Study On The Evolution And Modern Value Of The English Residential College Education

Of all the British classical heritage, the English residential college is the main place where educators cultivate the talents. The scholars living together in colleges have a common minded and dwell with poetic flavor, it also has autonomous and self-consistent atmosphere and elegant liberal culture. This study is focused on the centuries-old strain of English residential college tradition, through its institutional evolution and innovation, we aim to find out the unique endowment of collegial education, and reveal how kind of education play a part in national development and civilization transmission,As a long-standing tradition of education, English residential college education is neither England initiating nor exclusive. It is a fusion of liberal education philosophy, residential college system, the classic courses and site spirit which all constitute the educational pattern. This kind of educational mode carried the best forward at Oxford and Cambridge University later, so we called it English residential college tradition. Depending on the nature of historical periods, the process of English residential college education can be divided into several stages:the ideological origins can be traced to the classical liberal educational philosophy and seven arts. In the second period 12-16th century, English residential college form the system and lifestyle character which exhibits the Catholic monastic tradition and charitable feature, federal structure between college and university, diversity mixture living, peer mutual aid, tutorial system and learn with accompany, these system run well and maintain a considerable stability. The third phase of 17-19th century, with the Reformation and Industrial Revolution, England turned into modern country by the first place. English residential college education are unable to respond the needs of the development of modernization. English residential college made some reforms on the curriculum and institutional in order to adapt to the industrial manufacture, but the core and value orientation of liberal education has not still changed. With the interpretation of humanist Newman and Arnold, the liberal education orientation in classical English university is still dominant. In fourth stage, late 19th and early 20th century, based on citizenship and technology training objective, the United States focused to its family clan and inherited from the English residential college education and bring forth new ideas about this traditional system.English residential college education stretches about eight centuries and reflects largely a consistent pursuit. Its educational pattern has been imitated around the world. However, because of the huge difference in heterogeneous culture, the English residential college education should not be on the scope of simple imitation. We really hope that through the study of the detailed transformation and evolution process of English residential college education, our Chinese modern university system reformation can rethink our own educational tradition and culture heritage, then should have the probability to make our own unique contribution to the human world and the development of mankind in the premise of self-understanding.