家事是一种职业吗?——以20世纪上半叶女子教育中的“家职之争”为研究中心

Is Homemaking a Profession?Making“Homemakers Debates”in Modern Chinese Women’s Education in the Early 20^(th)Century as a Focus in Research

“家职之争”即“家事教育与职业教育之争”,是20世纪上半叶中国女子教育发展中的一个经典论争,具体指的是当女子进入学校就读后,要不要对她们施以专门的家事教育这一问题。自“兴女学”起,家事教育成为女学必备内容,但女子职业教育兴起后,围绕“家事是不是一种职业”,舆论界有过数次论争,最终以新中国成立后废除家政系为标志结束。从观念论争到家事课程的存废,背后反映的是中国教育现代化进程中对女性处理家事与职业关系在教育上的一个特殊考虑,它与近代“兴女学”过程中的“贤妻良母主义”“女国民主义”“妇女回家论”等社会思潮相伴而行。时至今日,随着“家庭教育”立法,“家事”再次成为“国事”重回教育视野,而高校再度开设家政课似也表明对近代这一论争的当代回应。然而,家事与职业之间的性别差异问题至今仍在探讨之中。可见,以此为研究中心,重回历史现场、重温经典之争尤为必要。

The“home vs.vocation dispute”between home economics education and vocational education is a classic argument in the development of women's education in China in the first half of the twentieth century.This debate specifically revolved around the question of whether to provide women with specialized home economics education when they enter schools.Since the rise of women's education,home affairs education has become an essential part,but after the rise of women's vocational education,there have been several debates in the public circling around the question of whether“homemaking is a profession”.These debates eventually ended with the abolition of the Department of Home Economics after the founding of the People's Republic of China.From the conceptual debate to the retention or abolition of the family affairs curriculum,what is reflected is a special educational consideration of women's handling of family and professional relationships in the process of China's educational modernization.This consideration goes hand in hand with the“good-wife and good-mother doctrine”and“female nationalism”in the process of the development of women's education in the modern era.It was also behind the“doctrine of women returning home”in the process of establishing women's schools in modern times.To this day,legislation on“family education”has once again made“family affairs”a“national affair”,one that has become a subject of study.Colleges and universities once again offer courses in home economics,suggesting a contemporary response to this aged controversy.However,the question of gender differences between family affairs and careers is still being explored.It is especially necessary to take this debate as a center of research,going back to history by revisiting the historic debate.