A Study On Student Diversity And Pertinence Education

Since 1990s, higher education system in China experienced radical expansion in scale, the proportion of young generation receiving higher education rises obviously. The diversity of the student body looms. Based on this diversity, proprietary or pertinence education becomes the focal point of quality education in higher education reform.The diversity is the objective feature of the student body. Diversity means difference and uniqueness. It has two meanings: 1) the individual difference of the the same student body; 2) the difference in specific type and in needs and development pattern between different student bodies. From both the cognitive and social psychological perspectives, as a non-liner process of an ever-growing evolution and expansion, the personal development of the students always shows the diversity from the very beginning. Though an innate feature of the student body, the diversity is strengthened by external factors like the social need of diversified graduates, the ever-maturing market economy, the equality in education. This is especially the case in the time of popular education when the diversity feature gets its presence in deeper level and broad domain. This poses a new challenge to university education, which means that, university education must be oriented by the need of the students, to meet the diversified options for student choice, the flexibility of the education management. Obviously, a university education of efficiency and quality must be based on a full knowledge and respect of the student diversity.The objective of the higher education is to promote the student diversity. The major problems in the higher education system in China are that, the organization of the teaching is not relevant to the students diversity, and is lack of pertinence. Pertinence education is the extension and development of the principle of"teaching students in accordance of their aptitude"in the current context of the education reform, a necessary choice for the humanist ideal of education, a fundamental requirement from diversified student needs, an important trend in the time of information society. The value of the pertinence education lies in the service for the free, harmonious and diversified development of the students. As a fundamental principle, pertinence education aims to focus on the change of the student feature, to increase the flexibility of the traditional education system. To increase the flexibility will have important implications for higher education theory, the education reform. At the operational level, pertinence education requires an organic management of education, information sharing of the management, diversity of the education means, and upgrade of educational service. The case study of the Huazhong University of Science and Technology shows that, there is a interactive relation between student diversity and education pertinence. Education reform must begin with management system, the selective courses system and the idea of education as a service, to meet the need of student diversity. The case study of Oxford University shows that, student diversity and pertinence education is also a feature for elite universities. Oxford also endeavors to the construction of a multi-layer management system and environment for undergraduate students, the preparation of conditions for the implementation of the highly liberal and selective learning of the diversified students.The fundamental objective for higher education reform is the installation of the pertinence policy for the diversified development of students. To face the challenge of the students diversity, we need 1) the modification of the higher education ideas, we needs to adopt an idea of service as the final pursuit and goal of university education, 2) the increase of the flexibility of the university management system by meeting the diversified learning needs of the students as the entry point, 3) the increase in the availability of selective courses, in order to install the vigor in the teaching and learning process, and to create the condition for the maximized self realization and development of every student.