Art Education Prospects

Author: Xu Jianrong (Editor)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-02-01
Features: At the dawn of the new millennium, the development and reform of education have become a crucial strategy for countries worldwide to address the increasingly fierce international competition. After nearly two centuries of development, the framework of education systems in various countries has been largely established, and contemporary education has begun to focus on the transformation of school curricula and teaching methods. In the more than half a century since the founding of New China, our country has carried out multiple major reforms in basic education curricula, to a significant extent addressing the challenges and practical issues faced by our education. Currently, under the guidance of the strategy of revitalizing the nation through science and education, the Party and the State have placed high importance on basic education and require future basic education to contribute to cultivating new talents capable of adapting to the technological revolution of the new century and adept at international competition. This task of talent cultivation has placed new demands on the development of the current basic education curriculum. The basic education curriculum reform in China for the 21st century was initiated against this backdrop. China's new round of basic education curriculum reform aims to change the previous tendencies of difficult, complex, narrow, and outdated curriculum content and the single curriculum structure, and to construct a new basic education curriculum system that fully reflects comprehensiveness, balance, and selectivity. Curriculum reform requires the guidance of advanced educational concepts and the support of successful experiences. To this end, while examining, summarizing, and promoting our existing mature theories and successful experiences, we should also pay attention to reforms worldwide. Organizing and learning from the beneficial achievements of other countries is a major theoretical issue facing China's basic education curriculum reform. For this reason, the "Series of Prospects for Subject Education" published by East China Normal University Press, based on the findings of the major project "Comparative Study on Special Topics of Basic Education Curriculum Reform" undertaken by Professor Zhong Qiquan, will provide necessary theoretical guidance for China's current basic education curriculum reform. At the time of the publication of this series, deeply moved by the profound discussions on educational philosophy and the explorations in educational practice triggered by the current curriculum reform, I wish to share some thoughts in this preface.
First, the theory and practice of world curriculum and teaching are undergoing a major transformation. This transformation has unfolded at the level of concepts and paradigms of curriculum and teaching design and has radiated to almost all practical models of school curriculum design and development. The traditional linear and closed design paradigms for curriculum and teaching are being questioned more and more, while multi-perspective and multi-dimensional paradigms that emphasize student-centered learning are continuously emerging. The shift in the research and development of subject education from unidirectional transmission to subject-based inquiry, as highlighted in the "Series of Prospects for Subject Education," undoubtedly reflects the essence of this transformation. Since the second half of the 20th century, developed countries have actively explored and achieved significant results in this field, and China's transformation in subject education has also been initiated at the turn of the century. Therefore, we need to examine and analyze the beneficial achievements of subject education, and the "Series of Prospects for Subject Education" provides a platform for us to observe the world. The series aims to accurately grasp the pulse of the development of subject education worldwide, comprehensively introduce and analyze the characteristics of subject education development in various countries, and meticulously outline the overall picture of each subject, presenting a panoramic view of the reform and development of world subject education. At the same time, the new concepts of subject education development expressed in the series will greatly promote the transformation of subject education in China, while the practical models of subject education introduced and analyzed in the series will also provide significant guidance for China's curriculum and teaching practices.
Second, the transformation and development of curriculum and teaching require active participation from frontline teachers and related personnel. The theoretical literacy and practical capabilities of teachers themselves are key to the success or failure of curriculum and teaching reform. Therefore, in curriculum and teaching reforms in almost all countries, the improvement of teachers' professional literacy is regarded as a crucial strategy and task, and China's ongoing basic education curriculum reform also places high importance on the effective completion of this strategy and task. The improvement of teachers' professional literacy is a complex and arduous endeavor. It requires education authorities to organize regular teacher training programs, and it also requires teachers and related personnel to engage in active self-directed learning and research from the perspective of professional development. It requires promoting and implementing the successful experiences we have achieved, as well as learning from the essence of "external rocks." The "Series of Prospects for Subject Education" provides valuable materials for teachers' professional growth and will play an important role in the professional development of primary and secondary school teachers in China.
Finally, the completeness of the system and the rigor of its structure are notable features of the "Series of Prospects for Subject Education." This series, composed of 16 volumes, not only explains and analyzes the general concepts of subject education and the design paradigms of subject teaching but also encompasses almost all subjects in the school curriculum system. Its publication marks a new starting point for theoretical research on subject education in China and also signifies the comprehensive expansion of China's educational comparative studies in the field of subject education. Sincerely grateful to Professor Zhong Qiquan and his colleagues for their efforts and contributions to the curriculum reform.