Social views on running girls' schools

Gao Er Lei Wu Qiong

In order to stand on the land of China, contemporary girls' schools must adapt to the requirements of the times, proceed from the specific national conditions, implement open running, boldly reform and innovate, form their own characteristics according to their own resources, and seek development in the future diversified educational pattern.

First, the historical review of China Girls' School

The earliest girls' schools in China can be traced back to the 1930s in 19. 1844, British missionary a 1 Desai founded a girls' school in Ningbo, which was the first girls' school in China. Since then, with the invasion of China by imperialism, missionary girls' schools have mushroomed in China. By 1877, foreign churches had set up 82 girls' schools in China with students 1307. Most of these schools mainly train church staff, with foreign language classes and religious classes as the main ones. Some girls' schools, such as Beiman Girls' Middle School, have long offered courses such as arithmetic, elementary science, biology and physiology.

The famous representatives of China people who advocate running their own girls' schools are Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Yan Fu and Tan Sitong. From 65438 to 0898, with the support of Jingyuan Mountain, Liang Qichao and Kang, China's first private girls' school, Shanghai Girls' School, was formally established. The school takes educating a good wife and mother as its mission, and enrolls girls aged 8- 15. Only two years later, it was seized by the Qing government. 1902 ——1908 The patriotic girls' school sponsored by China Education Association led by Cai Yuanpei is quite revolutionary. In the following years, girls' schools were established in more than 20 provinces and cities such as Beijing, and various women's industrial schools were also established in Shanghai and Fujian.

China Girls' School gained its legal status in the early 20th century. At that time, the Qing government was forced by the situation. In the thirty-second year of Guangxu (1907), the Articles of Association of Girls' School and the Articles of Association of Girls' Normal School were promulgated, and the government's recognition made girls' schools develop by leaps and bounds. 19 1 1 The Revolution of 1911 overthrew the feudal rule of China for two thousand years, promulgated the Interim Measures for General Education, clearly stipulated that coeducation was allowed, and the national government advocated and encouraged women's education. Girls' secondary schools and girls' vocational schools have mushroomed. Following 1905, the pioneer of Concord Women's University, 1908, 19 15 founded the famous South China Women's University and Jinling Women's University.

In 1930s and 1940s, girls' middle schools in China flourished. Take Beijing as an example. 1949 before the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), there were only 76 middle schools in Beijing, including 15 girls' middle schools. Among them, there are 5 girls' middle schools run by the church, most of which have a long history and students are good at foreign languages; There are five public girls' middle schools, most of which are famous for their simple school spirit and high education quality; There are five private secondary schools for girls, focusing on meeting the educational needs of girls from different social classes. 1952, the government took over the church and private girls' schools and changed them into public girls' schools. During the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976 10, the policy of "admission nearby" was implemented. Like other provinces and cities, all girls' schools in Beijing were co-educational. Across the country, except for the Shanghai No.3 Girls' Middle School (formerly Chinese and Western Girls' Middle School), where Soong Ching Ling's three sisters once attended, which was restored on 198 1, girls' schools disappeared in China in recent twenty or thirty years.

For a century and a half, China Girls' School has experienced many vicissitudes. The historical evolution of China girls' schools shows that girls' schools in different times have different times' missions. Due to historical limitations, their school-running purposes, school-running forms and course contents are all branded with the times. But generally speaking, girls' schools have played an important role in promoting the development of women's education, promoting gender equality and social progress.

First, girls' schools have cultivated a large number of female talents for China in different historical periods in its unique way, especially for the growth of the first generation and even previous generations of intellectual women, which played a maternal role. Today, many outstanding women who are active in politics, science, literature and art and industry in China are educated and edified in girls' schools.

Secondly, there are many patriotic Democrats and pioneers of women's liberation movement in girls' schools. Enlightened by the ideological trend of women's liberation, they pay attention to arousing women's awakening through education, prompting the new generation to get rid of feudal ethics, raise the banner of equality between men and women and devote themselves to the torrent of women's liberation. Excellent intellectual women trained by girls' schools have played an "enzyme" role in many major events and changes in China's modern history.

Thirdly, girls' schools have created different levels and types of girls' schools in the long-term practice of running schools. He has accumulated rich experience in the management of girls' schools, the construction of school spirit, campus culture and curriculum setting. It provides a valuable reference for establishing a modern girls' school with China characteristics today.

Second, the challenges faced by girls' schools in China

Nowadays, the resurgence of girls' schools is different from the past, and it faces a brand-new and ever-changing social environment. Setting up a girls' school under the new historical conditions is not only stressful and responsible, but also risky and difficult. The main challenges are:

1. Public opinion has different opinions on girls' schools.

Opponents believe that single-sex schools are unequal and unnatural, which hinders the normal development of students' body and mind. Today, people who oppose the restoration of girls' schools argue that running girls' schools is a retrogression in history.

Supporters believe that coeducation seems to be equality between men and women, but girls still accept the standards dominated by male values at school, and it is still a "second sex" for girls to leave school. The argument that girls' schools hinder girls' development has not yet been proved.

Today, people who advocate running a girls' school on a trial basis believe that the new girls' school created with the new school-running concept has its modern value. Whether it is revived or not lies in its essence, not in its form.

2. Facing the fierce competition in the education market.

No matter whether it is a newly-built women's university or a middle school, because there is no foundation of an established school and no brand of a famous school, it is difficult to gain a foothold in a metropolis with many famous schools in the face of the severe pressure of further study and employment. Private schools, in particular, cannot win social recognition with a high reputation in just a few years.

Faced with the above challenges, the managers of girls' schools think calmly in the collision of ideas; Practicing educational reform with a pragmatic attitude; Exploring the road to success of new girls' schools with scientific spirit.

Third, how to run a new girls' school well

With regard to how to run a new type of girls' school well, school administrators in girls' middle schools have gradually reached a consensus through several years of practice, that is, under the new historical conditions, the key to the survival and development of girls' schools is to do a good job in their own positioning. There are still several important issues to be clarified around positioning.

1. What is the best way for girls to run schools?

Judging from the present situation of our country and the process of education reform, it is the only choice and the best choice for women schools to run characteristic schools.

Under the planned economy system, it is impossible to cultivate new talents with innovative spirit and practical ability to meet the needs of the new century. In today's fierce competition in the education market, running a school has no characteristics, and it is impossible to survive, let alone surpass development.

Characteristic schools are not necessarily key schools or demonstration schools, but they must be successful and dynamic schools. Only by running the characteristics of contemporary girls' schools can we find our place in the overall layout of education.

Characteristics are the embodiment of the individualization of the principal's school-running concept. They are all girls' middle schools, not a pattern or a style. Because of the different school-running ideas of principals, they have their own characteristics in the construction of school spirit and study style, school-based curriculum, educational research topics, student management methods, campus cultural atmosphere and so on. Only when the principal's idea of running a school is transformed into the educational management behavior of all the staff, can the vitality and competitive advantage of the new girls' school be revealed.

2. How to establish the training goal of contemporary girls' schools?

Girls' schools with the aim of cultivating a good wife and mother and girls' schools with the aim of cultivating a noble wife have been eliminated with the progress of society and the changes of the times. Today, the historical mission of girls' schools is to arouse the consciousness of new women and improve the comprehensive quality of girls by establishing education, courses and methods that keep pace with men and women, so as to meet the requirements of the times for women's multiple social roles and lay the foundation for their lifelong sustainable development.

Although different levels and types of girls' schools have different expressions on the training objectives, we must position the training objectives on the basis of "four haves" (ideals, morality, education and discipline) and "four selves" (self-esteem, self-confidence, self-reliance and self-improvement) to effectively improve the quality of life of girls to meet the requirements of the times. If the date of running a school is not clear, it is easy for the school owner to unconsciously step into the misunderstanding of the traditional female role stereotype. If we emphasize that running a girls' school is aimed at preventing puppy love, targeting at gender segregation, or aiming at cultivating educated ladies who can go to the kitchen under the hall, or even copying the new gender discrimination contrary to expectations, we should be particularly vigilant.

3. How to understand the function of contemporary girls' schools?

As a tool, education creates more opportunities for girls to receive quality education by running girls' schools and changes their fate through education, which is undoubtedly an important function of contemporary girls' schools.

However, it must also be noted that girls' schools are just one of many modes of running schools. Compared with the mainstream coeducation model, it is always on the edge, even in countries with developed education and prosperous girls' schools. At present, there are only 15 women's universities in China, accounting for only 0.3% of 1225 universities; 15 The proportion of women is very small. Even though there are 40 girls' middle schools in China, they only account for five tenths of the 80,432 ordinary middle schools.

It should be noted that although there are few girls' schools, girls account for half of the students. How to grasp the law of girls' education and teach according to girls' physiological, psychological and physical characteristics is a series of important topics to be studied. If we make contemporary girls' schools not only an educational entity, but also a base for studying the laws of girls' education, even if the number of girls' schools is small, they can play a great role. Girls' schools continue to extend their research results to coeducational education for girls, and the benefits are not limited to students studying in girls' schools. Give full play to the role of women's education research base and take strengthening scientific research as an important task of women's schools. First, we can deepen the research of educational science and promote the research of educational laws to the gender level; Second, it can provide an effective way and basis for how to implement the national policy of equality between men and women in the education process; Third, it is conducive to promoting the localization of women's studies.

If contemporary girls' schools can correctly understand and give full play to the above two functions, their joint role and contribution will greatly exceed that of traditional girls' schools.

4. How do girls' schools grasp the focus of deepening reform?

In the tide of educational reform, the investment of girls' schools is no less than that of coeducation, but the difference is that in the implementation of quality education, we must give full play to our advantages and make up for our shortcomings according to the characteristics of girls. The experience provided by some well-reformed girls' middle schools is that the concept of "all-round development, teaching students in accordance with their aptitude and optimizing their personality" should be established to promote girls' quality education, and the focus of reform should be on the following three aspects:

(1), construct a new female character with the spirit of "four self", and enlighten the awakening of girls' subjective consciousness. "Four-self" education should be like a red line, running through education, teaching and management. Women's moral and psychological education should be placed in the most important position.

(2) Cultivate girls' innovative spirit and practical ability, develop girls' interest and potential in learning science, and improve their scientific quality.

(3) Develop school-based curriculum in girls' schools to promote the improvement of girls' comprehensive quality and personality optimization.

Fourth, the survey results.

According to this study, we specially designed several questions to investigate social groups, and a total of 20 people were surveyed. The results are as follows:

Question 1 What do you like about girls' schools?

A can cultivate femininity (6 people)

B can achieve female talent (8 people)

Good academic research (4 people)

D Pursuing freshness (2 people)

Question 2: What do you think of girls' schools?

An abnormal place (1 person)

B There are a group of self-reliant girls (10).

C. Cradles of women's success (9 people)

Question 3: Do you think special education (such as physical education) in girls' schools is helpful to girls?

A Yes (15 people) B No (5 people)

Question 4: What kind of girls do you think are girls in girls' schools?

A is not good at communicating with the opposite sex (5 people)

B self-reliant, self-reliant and confident girls (8)

C independent, capable, caring and elegant girls (7 people)

Question 5: Do you think girls' schools have long-term significance?

A is (10) B No (10).

Question 6: Are you optimistic about the opening of girls' schools?

A optimistic (1 1 person), b not optimistic (9 people)

A summary of the research on verbs (abbreviation of verb)

1, the three major countermeasures for current development

There are not only a few girls' schools in China, but most of them have been newly built and renovated in recent ten years. In order to survive and develop in the fierce competition, there are several problems that need to be paid attention to and solved urgently:

(1), strengthen the publicity of girls' education and the purpose of running schools for girls, and strive for greater support from the government and society.

In recent years, the fairness and justice of education, the balanced development of education and the disadvantaged groups in education have attracted more and more attention from our government and society, which is very gratifying. However, there are still some problems that need further consideration, such as: Is there still gender discrimination in China's current education? Has the education of girls been given due attention? Can we face up to the disadvantaged position of college and middle school girls ... and so on. Whether these issues can reach a consensus directly affects the development of women's education and is closely related to the survival and development of women's schools.

Some developed countries-directly deny the existence of gender discrimination in their own countries. In China, girls' education was not considered as a special problem before1980s. In the past two decades, with the expansion of regional economic development differences and the increasingly obvious educational differences, the government has deeply felt the proposition that "girls' education is an arduous task". "According to the statistics of 1990, girls account for 8 1% of the 7- 1L children in China. According to the statistics of 1994, the average female students in colleges and universities all over the world account for 47%, while that in China is 7.34% less. Only 5.3% and 6.2% of China Academy of Sciences and Academy of Engineering are female academicians. Facts show that the absence of gender bias in law and system does not mean gender equality in decision-making and operation. Starting from the national conditions of China, it is absolutely necessary to pay special attention to girls' education and give preferential policies to support and encourage girls' schools to run their own characteristics.

(2) The key to the survival and development of girls' schools is to improve their own level of running schools and truly provide quality education for girls to choose from.

Girls' schools in China started early and had a long interruption. It is a great loss that many famous girls' schools failed to continue. In foreign countries, although the advantages and disadvantages of girls' schools have been hotly debated since their birth, they have not stopped the existence and development of a number of excellent girls' schools. In recent years, Wellesley Women's College in the United States, Ewha Women's University in South Korea and other schools have taken measures such as running schools jointly with other first-class and well-known universities, and students can transfer to other schools, which has further improved their social reputation. SNDT Women's University in India has developed into a first-class university with 6.5438+0.9 million students. In Japan, Europe, America and Taiwan Province Province, there are many girls' middle schools and girls' vocational schools with a long history, which are full of vitality and characteristics and are famous for their high-quality education. However, most of the girls' schools in China are newly built, with a low level of running schools and unbalanced development. No matter in terms of scale, quality, teachers and welfare, it is far from the world-class girls' schools. In order to achieve beyond development and strengthen inter-school cooperation and exchanges, it is particularly important to learn from the advanced experience of foreign girls' schools.

(3) Provide special training on gender awareness for principals and teachers of girls' schools.

Girls' schools have their particularity. Principals and teachers of girls' schools should not only have general knowledge of educational science, but also learn and master the basic knowledge of women's studies and laws and policies related to women, establish gender awareness and enhance gender sensitivity. Only through this kind of special training can school administrators and teachers consciously examine the educational phenomenon from a gender perspective, combine teaching in accordance with their aptitude and implement the national policy of equality between men and women in the process of education and teaching.

2. Three growth points of long-term development

As a mode of running a school, can a girls' school coexist with coeducation for a long time? This is a common concern of female educators at home and abroad. Our view is that whether marginal girls' schools and mainstream coeducation can coexist depends on whether there is social demand, modern values and theoretical support. With the above conditions, contemporary girls' schools have a foundation for survival and a growing point for development.

Is there a social need to run a girls' school? Our answer is: All girls' schools with modern school-running concepts that can provide quality education for girls will be recognized and needed by the society. We believe that with the development of democratization, scientization and modernization of education in China, China's education policy will be more democratic and open, and the reform experiments of various school-running modes will be encouraged and supported, which will give girls' schools with different levels and styles devoted to the development of women's potential a broader development space. On the other hand, if the girls' school is not run well, it can't keep pace with the times, and it can't provide high-quality education for girls. Of course, it is difficult to avoid the fate of being eliminated by society.

Does the existence of girls' schools have modern value? Public opinion and theoretical circles have different views on this. Based on the existing research results, they believe that girls' schools have modern value, based on the following points:

(1). Setting up a girls' school increases the chances for girls to choose a quality education. Girls' schools coexist with coeducation, and colorful school-running modes can promote the prosperity and development of education. '

(2) Girls' schools can create a specific cultural environment, avoid or reduce the gender bias of coeducation, and cultivate the personality and independent ability of modern women that some mainstream educational institutions are difficult to cultivate.

(3) As a base to explore the laws of girls' education, girls' schools play an irreplaceable role in criticizing the theory of gender-neutral education and promoting the development of gender differences research from macro to micro.

Through this study, we know the public's views on the establishment of girls' schools. Is there any real value in girls' schools? We always believe that we can't rely on emptiness, but rely on down-to-earth experiments to carry out scientific argumentation.

Can the construction and development of girls' schools have theoretical support? The establishment and renewal of the idea of running a school for girls, and the practice and exploration of educational reform in girls' schools are inseparable from the guidance of theory. With the help of these powerful research forces, we should learn the latest achievements in pedagogy, psychology and women's studies, learn the Marxist concept of women, and creatively apply it to the practice of running a girls' school, so as to keep up with the trend of the times with strong theoretical support and not lose our way.

The prospects for girls' schools are bright. The realization of a bright future still needs our unremitting struggle, development and creation.

Lecturer's opinion

I'm very happy to review the feelings of being an "instructor" here.

As the mother of the child, I am very pleased to see that the child has gradually grown up in the process of completing the research report. From being at a loss at first to being handy later, I felt their hard work and sweetness along the way, with a little touch and joy.

Shanghai's famous girls' middle school, Shisan Girls' Middle School, was formed by the merger of two missionary girls' schools before liberation, Chinese and Western Girls' Middle School and Santa Maria Girls' Middle School.

As a former "aristocratic school", the reputation of Shanghai No.3 Middle School exceeded its influence in China for a long time, because it was a school that all girls with prominent family backgrounds could not choose. It is their parents' common wish to receive western-style education, to be a gentleman, to marry a rich family or to be an ambassador's wife.

Times have changed. Today's city girls dream of becoming ambassadors, scientists and wealth heroes. Girls' middle school is a unique group, and I believe she will do better and better!

I believe that every parent is extremely happy to see their children continue to learn and accumulate experience in the process of completing the research report.

—— Parents of Commissioner Wu Qiong