The Puritans' Educational Activities And Influence In The Colonial Period Of North America

Started from the 16 th century,a large numbers of Puritans from England successively traveled across oceans and migrated to the mainland of North America to avoid religious persecution.From then on,the process of colonization began.With regards to religious views,Puritans advocated the establishment of churches and colonial government with contract spirit,they also urge for the devotion to religion with reasonable mind.They consider themselves as the Chosen ones,hence have the obligation to fulfill the God's missions.Influenced by this religious idea,Puritans attached great importance to education.They advocated the cultivation of religious talents through education to ensure the development of the colonies.By strongly initiating education legislation,Puritans promoted the issuing and practicing of a series of education acts which can be represented by The Old Deluder Satan Act at the earliest stage which provided legal basis for the regulated development of North American education.Meanwhile,Puritans also actively participated in the educative operational activities of various levels of educational institutions.In the primary education field,Puritans gradually set up primary school system which mainly consist of town schools,with Dame school,Reading school and writing schools are also included.In the secondary education area,Latin Grammar Schools which mainly focus on classical education were founded successively.In the field of higher education,Harverd College,Yale Collge,College of New Jersey,Dartmouth College and many other colleges were founded which laid foundation for higher education of colonial period.The educational activities by Puritans in colonial period have a far-reaching influence on the American education history.On one hand,the education legislation activities have established a solid ground for the institutionalization of American education.On the other hand,the establishment of schools at all level also contributed to the formation of American school education systems by providing practice basis.In addition,Puritan's positive attitude towards education has played a significant role in the shaping of the American's tradition and characteristics of emphasizing education.