Inspirations Of Rousseau's Education Thought To Today's Education In China

Nowadays, education is considered an essential part of society. In order to improve education, one must first identify education's role today's society. Modern theories that explore the purpose of education must answer this most important question by choosing a side in the age-old and contentious debate over whether education's central purpose is the development of the individual or the development of society. Due to continuous research on this question over the years, education now more greatly reflects the characteristics of modern society.This thesis is divided into four parts. The first part concerns the essential properties of the purpose of education. The second part follows by exploring the prevailing view of the purpose of education within China before and after the founding of The People's Republic of China, while at the same time, researching the purpose of education in Rousseau's educational theory. Drawing from previous research, this thesis argues that the primary purpose of education should be the development of the individual, while simultaneously cultivating that individual to be a active contributing member of society.