Chinese Education (Research and Review, Issue 7)

Author: Ding Gang, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: In this article, the author reflects on his subjective states—such as thoughts, planning, actions, and insights—during the "New Basic Education" research project, adopting the perspective of someone immersed in a transforming society and actively responding to social transformation in the field of education through professional research. The article explains the origins of the "New Basic Education" research, which stem from both the author's theoretical foundation in basic educational theory, educational research methodology, and meta-research in educational disciplines over the past decade, as well as three years of field research experience and deep contemplation on the nature of China's social changes at the end of the 20th century. As a reconstructive study of educational theory and practice, the "New Basic Education" research, in its exploratory phase, sets "goal reconstruction" as its theoretical starting point, takes schools implementing nine-year compulsory education as the overall unit of practical research, selects educational and teaching reforms organized by class as well as the entire school's management reforms as internal experimental projects, and frames the relationship between theoretical research and practical research, as well as the relationship between theoretical workers and practical workers, as the core methodological issue. In this article, the author reflects on his subjective states—such as thoughts, planning, actions, and insights—during the "New Basic Education" research project, adopting the perspective of someone immersed in a transforming society and actively responding to social transformation in the field of education through professional research. The article explains the origins of the "New Basic Education" research, which stem from both the author's theoretical foundation in basic educational theory, educational research methodology, and meta-research in educational disciplines over the past decade, as well as three years of field research experience and deep contemplation on the nature of China's social changes at the end of the 20th century. As a reconstructive study of educational theory and practice, the "New Basic Education" research, in its exploratory phase, sets "goal reconstruction" as its theoretical starting point, takes schools implementing nine-year compulsory education as the overall unit of practical research, selects educational and teaching reforms organized by class as well as the entire school's management reforms as internal experimental projects, and frames the relationship between theoretical research and practical research, as well as the relationship between theoretical workers and practical workers, as the core methodological issue.