英属北美殖民地学院的办学传统及其影响

美国建国前成立的9所殖民地学院是美国高等教育的开端。它们的成立与发展受欧洲高等教育体制和殖民地社会需求的影响,既有强烈的宗教目的,又有实用的功利性目的。在殖民地早期,课程设置整体上采纳的是欧洲中世纪遗留下来的古典文学和《圣经》神学方面的知识。殖民地晚期,启蒙运动的传播对殖民地学院产生了重要影响,学院的培养目标开始与社会现实需求相契合,实用型人才的培养成为时代的诉求。课程内容开始在以“七艺”为主的古典课程中增加了科学和实用课程。在管理上采用“校外董事会”制度,并最终形成了独具美国特色的高等教育管理模式。殖民地学院的办学传统对美国建国后高等教育的发展产生了重要影响。深入研究殖民地学院的办学传统是理解当今美国高等教育办学特征的重要前提。

The Educational Tradition and Influences of British North American Colonial Colleges

The nine colonial colleges established before the founding of the United States were the beginning of higher education in the United States.Their establishment and development are influenced by European higher education system and the needs of colonial society.They have both strong religious purpose and practical utilitarian purpose.In the early colonial period,the curriculum adopted the knowledge of classical literature and Biblical Theology inherited from the Middle Ages in Europe as a whole.In the late colonial period,the spread of the Enlightenment had an important impact on the North American colonial colleges.The training objectives of the colleges began to meet the needs of the social reality,and the training of practical talents became the demands of the times.The contents of the course began to add science and practical courses to the classical courses dominated by “seven arts”.In terms of management,the system of “off campus board of directors” was adopted,and finally a management mode of higher education with unique American characteristics was formed.The establishment and development of colonial colleges had an important impact on the development of higher education in the United States.It is an important prerequisite to understand the characteristics of American higher education to study the running tradition of American colonial colleges.