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In search of Pestalozzi's turn from Enlightenment to Biologicalism in vocational education discourse
Xu Pingli Life, Reading, New Knowledge Joint Bookstore 2024-5ISBN: 9787108077868 Price: 46.00 yuan
【Brief Introduction】
This book is an exploration of the paradigm transformation of vocational education, which regards vocational education as a phenomenon of "life", examines the growth and change of vocational education from the perspective of the historical development of vocational education in the world, pursues the life-oriented nature of vocational education, and discusses the value rationalist thinking paradigm of vocational education under the essence of life-ism.
The manuscript is divided into two parts. The first part reviews the "life course" of the world's first vocational school founded by Pestalozzi, the father of modern vocational education, in narrative language, analyzes the life phenomenon of vocational education in the Enlightenment era, and concludes that the characteristics of bioism are the essential prescriptiveness of vocational education, which is inevitably masked by the demand for large-scale and standardized human resources in the era of industrial efficiency, and must be manifested with the characteristics of "ecology-growth" in the digital age. The second part examines the historical development of vocational education as a "life" phenomenon, examines what vocational education is, why, and how, and examines basic issues such as the philosophical basis and characteristics of vocational education.
【About the Author】
Xu Pingli is a researcher at the Institute of Technology and Vocational Education of Shenzhen Polytechnic, an academic member of the University Culture Research Branch of the Chinese Association of Higher Education, and a director of the Guangdong Association of Higher Education. His research interests include comparative education and vocational education. He has published nine academic monographs, including Impetuousness and Anxiety (Guangxi Normal University Press), The Historical Logic and Philosophical Foundations of Vocational Education (Guangxi Normal University Press), Research on the Reform and Development of Higher Vocational Education in China (co-author, Higher Education Press), The Trap of Education (Guangxi Normal University Press), and Documentary of Quality Education Experiment (Guangdong Education Press).
【Contents】
Part I: Life Enlightenment: Revisiting Vocational Education as It Is
Chapter 1 Walking between the countryside and the city
Chapter 2 Fireside Chat About the First Vocational School
Chapter 3 The Father of Vocational Education and the Hero of the Commoners
Chapter 4 The Interlocking of Love and the "Harmony of Heart, Hand and Brain"
Chapter 5 Vocational education is related to the survival of the country
Chapter 6 Dialogues on Aesthetic Enlightenment in Goethe's House
Chapter VII: The End-of-Life Inquiry of Vocational Education
Next: Discourse Turn: Pursuing the Life Discourse of Vocational Education
Chapter 1 Human Life, Meaning Choices, and Educational Discourse
Chapter 2 From "Teaching without Class" to "Classification of Education": A Political History of Vocational Education
Chapter 3 Vocational emancipation, educational enlightenment, and the generation of vocational education "discourse".
Chapter 4 From Pestalozzi to Huang Yanpei: The "Transplantation" of the Discourse System of Vocational Education
Chapter 5 Giving Life to Work: The Philosophical Basis for the Construction of Discourse in Vocational Education
Chapter 6 Discursive Coating and Identity Anxiety in Vocational School Education
Chapter 7 The Discourse Turn of Bio-Socialist Vocational Education
[Preface]
The fundamental reason that prompted me to write and complete this book was, of course, the fiery practice of vocational education reform in the mainland, but an important trigger was an old colleague of the author when he used to teach in the countryside. He is the most enthusiastic educational practitioner in rural society and the purest educational thinker in civil society, and he has an extraordinary enthusiasm for rural education and great dedication to the construction of a beautiful countryside. However, the establishment of a compulsory education school always requires investment and dedication, and despite the policy support and corporate donations, despite the fact that he used the materials for his new house to be built for the school, and despite the fact that the whole family lived in the school as volunteers, the biggest problem for this rural primary school was always the lack of funds. He has been running a school for 30 years, and his family is bankrupt, and not long ago he heard that he died suddenly due to overwork, and his unfinished business is facing difficulties, which shocked and stunned. How many such practitioners are there in China? How many such simple thinkers have been there in the history of mankind? There must be a lot of them, but they are silently dedicated, and everyone has never heard of them. What kind of education do they organize? Private education? National education? Compulsory education? Vocational education? They themselves never name and define, they just simply hold the education of "life".
What is "life"? This question is a long-standing question, and the research results are massive and unpredictable. Today, this problem is even more serious because artificial intelligence "intervenes"! In the book "Life 3.0", the world-famous physicist Tegmark defines life as "a self-replicating information processing system", and accordingly divides life into three stages (or three levels): life 1.0 stage (level), life software and hardware are all obtained by evolution, and life 2.0 stage (human life existence stage), life hardware is obtained by evolution, but most of the software is "designed by themselves"; In the Life 3.0 stage, Tegmark believes that this is the highest level of science and technology to create a better life, and life will be free from the "shackles of evolution", and a "friendly" general artificial intelligence will fully take over the software and hardware design of life. Tegmark optimistically predicts that Life 3.0 could come within a century, and maybe even in our lifetimes. Tegmark, a tenured professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, founded the Future of Life Institute, which is highly regarded in the current age of aggressive artificial intelligence. However, I developed a kind of George Orwellian sadness about the design of life. In the history of mankind, the mystery of life, which requires reverence, has been designed by various cultures in layers, and the fate of ordinary people is worthless in this design war, and the software programmer can instantly disappear with the click of a keyboard. Is this discrimination against "cultural life"? Yes, it happens everywhere in our lives as human beings, and everyone feels it at the moment. Taking education as an example, even those "educationalists" who spend their days writing about "fairness", "love", and "elimination of discrimination" cannot escape the "chain of contempt". In my personal work experience, vocational education is at the bottom of the "educational contempt chain", and if a vocational education practitioner who wanders at the bottom crosses the level and tries to be on an equal footing with academic education, he will immediately experience a strong sense of marginality and humiliation. So, how did the equal importance of vocational education as a "type" come about? According to the theory of cultural design of human life, it was designed by the "vocational educators" themselves, but it was also fundamentally isolated by the "general educators" in the long-term discrimination of life. Excuse me, is it even more difficult to "integrate jobs and people", and is it possible to "eliminate types"? Maybe it's possible. Zhuangzi said that suddenness is life, chaos is also life, whether it is beautiful or ugly or enlightened, it is complete and natural. Nowadays, we also seem to really want to see that the ice of the boundaries between leisure and busyness, hard work and labor, ideology and technology, education and work, school and society is slowly melting, and the entire education seems to be about to have no "boundary" to "cross" in the new scene of digital technology, and it seems that there will be no "kind" and "type" soon. However, what we see may not be the truth. The truth is that in the cognitive revolution 100,000 years ago, human beings were already endowed with the instinct of "design" or "fiction" by nature, and its background color is classification and stratification, and its love and hatred. Inevitably, the cultural system of the division of labor in human society always uses some kind of identity to separate human life, and the corresponding knowledge division project always uses certain symbols (such as test scores) to demarcate the boundaries of education—in fact, it is creating a new convergence. It should be admitted that the so-called "boundaries" and "types" of vocational education are the "cultural convergence" designed with test scores, and the vocational educators who enter it are constantly reinforcing this convergence under the influence of clinging psychology, trying to describe their careers as "lofty". As a result, a set of tools, several systems, different identities, competing for performances, we live in them every day, and seem to be accustomed to it, but the realm of thought is being invaded by technology, the loneliness after the excitement is quietly attacking, impetuousness and anxiety are entangled and transpiring, the dexterous hands and feet are constantly shrinking, the whole life function of people is degrading and alienating, and truth, goodness, beauty and love are slowly blunted in the unconscious and powerful touch.
Since the second industrial revolution of mankind pushed "economic efficiencyism" to the throne of Mingtang, the convergent cultural design of vocational education as a "type of education" has appeared, and a discourse system of vocational education attached to economic efficiencyism has been established. However, it is worth noting that the latest changes are clearly visible: digital technology is advancing in a highly competitive situation, the uncertainty of the new economic form, the complexity of skills and knowledge and the discontinuity of working life are greatly enhanced, the lack of sustainability of one-skill and lifelong career, and the adaptability of general-purpose life skills are constantly crowding out professional work skills in specific positions. Many people worry that the consequences of the squeezed job market brought about by the "machine replacing people" are emerging, and where will hundreds of millions of workers go? Correspondingly, vocational education practitioners are worried, where will vocational education go? The answer is that it depends on what people do when the realm of efficiency is taken over by technology. It can be predicted that almost all of them have actively or passively entered all kinds of digital platforms, almost all of them have de facto become symbolic laborers created by the Internet, almost all of them are trying their best to find and create careers conducive to life and happiness in the world of great integration, and almost all of them are eager to obtain an aesthetic survival experience in "fluid modernity". In this regard, in the discourse system of efficiencyist vocational education, the concern that "machines replace people" is necessary; However, in the discourse system of biologicalist vocational education, this concern is superfluous, because the Achilles heel of artificial intelligence technology has no thought, and of course it is impossible to have the rich emotions of human life. In short, machines replace jobs, not people! For people with love and thoughts, new jobs are always on the way to creation.
Unfortunately, the biologic behind this great change is not understood by those vocational education practitioners who are deeply trapped in the inertia of economic efficiencyist thinking, and they usually respond to the change without thinking about the theory of "adaptability of vocational education". For example, when they see that the live broadcast industry is in full swing and the "Internet celebrity economy" is booming, the first thing they have to do is often to enthusiastically calculate how big the live broadcast market is, how short of live broadcast talents, etc., and then they may hurriedly set up an "e-commerce live broadcast college", confidently open a "live broadcast course", and apply for funds accordingly to create a standardized, high-end, and certified "first-class live broadcast talent training room". At first glance, very up-to-date; If you think about it, it's really against the times! Let's ask, is the first-class (viable) live broadcast talent made from the training room? If not, what then?
This book would like to express the following points:
First, the historical mission of the once effective efficiencyist vocational education discourse system has been completed, and a new turn in the vocational education discourse system must be realized, otherwise we will be unable to cope with the new challenges of the digital economy, which is not only the choice of rational logic, but also the choice of perceptual experience. Let's see, vocational education is very lively in the mainland at the moment, but vocational schools are not attractive, why not? Because vocational schools close education in the boundaries of economic efficiency, cultural convergence, which creates identity anxiety and flaunts uniqueness. However, technology is developing, the economy is developing, education is developing, and the public's demand for professional life is developing. In recent years, the popularity of workplace Internet words such as "social animal", "naked words" and "ant clan" is a vivid embodiment of the resentment expressed by young people with a strong sense of subjectivity for acting as "tool people". So, what is the new discourse system of vocational education in the new era? One word to sum it up: vitalism. The digital age calls for life, and only with life can there be the impulse to create and evolve, and only then can there be human existence and dignity. In the past, the impulse of life was often mechanized, instrumentalized and externalized by the cultural design of efficiencyism, and as Henry Bergson said, it is inevitable that the high flow of life as a whole will be "transformed into a vortex by matter", and although it will add burdens and obstacles to its freedom, it will eventually be unable to stop the continuous progress of the impulse of life. When we look at vocational education as a life phenomenon, the underlying logic of vocational education has changed, and we need to start from the humanistic logic to reflect the overall concept of life and the characteristics of "ecology-growth" of vocational education. In particular, when the truth of life and its value of vocational education are revealed, vocational education can truly "know oneself" and "care for oneself"; On the other hand, only when vocational education knows and cares about itself, vocational education will not be attached to it in behavior, impetuous and anxious in psychology, and will not be besieged by type and level problems, but will continue to focus on its original intention and mission, and thus win respect. At the end of the day, vocational education is just a means to find out who and what is behind it, so that they, us, and all of them, can know themselves, and then care for themselves (know what they care for, how to care, and have the ability to care) and earn respect.
Second, the historical mission of vocational education "schoolism" (or "academic qualifications" and "identityism") that used to be centered on vocational schools and marked by "heavy cross-border education" has been completed, and it is necessary to realize a new shift in the governance model of vocational schools based on the mechanism of knowledge integration and lifelong learning, and establish a "sinking education public service ecology" of "skill-based society". Vocational education cannot be ignored but appreciated by itself, but must be carried out into the civilian world with care; Vocational education should not be "floated upward" without a solid foundation, but should be "downward" with a solid foundation; Vocational education should not strengthen the "external dependence" of instrumental rationality, but should be concerned about the "conscience" of the living world; Vocational schools cannot recruit students but "build high walls", but "tear down the walls to open the four directions"; Vocational schools should not create "type convergence" and identity anxiety, but should experience "harmony and difference" and professional happiness. In short, vocational education needs to bring a new system of life-oriented discourse, with "multiple skills", "love and dedication" and "education assistance", like the flowing water of "good and beneficial to all things", to the civilian world, to the rural world, to the field world, to the world of small people, to the world of small and medium-sized enterprises, to the real scene of "what everyone is evil". There is no doubt that all the education that invests in "life" can hardly be described as the flamboyance and heroism of efficiency. The author once proudly devoted himself to two years of quality education experiments in a big city, and although there was no shortage of material conditions, he experienced the torture of overwork by idealists who had to go to the hospital every month to hang up needles.
Third, in order to realize the new transformation of the vocational education discourse system and the governance model of vocational schools, the first thing we need to do is to turn to "human life itself", and thus pursue the "life discourse" of vocational education, such as returning to the "enlightenment era" of vocational education and revisiting the "original intention of love" of vocational education. Vocational education originates from people's "life enlightenment", including ideological enlightenment and technical enlightenment. The essence of human life is "thought" and "technology", human beings are a synthesis of thought and technology, "all dignity lies in thought", and "irretrievably linked with technology", technology is technology around thought, and thought is thought around technology. Therefore, as we all know, vocational education, as a life phenomenon, was born in the era of the Enlightenment and the era of industrial and technological revolution, and became a symbol of human life freedom, equality of rights and educational emancipation. The original intention of vocational education is enlightenment, rescue, and love, and vocational education cultivates civilian heroes; The initial discourse system of vocational education is aesthetic enlightenment, and its purpose is not to isolate from general education and instrumentalism and efficiencyism serving factory employment, but to educate the whole people, basic compulsory education, skills to earn a living, and enlightenment and rescue education.
Fourth, continuing on the third point, the author would like to further explain: why does vocational education in our time especially need Pestalozzi? In addition to the above reasons, there are also the following reasons: first, many educators have too much instrumental rationality and too strong circle consciousness, but too little passion for education and lack of educational beliefs; Second, many vocational educators are too heavy on fame and fortune and too vulgar, but they don't know enough about themselves, don't care much about themselves, and lack autonomy and heroism; Third, many vocational colleges have a serious idea of loving the poor and loving the rich, with too little benevolence and love, and a lack of educational assistance; Fourth, many county-level vocational high schools "separated" themselves from ordinary high schools and "ran to the city" on another track, but even lost themselves; Fifth, the "fragmentation" of the education system is quite serious, there is exclusion between urban and rural education, there is incompatibility between compulsory education and vocational education, and no one is subordinate to each other in the name, concept, and formulation of various educational names. The author is thinking of the 18th-century Swiss educator Pestalozzi. In the eyes of those around him, Pestalozzi was an ugly, stupid, pure and enthusiastic eccentric who gave up his privileged status as a city citizen who was envied at the time and moved from the big city to the small village to run a school. He recruited street children, gave his whole life, and remained determined despite endless setbacks. However, how many educators today know who Pestalozzi is? Was Pestalozzi a vocational education thinker? Of course, Pestalozzi must have a place in the professional study of the history of education, some say he is the father of national education, some say he is the father of preschool education, some say he is the father of educational psychology, and some say that he is the father of teacher education...... However, it is not surprising that many vocational education researchers talk about Pestalozzi but do not admit that he is a vocational education thinker, because Pestalozzi's career is difficult to define in terms of the current technical efficiencyist discourse of vocational education. However, today, in the face of the subversive challenges of new technologies, new tools and new professions, we solemnly propose that vocational education should return to Pestalozzi, to this messenger who has won respect for the life of vocational education, with the aim of recognizing and caring for "one's own vocational education", in order to rejuvenate the vitality of education with self-esteem, dedication, enlightenment and redemption.
The key words in this book are: vocational education, Pestalozzi, search, life, enlightenment, discourse, turn. The theme of this book is derived from the proposition of the times given to vocational education by historical logic, which is the reflection, turning and construction of the discourse system of vocational education as a phenomenon of "life", focusing on two core points (the "life" value and enlightenment of vocational education, and the "life" discourse and turn of vocational education) and three "discourse" lines (aesthetic enlightenment vocational education, industrial efficiencyist vocational education, and future life-oriented vocational education).
What is "discourse"? Discourse is a kind of systematic existence, which determines the construction of identity, and only when it is interpreted can it embody value. What is "turning"? That is, historical exploration, reflection and construction, including the exploration of the origin of discourse, the reflection of discourse value and the construction of discourse system. Heidegger said that only by conforming to the nature of thought can we turn to the essence of discourse. The generation of vocational education discourse system is not only a process, but also an interpretation. The discourse system of vocational education and its generation process is a kind of interpretive existence, value existence and historical existence.
Based on the hermeneutics of the subject, this study aims to make vocational education research start from self-knowledge and self-care of life experience, and emphasize that there is no "objective" understanding of vocational education discourse system that has nothing to do with our life experience. Therefore, this study does not explain the institutional texts and theories, let alone list the discourse on technical knowledge and compile the data, but is mainly concerned with the life world that the author of this paper opens. The book is divided into two main parts. The first part, "Life Enlightenment: Revisiting Vocational Education as It Is", tells the story of the formation of aesthetic Enlightenment vocational education discourse through the analysis of Pestalozzi's educational writings, educational behaviors, and psychological states (emphasizing "the original decisions and basic motivations that enter the author"). The second part is "Discourse Turn: Pursuing the Life Discourse of Vocational Education", which mainly opens up a new historical horizon of encounter with the spirit of vocational education through the subjective interpretation of "vision fusion", "language transformation" and "spiritual encounter" in text reading, historical imagination and meaning analysis, during which the "why" of vocational education is constantly pursued, and then how modern Chinese interprets the vocational education thought constructed based on the Western discourse system, so as to activate the "blood circulation" of vocational education lifeism.
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