistency and differences between the educational needs of residents in remote areas and the current policies.There are great differences in educational goals,standards of successful education,and requirements of teachers.Although residents in remote areas accept western culture and hope to be"strong in both worlds",they think more highly of indigenous culture and have a strong sense of identity with indigenous culture.Red Dirt Education reflects the actual needs of remote community and makes full use of the local culture.However,with no operational education reform plan put forward,the realization of Red Dirt Education thinking is limited under the regulations of national education standards.Nevertheless,the research method of the Remote Education System Project and the Red Dirt Education thinking can provide a reference for the development of education in remote areas in other countries.