American Influence and the Transformation of Chinese Universities (1915-1927) -- A Study with Southeast University as the Research Focus

Author: Zhang Xuerong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: In 1915, almost at the same time as the Cultural Movement, university education began new explorations in reform. Students sent to the United States for study during the late Qing Dynasty became a generation well-versed in American educational thought. This group gradually formed and, during the period of the New Culture Movement, returned one after another to China, entering universities and playing a central role in directly the shift of Chinese universities from the Japanese model to the American model. Their enthusiasm for Dewey's thought led to the transformation of Chinese universities being carried out directly under the guidance of pragmatic theory. During this period, the institutional reforms of universities adopting the American model included:
1. In leadership and management, a university operating mechanism was established that combined a board of directors, a principal-based system, and professorial governance.
2. In student management, student self-governance and coeducation were implemented.
3. In university teaching systems, a training goal was proposed that combined expertise, and a credit system was adopted as the teaching management model, with a major-minor system as a distinctive feature of course selection.
4. The functions of universities were expanded. Research institutions were established within universities. This series of reforms transformed the university system, and the democratic and social characteristics of the American-style educational system were widely reflected in Chinese universities. However, at the same time, we also see divisions in Chinese higher education's pursuit of educational goals. The criticism of Dewey's pragmatism by American neohumanism also influenced Chinese universities' understanding of the modern university spirit. Xueheng (The Scholar) emerged as a reflection of the changes in Chinese universities under the influence of pragmatic theory. It not only reflected the impact of American neohumanism, which clashed with pragmatism, on the cultural concepts of Chinese students studying in the United States, but also reflected the conflict between humanistic and utilitarian thoughts in China's educational reforms after 1920. The focus of this division—introducing foreign experiences while preserving local culture—was embodied in Southeast University, a typical Chinese university that represented this trend of reform and division.