The Predicament In Model Education Of Primary School Students And Theoretical Responses

Chinese is a nation that always lays great importance on setting up models to guide the development of the younger generation. Hence model education serves as the traditional mode of moral education in China. The renowned psychologist Bandura has also explained,"M odels show new thinking and behavioral frameworks which the observers don’t have, but can acquire by observing those models.""Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling". Consequently, models are of particular importance to elementary school students, who are experiencing fast physical and psychological development and with the young age, are strong in imaginary thinking and imitating.However, nowadays the power of models is weakening in schools. The images and spirits of such figures as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Li Shizhen, Liu Hulan, Lei Feng and Edison, who have been considered as models for generations of Chinese, are blurring in the minds of those elementary school students who were born after the millennium and raised in an affluent environment. Certainly factors from different aspects lead to this situation. For instance, example education can not keep up with the great change of social transformation. The traditional education style, top-down "indoctrination" is inappropriate, the function of model education among elementary school students is narrowed, model education of elementary school students tends to be "selfless" education, and model choice and education lack "primary school characteristics". Nevertheless, one important aspect that impacts on the effect of the current elementary school student model education is the insufficiency of knowledge and renovation in educational philosophy and principles. Therefore, based on its in-depth analysis of the difficulties elementary school student model education currently faces and their causes and with theoretical support for effective model education from Marxist philosophy, psychology, pedagogy, sociology and other disciplines, the thesis advances the goal of example education in the cultivation of independent personality. By means of enhancing good interaction between example education subjects and of adopting "active" education strategies it is hoped that elementary school education has fruitful results.