In the long-term production practice and scientific experiments, human beings have continuously accumulated and developed physical knowledge and skills and passed them on to the next generation. The content and experience of this kind of teaching have been scientifically summarized, revised and developed through new practice and new understanding, so that it can be taught on a more scientific and social basis, and so on. This is the process of continuous development of physics education. Therefore, the history of physics education is also the history of human beings' continuous understanding and reform of physics education. The fundamental task of studying the history of physics education is to reveal the objective laws of physics education and provide theoretical guidance for the practice of physics education. Engels said: "The world is not a collection of unchangeable things, but a collection of processes." The basic laws of physics education exist in the development of physics education. A comprehensive and systematic study of the development of physics education and a careful and scientific analysis of the background, content and influence of previous physics education reforms will help to explore the influence of social politics, economy, science and technology culture on physics education and the role of physics education in national construction and social development. In fact, the value and function of physics education can only be fully, objectively and accurately reflected in the interaction with other social factors. This is of great theoretical significance to correctly understand the historical task of physics education in China's four modernizations, formulate the principles and policies of physics education, and correct the position of physics in school education.

Studying the history of physics education, discovering the basic clues and characteristics of the whole development process of physics education, and objectively getting a regular understanding are important prerequisites for the further development of physics education. Every physics educator, knowing and mastering the whole process of physics education, accurately grasping the new growth point and breakthrough point of physics education, and predicting the direction and trend of physics education and teaching reform will help broaden his horizons, improve the quality of physics education, and inherit and learn from the previous teaching experience, including the previous physics teaching experience. Historically, many educators began their creative activities by studying the history of education. Understanding the guiding ideology, teaching theory, teaching content and methods of physics education in different periods and natural science levels in history, the positive role and historical limitations, is the basis of today's physics education and teaching reform. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to be familiar with the history of physics education as a basic requirement for students or students in the education of cultivating qualified physics teachers.

In the reform of physics education, it is of course very important to learn foreign advanced educational viewpoints, teaching theories and teaching methods, but the paths and circumstances they have experienced in the development process are often different from those in China. By studying and studying the history of Chinese physics education, we can understand the experience and lessons learned from Japan, Britain, America and the Soviet Union.