中国高等教育的将来

目前,我们处在一个相互依赖和多元文化的全球社会。世界变了,高等教育却仍然没有出现任何实质性的变革。因此,我们需要对高等教育重新进行思考,我们需要全新的教育内容、途径以及步骤。教师必须学着将学生们自己的知识看成是教——学过程中一个非常重要的新资源,同时应该继续掌控学生在课堂的学习过程。我们有关学习的新的认识和当前实际的学习方式是互相矛盾的。对于真正的素质教育来说,培养更高层次的思考方法必须优先于实际知识的学习。与其他社会制度一样,高等教育也往往抵制变革。因此我们必须设计出新的机制,不断进行变革,使这些变革对于所有的教育机构、教职员工和学生来说都是很平常的,都是容易实现的。我提议,邀请大学和学院参与进来,重新定义中国的高等教育。批准参与的大学和学院都将收到一笔特殊基金,用于贯彻实施他们自己设计的独立的改革方案。这些方案都须是小型的、独立的,并且是不受传统的和官僚性的改革方案限制的。

The Future of Higher Education in China

Our interdependent, multicultural global community requires new thinking about higher education. The world has changed, but higher education has not changed in any substantial way. We need new Content, Access, and Processes. Teachers must learn to see student knowledge as an important new resource in the teaching/learning process, while still retaining control of the learning experiences in their classrooms. Our new knowledge of learning contradicts current learning practices. Higher order thinking processes must preempt factual knowledge as defining quality education. Higher education, like most social institutions, is resistant to change. We must design new mechanisms to make constant change an easily accomplished and normal expectation for all institutions, staff and students. I propose that colleges and universities be invited to apply to participate in a process of redefining higher education in China. If accepted, they would receive special funding for self-contained parallel programs of their own design. Each would be small and self-contained freed from most of the limitations and bureaucratic rules of traditional programs.