A Study Of Morrill's Higher Education Thought

Justin Smith Morrill(1810—1898)was an outstanding American congressman in the nineteenth century.He had been committed to the development of education during his tenure.Under the guidance of his educational thoughts,the Land-Grant College Acts and the Second Land-Grant College Acts were promulgated,establishing his status as the father of land-grant colleges.Morrill's higher education thought were practiced in land-grant colleges,indicating the development direction of the land-grant colleges.This thesis is divided into four chapters to introduce Morrill's higher education thoughts.The first chapter mainly sorts out Morrill's life.As a child of the worker and peasant class,he failed to receive good education since he was a child.After entering politics,Morrill was committed to providing education opportunities for the children of the workers and peasants.The second chapter mainly analyzes the background of the formation of Morrill's higher education thought.In the mid-nineteenth century,the rapid development of industry and agriculture in the United States,the overwhelming financial burden brought about by the economic crisis,and the precedents of land-grant education provided Morrill with nourishing land for his higher education thought.The third chapter systematically discusses the main content of Morrill's higher education thought,He separately discussed the purpose of higher education,curriculum,moral education,and teacher-student views.Morrill emphasized that the purpose of higher education should take into account the country and the individual.Therefore,the national political harmony,the improvement of national economic efficiency and the realization of the equality of citizenship should be the purpose of higher education.Among them,the purpose of seeking national political harmony included weakening the gap between the states and clarifying the functions of the government;the purpose of improving national economic efficiency reflected in increasing government taxation and promoting the productivity of industry and agriculture with high-quality talents;the purpose of achieving equality of citizenship includes four aspects: enhancing personal value and happiness,cultivating citizens' patriotism,improving the status of lower-level workers,and promoting racial equality.In terms of curriculum,it is advocated that land-grant institutions should focus on industrial and agricultural courses,supplemented by military and classical subjects.In terms of moral education,he emphasized that the country shoulders the unshirkable responsibility for the moral education of students,and the improvement of student morality also promotes the development of the country.In terms of the teacher-student view,Morrill believed that the quality of teachers should be improved and students should be given free and equal education.Morrill has a unique insight into education,his higher education thought has rich connotations.This not only has positive significance for the United States,but also has promoted the development of higher education thought in the world.