美国公共学校运动成因再讨论

The Reinterpretation on the Causes of the Common School Movement in the United States

目前学界对公共学校运动成因的讨论仍存在着“辉格”叙事与“线性史观”的问题。美国公共学校运动并非由殖民地时期新英格兰的教育传统直接发展而来,也并非仅靠少数精英人物的呼吁与推动,而是19世纪美国社会整体性制度转变支撑下的产物。梳理19世纪美国社会政治的集权化进程、政府角色的变化以及公共教育形态的演变可以发现,独立战争之后因面临金融秩序混乱,尤其在“1837年恐慌”的刺激之下,美国出现了由地方主义政治到联邦强权领导的政治态势转变——通过控制公共土地的分配、捍卫金本位货币政策、建立保护性关税以及为建立完善的内陆交通网络提供资金进而塑造联邦权威,并由此成功地领导了美国工业革命的完成,形塑了美国的国家资本主义形态。公共学校运动在这一过程中为消除地方主义偏见、达成全社会在观念上“一致性”扮演了积极的公共角色,是为在工业化、现代化过程中实现文化统一的制度安排,这才是公共学校运动在19世纪出现并获得全面胜利的核心要素。

The Common School Movement in the United States was not a direct outgrowth of the educational traditions of colonial New England,nor was it driven by the appeals of a few elite figures,but was a product of the holistic institutional shifts that underpinned American society in the 19th century.In the face of financial disorder,particularly spurred by the Panic of 1837,the changing role of government and the evolution of common schools occurred in the United States in the 19th century—by taking control of public lands,defending the gold standard monetary policy,establishing protective tariffs,and financing the establishment of a comprehensive inland transportation network,federal authority was shaped,and thus successfully led the completion of the American Industrial Revolution and shaped the state capitalism.In such a situation,in order to solve the problem of social conflicts and moral disorder arising from the economic and political crisis,the Common School Movement played an active role in bridging cultural divides and achieving“unity”in the mindset of society as a whole.The“common”school was transformed from a public good that enhanced the value of land in the early years of the nation to an institution that achieved“homogenization”of cultural institutions in the process of industrialization and modernization.This was the core element of the emergence and overall victory of the school movement in the 19th century.