2020年1月3日-4日，首届“一丹教育论坛”会议在北京大学举行，会议由陈一丹基金会、北京大学教育学院联合主办，来自美国、日本、加拿大、中国大陆、中国香港等国家和地区的学者汇聚一堂，就中西博雅教育的传承与演进、对话与融合、困惑与挑战、趋势与走向等议题进行了深入讨论。
无论在东方还是西方，博雅教育都可以说是历史最为悠久、影响最为深远的教育思想之一。近代以来，西学东渐，中国博雅教育在本土传统和西方对话的交融影响之中发展推进，与西方的跨文化对话重新构建了中国对于博雅教育的理解。论坛的研讨重现跨文化对话情境下中国博雅教育在近现代的演进历程、当下的实践动态和未来走向。
北京大学教育学院院长阎凤桥教授致开幕辞
博雅教育与全人培养
博雅教育虽然是中西方共享的教育传统，然而，博雅教育要培育怎样的人、博雅教育怎样培养人，在不同的文化传统以及不同的时代背景下，其应对有所不同。
来自北京师范大学-香港浸会大学联合国际学院的陈致教授认为，在中国探寻博雅教育模式的进程中，国学教育始终是十分重要的环节。然而，当下国学教育中自矜的倾向，国学研究和国学传播混而不分的现象却不得不厘清，每个学生都应该具备国学修养，但博雅并非要把每个人都培养成为国学研究者。香港大学的Gray KOCHHAR – LINDGREN教授则认为，博雅教育的传统能够帮助人们解决“这个世界将会是什么？”以及“最终生活将变成什么样？”等重要问题，他介绍了香港大学所开设的核心课程，并表示未来的博雅教育要为学生各方面的能力发展做好准备，以使之适应时代的变化。来自北京大学的刘云杉教授则从讲好北大本科教育的“故事”出发，着重强调了在“个性”张扬的时代重寻“人格”的严肃意涵、在“兴趣”多变的时代重申“志趣”的虔诚追求之深远意义。
反观西方，威斯康辛大学麦迪逊分校的Adam R.NELSON教授在分析博雅教育在美国的起源时指出，美国现代的博雅教育理念形成（或者说重新形成）于19世纪末和20世纪上半叶，主要是为了弥补研究型大学因理性主义怀疑和迅速的世俗化而导致的道德感和文化感不足。美国大学的博雅教育强调道德行为、思维复杂性、审美感以及具有广泛理解能力的重要性，以培养具有突出公民身份意识和政治领导能力的杰出人才。而该校的博士生Edward FRAME则以斯科特·布坎南的博雅教育探索之路为具体案例，分析了布坎南所开设的四年制“经典阅读”课程对于20世纪中期美国“自由艺术运动”做出的重要贡献，此外他还指出，布坎南相信真正的“自由”课程必须包括数学、科学以及经典的诗歌和哲学作品。
论坛现场
当本土传统相遇西方理念
在中西方的教育发展史中均有博雅教育的传统，然而中国现代大学却起步较晚，其博雅教育或通识教育则更多地受到西方大学的影响。那么当西方博雅教育的理念遇到中国大学中的本土传统，又会孕育出什么样的产物呢？
清华大学的李曼丽教授详细梳理了博雅教育在东西方的发展历史，她认为从传统上来看，东西方对通识教育价值和理念的理解有着相似性，而近现代以来，中国的博雅教育传统与西方的自由教育则有合有分。最终的结果则是，西方的博雅教育思想与中国的教育实践相结合，形成了具有本土特色的通识教育，并被当下的中国高校看作高等教育的重要元素，以培养学生的综合素质。
在中西方理念和传统相互碰撞的过程中，传教士扮演着重要的角色，他们的教育活动为中西方搭建起了一座文化交流的桥梁。来自厦门大学的张亚群教授便以英国著名汉学家詹姆士·理雅各为例，分析了其所扮演的东西方文化交流使者的角色。理雅各通过翻译“四书”、“五经”等经典来传播中国文化，力图改变西方世界对中国的傲慢与偏见；同时，他在香港引进了西式教育，向东方输入了西方近代化的理念。
翻译是中西博雅教育互动互鉴的桥梁，博雅教育的概念和理念在中西方教育的发展历史上，因不同的时代背景和文化土壤，形成了诸多各具特色的概念体系和教育实践。北京大学的沈文钦副教授指出，从晚清传教士丁韪良，到民国教育家郭秉文，再到美国当代社会学家、芝加哥大学本科生院前院长Donald N.Levine，都认为博雅教育是西方和中国共享的教育传统，但他也指出，中国学界在翻译liberal education这一英文概念时，不同时期有不同的理解，从早期的“普通教育”、“自由教育”，再到1941年官方确定“博雅教育”这一译法，其间反映了中国学界对这一概念的认识变化，也从不同侧面反映了不同时期的文化诉求和思想潮流。
每节学者轮流发言后就该节主题进行小组讨论
置于全球视野下的中国博雅
改革开放以来，中国的高等教育取得了巨大成就，从精英化走向了大众化。近些年来，中国教育愈发重视对“人”本身的尊重，“以学生为中心”重新回到人们的视线中来，这再次让博雅教育和通识教育成为了中国顶尖大学改革的主旋律。相对于英美国家，中国的博雅教育在全球高等教育的发展格局中又扮演着怎样的角色呢？
博雅教育首先应该贡献于地区发展，应该为不同地区和国家培养所需要的综合型、世界型人才。香港岭南大学的莫家豪教授认为，博雅教育应该为国家和地区高等教育的可持续发展做出贡献，针对高等教育大众化、高校毕业生就业难等社会经济问题，他批判性地阐述了亚洲博雅教育的角色和贡献，并以岭南大学为例，讨论了博雅教育如何培养能关怀地区社会又具备全球视野的领袖型人才。
在全球化的视野下，透过比较的视角，更加能够凸显不同国家和地区、不同历史文化传统所孕育出的不同教育实践，也更加能够体现中国博雅教育的特色。对此，来自日本广岛大学的黄福涛教授指出，20世纪90年代后日本大学已在很大程度上从通识教育过渡到教养教育，近年来，教养教育更进一步呈现出深化和转变的趋势，比如更加注重基础能力（如沟通能力等）的培养、注重生涯教育、注重大学专业教育与高中教育的衔接等等。他从理念、制度和内容三个方面，分析了日本大学通识教育的变化，并且指出了日本大学近年来在教养教育方面所面临的挑战。北京师范大学的王晨教授和刘敏同学则从美国自由教育的新趋势出发，介绍了美国高等教育中的实践性自由教育理念，并表示该理念是传统自由教育模式在新的社会历史环境及具有美国特色的文化与经验中重新定位的重要成果，为传统自由教育理念在无法回应“专业”与“通识”、“教学”与“研究”以及“个人”与“共同体”等矛盾关系方面提供了创造性解决思路。
在中国大陆地区的博雅教育实践方面，一方面，书院建设是中国大学推进博雅教育实践的重要途径之一。清华大学新雅书院的曹莉教授介绍了清华大学新雅书院在探索和推动通识教育方面所采取的措施，并分享了新雅书院在通专融合、学科交叉、养成教育的理念下，让学生在不同文明之间“耕读与行走”，从而培养学生树立远大理想、成就会通人才方面的经验。另一方面，改革传统的高考模式则是基础教育阶段实行素质教育的必然要求和应然结果，这已是近些年来社会各界达成的共识。北京大学的秦春华研究员指出，中国目前正在大力推行新高考改革，希望以此增加学生的选择性、改变传统的只唯分数的教育评价指标，然而新高考“专业优先”的志愿填报方式与顶尖大学所实施的通识教育之间是冲突的。他还表示，中国顶尖大学的本科教育正面临严峻挑战，而建立面向未来的富有弹性的本科教育体系是当前中国大学本科教育的根本任务。
此外，来自香港大学的Gerard A.POSTIGLIONE(白杰瑞)教授及其研究团队就中国香港地区的博雅教育实践进行了研究。研究认为，香港地区对于根植于西方文明的通识教育理念十分关注，以香港大学为例，香港大学对博雅课程的兴趣与日俱增，并且在实践方面已经逐渐走向制度化。香港地区在实施博雅教育的过程中，既拥有其他国家和地区的共性问题，同时也面临着香港地区所独有的挑战。研究团队成员覃云云博士代表白杰瑞教授在会议上做了发言。
论坛现场
未来在哪里
正如历史上曾经发生过的那样，每当工具主义泛滥、人文精神缺失之时，教育总会因此而呼唤对人本身的尊重。在科学技术日新月异的当下，工具理性和实用主义的倾向愈加明显，这也使得如今的时代和教育再次呼唤博雅教育、呼唤人文传统的回归。不仅如此，随着时代的发展，社会对人的要求前所未有的提高，博雅教育面临着培养学生综合、全面的能力以应对更加复杂多样的社会的挑战，在此背景下，未来的博雅教育又将向何处去呢？
美国创价大学的Bryan PENPRASE教授认为，从整体上来说，世界各地的大学都在重新定义博雅教育，并通过整合一种更全球化同时又汇集本地传统知识的观点来重新塑造博雅教育形式。随着全球化进程的不断深入以及21世纪信息技术的爆炸式增长，大学和教师需要培养学生具备应对不同环境和不同挑战的能力，即“21世纪技能”。
在各国博雅教育的未来走向方面，乔治亚大学的Joseph C. HERMANOWICZ教授表示，高等教育大众化带来了大学性质的变化，而这个过程中所表现出来的市场化、消费主义和职业主义倾向与博雅教育背道而驰，主要的问题集中在规模、质量和成本这三个看似不可调和的元素上。他指出，应该以强调沟通为中心，为这一当代社会问题提供解决方案。加拿大约克大学的查强副教授认为，博雅教育可以在社会发生颠覆性变化中引导我们建设一个创新的、包容的和道德的社会，但当下的博雅教育在全球范围内正受到高等教育专业化及“职业主义”的挑战，为此他表示，加拿大高等教育正试图通过构建一个解决“为什么博雅教育对当今时代至关重要？”、“当代大学需要如何变革博雅教育？”等根本性问题的伙伴项目。中国方面，北京理工大学的庞海芍教授认为，中国目前正在大力推行素质教育和通识教育，中国的大学教育也因此发生了巨大的变革，她表示，素质教育和通识教育需要在理论和实践两方面与时俱进，在本科人才培养模式、管理体制机制等方面进行创新。
论坛进行总结讨论环节
北京大学教育学院院长阎凤桥教授、副院长哈巍长聘副教授，陈一丹基金会秘书长饶瑞瑞女士在会议开幕礼和闭幕礼中先后致辞，表示这次活动虽是两个机构之间的首次合作，但彼此在合作之中结下了友谊，未来期望能共同开展更多的交流合作，共同推动教育研究。
北京大学教育学院副院长哈巍长聘副教授致谢
Liberal Education betweenChina and the West
Chen Yidan Foundation’s inaugural Yidan Education Forum, co-organized by the Graduate School of Education, Peking University, was held from January 3-4, 2020 at university’s Lee Shau Kee Grand Hall, Stanford Centre. The forum brought together scholars from all over mainland China, Hong Kong, United States, Canada, Japan, and several other regions to discuss and debate on themes such as progression, integration, challenges and trends, within the field of liberal education.
Ms. Chris RAO, Secretary-General, Chen Yidan Foundation, gave a warm welcome to all scholars and guests
The long standing tradition and lineage of liberal education is undisputed within both, the Eastern and the Western education sectors. Over the last decade, where we witnessed non-Asian higher education institutions gravitate more towards specialized learning, in China we witnessed an increasing affinity for liberal education. Much of this shift has stemmed from a need to support the whole-person development. The current Chinese understanding and practice of liberal education has been concocted via extensive dialogues and exchange of ideas, with the West. To reflect the current trajectory of liberal education in China, our inaugural forum was themed, Liberal Education: An Intercultural Dialogue between China and the West.
The Yidan Education Forum 2020 invited local and national Chinese and international scholars to better understand the evolution and future directions of the Chinese liberal education within the context of intercultural dialogue, current practice trends, and future global needs. The scholars conducted in-depth discussions on the origin, development, integration and collaboration of the Sino-Western liberal education dialogue.
Yidan Education Forum 2020
Understanding Liberal Educationas Whole-Person Development
While the tradition of liberal education as a crusader for creating well-rounded individuals is well-known within China and the West, recent years have witnessed an increasing debate of the precise role of liberal education in cultivating the modern-day citizen.
Professor Chen Zhi, from Beijing Normal University–Hong Kong Baptist University United International College, stated that classical Chinese education policies and trends have always been a crucial indicator of China’s exploration for a model of liberal education. He cautioned against the current restrained scope and promotion of classical Chinese learning. While he agreed that every student should undergo classical Chinese training and classical Chinese cultivation, he also urged that the ultimate goal of liberal education is to support whole-person development, not to create scientific researchers.
Supporting the idea of whole-person development as an important deliverable of liberal education, Professor Gray Kochhar-Lindgren of University of Hong Kong (HKU) believed that liberal education could help solve questions such as – “What will this world be in the future?” and “What will life be like in the end?” On cultivating students who ponder about these questions, Professor Lindgren introduced the core curriculum offered by HKU. He hopes that liberal education prepares students to be flexible, agile and critical thinkers to adapt to changing times. Emphasizing the far-reaching significance of returning to the pious pursuit of “aspiration,” in the era of “interest,” Professor Liu Yunshan of Peking University, spoke about re-seeking “character” in the age of “personality.”
Professor Adam Nelson of University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, reiterated the qualities of morality and cultural sensitivity as innate to the liberal education discourse, across geographical lines. In his analysis of the origins of liberal education in USA, Professor Nelson suggested that the formation (or re-formation) of the modern-day liberal education concept in the USA took place between the late 19th to first half of the 20th century. He suggested that this formation took place mainly as a response to the rational doubt and rapid secularization caused by lack of moral and cultural senses at the research universities. Liberal education at North American universities emphasizes the importance of moral behaviour, mental flexibility, aesthetics, and a broad understanding to cultivate students with a sense of global citizenship and leadership.
Edward Frame, Professor Nelson’s PhD student, spoke on Scott Buchanan’s ardent belief that the true “freedom” courses, that is, courses within a liberal education framework, must include mathematics, science, classical poetry and philosophy. Frame’s discussion of Buchanan’s exploration of the ‘Path to Education’ was a case study of one of the earliest frameworks of liberal education. Buchanan undertook a four-year “classic reading” course that ultimately led to important contributions to the liberal education movement in the USA in the mid 20th century.
Liberal Education in China: Local Traditions meet Western Philosophies
The tradition of liberal education is accounted for within the Chinese and the Western education development histories. However, local and national Chinese universities lagged behind their Western counterparts in developing and advocating for liberal education, or general education, as it has come to be known in China. Over time, many Chinese liberal education models have been influenced by the West. This session discussion revolved around the understanding of outcomes and outputs of the Chinese liberal education model which has been inspired by the Western liberal education.
Professor Li Manli, of Tsinghua University kicked off the session by exploring the histories of development of liberal education in the East and the West. She suggested that while the traditional core understanding of liberal education is similar between China and the West, the modern Chinese liberal education model and the Western liberal education model have their similarities and differences. As a result, the current general education model at Chinese universities reflects a combination of Western liberal education model with local Chinese characteristics to cultivate students with comprehensive capabilities.
Over decades, Christian missionaries have played a significant part in spreading the Western ideas, globally. Professor Zhang Yaqun, of Xiamen University, analysed the role of James Legge, a famous British sinologist, as an envoy of cultural exchange between the East and the West. By translating the Chinese classics of “Four Books” and “Five Classics,” James Legge attempted to change the arrogance and prejudice of the Western world towards China. At the same time, he also introduced models of Western education to Hong Kong and the concept of Western modernization to the East.
As Professor Zhang’s discussion suggested, language translation has been an important connector in the mutual understanding of Chinese and Western liberal education models. Over time, due to cross-pollination, liberal education models have transformed within the Chinese and Western traditions. Associate Professor Shen Wenqin of Peking University, pointed out the shared history of liberal education in China and the West. Donald N. Levine, a contemporary American sociologist and former dean of the University of Chicago’s Undergraduate School, stated very clear that “To talk about liberal training is to talk about a form of education that emerged historically only in two very special cultures, those of classical Greece and China”. When Chinese scholars translated the concept of liberal education from English to Chinese, they had different understanding of the concept, depending on the period they translated from. From the early “general education” (PuTong Jiaoyu) and “free education” (Ziyou Jiaoyu) to the later definition of “Boya Education” in 1941, the trajectory of understating liberal education reflects the cultural demands and intellectual movements of different periods and viewpoints.
Yidan Education Forum 2020
Global Perspectives in ChineseLiberal Education
Since the great reform, China’s higher education has achieved remarkable milestones, most notably the shift from elitism to popularization of access to higher education. In recent years, Chinese education has consciously attempted to become more “student-centred” and pay more attention to whole-person development. These trends have enabled liberal education and thus general education, to garner avid attention of China’s premier university reforms. What remains to be seen is, when compared with the USA and the UK higher education development, what role does China’ general education play in development of global higher education.
Professor Joshua Mok, of Lingnan University (Hong Kong, China) stated that liberal education should foremost contribute to the sustainable development of higher education globally. In view of current social and economic problems such as massification of higher education and employability of college graduates, he strongly advocated for the cause of liberal education, taking Lingnan University’s model as an example. He believes that liberal education can help train talents to take on leadership positions by equipping them with awareness of regional needs and a global outlook.
Possessing a global outlook not only helps in understanding diverse world views, it also helps to deepen one’s own views by way of comparison. In this regard, Professor Huang Futao of Hiroshima University explained that after the 1990s, Japanese universities have largely transitioned from general education to liberal arts education. In recent years, Japanese liberal arts education has shown trends of deepening its focus and transformation of basic skills training (such as communication skills), career education, vocational training, etc. He concluded that such changes in Japanese general education model arose due to evolving change in ideas, systems and content of the Japanese society. He also explored the current challenges faced by liberal arts education discourse at Japanese universities.
Further deepening the understanding of particular liberal education models, Professor Wang Chen and Ms. Liu Min of Beijing Normal University, introduced the concept of practical liberal education within the American higher education system. They suggested that this concept was an important result of repositioning the traditional liberal education model within the developing social and cultural environment, brimming with American characteristics. The concept of traditional liberal education provides creative solutions in the relationship between “professional” and “general knowledge”, “teaching” and “research” and “individual” and “community”.
Within the mainland Chinese society, college establishment is an important step in sustaining the practice of liberal education of Chinese universities. Professor Cao Li of Xinya College of Tsinghua University introduced the measures taken by the Xinya College in exploring and promoting general education for its students. The idea behind creating Xinya College, Professor Cao suggested, was the integration of general education with cross-disciplinary study coupled with educational development. This integration was aimed at encouraging students to “labour and travel” among civilizations and to dream and eventually create a society with higher morals and ideals.
Creating new models requires redesigning old ones. Professor Qin Chunhua, a researcher at Peking University pointed out that Chinese higher education sector was vigorously pushing to reform traditional college entrance examination (Gaokao) model, which is a score-only evaluation index. The redesign of the examination model is aimed at increasing student selectivity. He noted that however, there is conflict between the “Major preferred” self-application method of the new Gaokao and the general education implemented by top universities. He concluded that the future trend of undergraduate education in China was moving towards establishment of a flexible undergraduate education system to overcome current challenges.
Dr. Qin Yunyun, student of Professor Gerard Postiglione, from University of Hong Kong (HKU) represented Prof. Postiglione’s team to introduce the practice of liberal education in Hong Kong. Their findings suggested that while the interest in liberal education is growing and the practice is slowly becoming institutionalized at HKU, Hong Kong educational societies were concerned about the concept of general education rooted in the Western civilization. While Hong Kong shares some similar challenges in implementing liberal education within its higher education institutions, some challenges remain unique to the island.
Scholars and audience members exchanged their views during discussion sessions
Future Challenges and Trendsin Liberal Education
With history as a witness, whenever instrumentalism has prevailed freely and there has been a lack of humaneness within societies, education has carried forward the torch of human progress. In current times, when rapid advances in technology and sciences have rendered people more pragmatic and robotic, it seems natural that societies are gravitating towards liberal education to re-find morality and ethics.
Professor Bryan Penprase of Soka University of America reflected that, globally, universities were redefining and reshaping liberal education to integrate local perspectives with global competences. To respond effectively to the rapid globalization coupled with explosive growth of the technology sector, Professor Penprase believes that educational institutions, faculty, staff, students, and society will have to acquire the “21st century skills.” Responding further on the future direction of liberal education in various countries, Professor Joseph Hermanowicz of the University of Georgia, pointed that the massification of higher education has brought about a change in the structure of higher education institutions. Marketization, consumerism and business-like running of higher education has resulted in counter-intuitive and irreconcilable problems of scale, quality and cost. He called for better communication channels between various stakeholders to attempt to solve the current contemporary social issue within higher education. Associate Professor Zha Qiang of the University of York, believes that liberal education can guide us to become a more innovative, inclusive and ethical society. He acknowledged that liberal education is being challenged globally by specialization and “professionalism” of higher education. Canadian higher education sector is attempting to build a case to solve questions such as – “What is the importance of liberal education during current times?”, “How can universities reform liberal arts education?” through multi-national partnership projects.
Highlighting the current progress of Chinese higher education, Professor Pang Haishao of Beijing Institute of Technology informed that Chinese education systems were vigorously promoting Suzhi (quality) and general education. As a result of these promotions, China’s higher education sector has undergone tremendous changes, such as innovation in management of institutional mechanisms, etc.
Professor Yan Fengqiao, Dean of Graduate School of Education, Peking University; Associate Professor Ha Wei, Vice Dean of Graduate School of Education, Peking University; and Ms. Chris Rao, Secretary-General of the Chen Yidan Foundation, delivered the opening and closing remarks at the forum. Although this is the first official cooperation between Graduate School of Education, Peking University and the Chen Yidan Foundation, both organizations are grateful for the friendship and support that was garnered this forum and are hopeful of a cooperative future together. We are jointly working to promote education research and development.
Group photo of forum scholars and guests
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