A Study Of The Historical Development Of American Graduate Teaching Assistant System After World War ?

Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) system is a very important part in the higher education system. GTAs are usually graduate students working toward advanced degrees. They are employed on a part-time basis to help with the teaching of undergraduates and get paid. GTAs undertake a certain portion of undergraduate teaching task, thus GTA system is closely related with the improvement of undergraduate education. Meanwhile, serving as a GTA is a major way for the graduate students to secure financial support and to gain teaching experience, thus GTA system plays a very important role in the graduate financial support system and graduate cultivation system. American universities have long used graduate students as teaching assistants, which can date back to the late 19th century. After World War II, with the great influx of undergraduate students, American GTA system came into full flower. After more than 100 years, American universities have formed lots of successful traditions of employing GTAs and American GTA systems has entered a mature stage. American universities have set up systematic GTA administration regulations, established mature training norms and developed advanced ideas. There is merit in exploring the development of American GTA system and evaluating the lessons it might hold for Higher Education Institutions in China.This dissertation reviews the development of American GTA system after the World War ?. It probes into how the American universities constructed the framework for GTA system and how they developed the ideas underlying the GTA system. The dissertation includes three parts:introduction, main body and conclusion.The introduction analyzes the cause and significance of the study on American GTA system, reviews former studies on this topic, defines related notions, and puts forward the research methods and innovation points.The main body comprises of four chapters. Chapter one, "The spread of American GTA system (from World War ? to the mid-1960s)", first probes into the origin of the system and its development before World War ?, then explores the rapid development of American GTA system after World War ? and analyzes the deep reasons for the spread of the system. Chapter two, "The reform of American GTA system(from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s)", analyses the crisis that the system faced up to, factors leading to the crisis, suggestions put forward by the American universities and the actions taken by the departments to deal with the crisis. Chapter three, "The maturity of American GTA system(from the early 1980s to the early 1990s), probes into the change of American higher education and its influence on GTA system, then further analyzes how American universities set up GTA administration regulations and cultivation norms. Chapter four, "The new development of American GTA system(since 1990s)", probes into the new situation American higher education faced up to and the challenge it brings to GTA system, then analyzes the recognition of the educational value of GTA system among American universities and the practices of American universities undertake to develop such a value.The conclusion points out the American experience of employing graduate students as teaching assistants and puts forward suggestions on the improvement of GTA system in China.