个体主义文化传统对英国高等教育专业设置的影响

个体主义是英国国民性和文化传统的核心特征,表现在个体(包括个人和团体)自我负责、政府和他人尽量不加干预及其影响下的经验主义哲学倾向和折中主义的处事态度等方面.个体主义文化传统在英国高等教育专业自由发展时期,表现为各大学自主设立专业;在国家协调时期,表现为尽管设立了全国学位授予委员会进行监督,但具有大学头衔的高等教育机构仍然保持百分百的自主权;在协调弱化时期,该委员会被解散,更多学校获得自主设置专业权.在个体主义文化背景下,英国高等教育专业设置具有专业分类方式非计划性且划分细致繁杂、专业关系上传统学科强盛、专业设置机制市场化的特点.英国高等教育专业设置中高等教育机构自主权大、灵活性强的一面值得我国借鉴,但在借鉴的同时应考虑我国自身的文化传统和特点.

The Impact of Individualistic Cultural Traditions on Subjects of Higher Education in the United Kingdom

Cultural analysis is one of the important methodologies for comparative education,recommended strongly by such famous comparative educationists as Kandel,Cowen,GU Ming-yuan.Using this methodology,this paper tries to analyze the subjects' development of higher education in the U.K.from the perspective of it's individualist culture tradition.Individualism,which emphasizes self responsibility of the individuals(including individual persons,agents or institutions),is the core characteristic of the British nationality.It accompanies with empiricism philosophically and eclecticism practically.Throughout the process of subjects' development of higher education in the U.K.,individualism has functioned strongly.In the beginning of higher education development,subjects are set up by individual universities completely,sponsored by individuals or individual organizations.In the 19th century,higher education system developed quickly with lots of colleges emerging without a university title.University of London began to provide degree awarding services for these colleges in 1958.However,colleges still had the autonomy of establishing their own subjects' system.After World War II,the University Grants Committee tried to influence on the subjects by its power on national grants allocation.Robins Reports enhanced a dual higher education system in 1963,within which universities and other higher education institutions,including colleges and polytechnics,were all encouraged to flourish.Council for National Academic Awards(CNAA) emerged in 1964 to control the subjects' establishment of those institutions.In the mean while,universities still kept their power of managing their subjects individually.The government dismissed CNAA in 1992 and established a university title application system,in which new universities gained power in setting their subjects individually,and old universities still kept their autonomy in subjects' establishment and management.The dissolution of CNAA indicated the strong influence of individualist tradition which ended up with the 'weakness' of governmental control in subjects' development and management.Individualism was also manifested in the academic coding system which was decentralized,elaborate and dispersive,in the flourish of strong prestigious traditional subjects,and in the market orientation of subjects' establishment in the U.K.The conclusion of this paper is that cultural traditions are strong elements for subjects' development and management in higher education in the U.K.We should take our own tradition and cultural into account seriously when studying or borrowing from other countries' experiences.