关于中美家庭教育的差异-商务英语-毕业论文

吉林华侨外国语学院毕业论文

Comparative Study of the Differences on Children Family Education between China and America

I. Introduction原创英语毕业论文请咨询QQ253771735

It is obvious that children family education is one of the most important parts of education process. Children family education, as the elementary stage of all kinds of educations, is the first step that the children get in touch with the society. Family education is not only the education of the earliest education but also the whole-life education. Whatever the growth of the individual and the development of the entire society, the Family education also plays an irreplaceable role. Because of the different political attitudes, social systems, culture backgrounds, Children family education in different countries have different characteristics.

This thesis tends to analysis the differences and the reasons on children family education between China and America. In the concept of children family education, Chinese parents always pay attention to exam education. American family encourages children growing freely. They pay more attention to train their children’s independent ability. In the method of children family education, the pattern of Chinese children family education can be aptly to be described as parents-dominated pattern, while American children family education tends to be democratic.

Both Chinese children family education and American children family education have their own characteristics and it’s hard to tell which is better than the oth er. Through the general comparison of two countries’ children family education, the paper puts forward some suggestions for our countries’ children cultivation, hoping that Chinese children family education can become more rational and more perfect.

II. Definitions原创英语毕业论文请咨询QQ253771735

2.1 The Definition of Family Education

What is family education about? Most people including some parents may say that family education simply means raising and educating. However, it is never the case. Family education is more than raising and educating.

A General Introduction of Chen Heqin’s Thoughts on Preschool Education defines family education as “Family education is a society use to educate new generation with aims and systems” (Chen Heqin, 2006). It can be proved that as in the period of early childhood, family education processes are critical for elementary-school-age children’s learning and development.

According to the traditional concept family education is parents educate their children. Yet, the definition of family education should be extended. Family education is not only the action of family but concerns the whole society. Family education is not only the way that parents or elder generation educate the child or teenage in family, but all the family members educate each other. Family education is not only the education of the pre-school education, but also all life education.

2.2 The Definition of Children Family Education

Increasing attention has been paid to children family education by the modern society, and it gets a hot spot of society, which is closely related to tens of thousands of families’ vital benefits and urgent need. What is the definition of children family education?原创英语毕业论文请咨询QQ253771735

Just as Phierbaha say “Parents’ bigge st false is they stand in their position and interfere children’s nature development.” (Phierbaha, 2001) Children Family Education is “A social activity with the purpose of get the children involved in under the influence of education. Children Family Education is a basic part of education, with school education and social education to become an organism.”(Zhao Zhongxin, 2003)

A great man said that the basis of a country's modernization lies in talents, the basis of talents lies in education, and the basis of education lies in family. China is a country with emphasis on the home education. Throughout the ages, many men of insight work delight in the field of children family education, and accumulate quite substantial achievements. In general, children family education maintains a good momentum of growth; it has been brought into the focus of people.

2.3 The Definition of Culture

Culture has many definitions, and it affects everything people do in their society because of their ideas, values, attitudes, and normative or expected patterns of behavior. Culture is not genetically inherited, and cannot exist on its own, but is always shared by members of a society.

Berger defines culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group from another” (Berger, 2003),which is passed from generation to generation, it is changing all the time because each generation adds something of its own before passing it on.

Culture is a complex concept, and no single definition of it has achieved consensus in the literature. So, out of the many possible definitions examined, the following definition guides this study “Culture is a set of shared and enduring meaning, values, and beliefs that characterize national, ethnic, or other groups and orient their behaviour” (Zhao Zhongxin, 2003).

III. Comparison of the Concepts of Children Family Education between China and America

3.1 Concepts of Chinese Children Family Education (CCFE)

From ancient times to modern times, family education has been playing an important role in the national educational cause. Nowadays, increasing attention has been paid to children family education by the modern society, and it gets a hot spot of society, which is closely related to tens of thousands o f families’ vital benefits and urgent need. Children family education maintains a good momentum of growth in China. It gets more and more important to Chinese families. Throughout the ages, many men of insight work in the field of home education and accumulate quite substantial achievements. China is an oriental country with a long history whose deep educational culture includes the elements of excellent family education. As we all known, China’s concepts lies in the moral instructions first; the respect fo r old; the care for the young; the cultivation of moral character; the determination of being strong; learned profound knowledge, careful consideration and so on.

China had a long history, at the same time, it reserves more old culture, especially is affe cted by feudal farmer’s idea for a long period. Its culture value is conservative and cautious, which lacks of adventure spirits and creation consciousness. Chinese people are educated to be obedient, comparative and lack of an environment to accept new ideas on the whole.

3.2 Concepts of American Children Family Education (ACFE)

No matter which country you come from, what nationality you belong to, all think that the family is a person’s first school, and the parent is the first teacher. Either China or America, either the ancient times or the modern times, family education is always in the most fundamental position.

The American parents of ancient times, fully realized this truth, they guided the children must listen to section of stories before sleeping, and this is a fine tradition of American family education. They should foster the desire for seeking knowledge. The most important characteristic of the American family education lies in the educational goal. Education is not the preparation for earning their living, but for survival. The learned education they emphasize has the value of molding one’s mind, one kind of value which has nothing to do with the utility or the occupation consideration.

Americans pay attention to personality, their value orientation is based on the individualism. They lay stress on their own benefits, advocate individual improvement and find their own true value. It is the core of American culture. An American scholar pointed out: In a democratic society, every citizen has his own goal, which is he. In the family, individual is the most basic one, which is the valuable, independent from his family relation and doesn’t depend on others. So in American family, parents used to treat themselves and their children as two separate individual.

3.3 The Differences of Concepts between CCFE and ACFE

As we all know, China is a socialist country and most Western countries belong to capitalist countries. And, they have different history and cultures. China advocates Confucianism and the western countries advocate the revival of literature and art.

Firstly, the also most important point is that their attitude towards the position of family institution's position is different. In china's traditional family, parents' authoritative consciousness plays a leading role while American mainly emphasizes struggle, equality, democracy and human rights.

Secondly,they lay stress on their own benefits, advocate individual improvement and find their own true value. It is the core of American culture. An American scholar pointed out: In a democratic society, every citizen has his own goal, which is he. Chinese pay attention to general character. They have a conception. The conception is collective spirit. In other words, it means considering things as a whole. It emphasizes collective interest more important than individual interest. Chinese consider that a person is living in contrast with other people. From ancient time to the present, self, this conception results from contrast with other people, that is, individual value only can live with others’ relations in Chinese society.

Thirdly, the most obvious one lie in the difference in emotional education and corporal punishment. Maybe the Chinese traditional culture emphasizes “reserve”, the Chinese family is not good at expressing love, and the emotional education is very weak. The communication between Chinese parents and the child is characteristic of China. And in the Chinese family , such characters as no, cannot, won’t do, do not appear repeatedly, the Chinese collective education is accustomed to saying to the child should besides using the negative term to instruct the child’s behavior. This is the manifesto of guardian authoritative coloring.

According to the investigation, in the America family, parents show their appreciation to the children by using the encouraging language. They pay great attention to individual quality and the emotional communication. The family lays emphasis on the construction and the cultivation of emotion. They can vacate their time to talk with the child, listen attentively to the child’s aspirations, and emphasize heart to heart communication. Moreover, the American parents put the praise in the first place; they think that this may raise child’s self-confidence. But the Chinese modest attitude causes the guardian not to be glad to do this, because they think that it can cause the child to be arrogant, they like nitpicking and strengthening child’s weakness.

3.4 The Causes of the Differences between CCFE and ACFE

3.4.1 Different Cultural Backgrounds

Any kinds of ideas will be showed by the culture in a specific form. The concepts of China’s children family education are forced by the China’s traditional

culture. The Chinese traditional Confucian culture emphasizes “the cultivatio n of one’s moral character, the running of one’s family, the administration of a state, the peace and security of the world” (Ai Lin, 2005). In this directional thought, family education is bestowed on the direct social significance. In addition, the Chinese traditional culture also regards family education and children’s individual growth as the direct correlative causes and effects. The education’s goal is for earning their living, for honor.

American culture was totally a Christian culture which was introduced by the immigrant from Europe. If we want to resource the American culture, we are indeed to resource the religion development in Europe. American culture takes individual as a focus paying great attention to individual freedom and right. And in education, Americans place the education in prominent status, with the emphasis of the cultivation of individuality. Many American writers in the literary world wrote a lot of famous works in which independence and equality.He has written in his book that "Infancy conforms to nobody, all conform to it, so that one baby commonly makes four or five out of the adults who prattle and play to it, so God has armed youth and puberty and manhood no less with its own piquancy and charm, and made it enviable and gracio us and its claims not to be put by .if it will stand by itself.” (Ai Lin，2005) According to that, we can see the real source of the independence in the American culture. The American culture takes individual as a focus paying great attention to individual freedom and right. And in education, Americans place the education in prominent status, with the emphasis of the cultivation of individuality.

3.4.2 Different Social Conditions

Social conditions are also the factor to form the different concepts between China Family Education and America Family Education. As we all known, China is a socialist country and America belongs to capitalist country. To American, religious tradition still retains the formidable influence even in modern times. It not only has the strong religious coloring, but also it entrusts American education with the internal spiritual value. The parents also focus this spiritual belief religious very much in the home education. For example, they must thank God before eating, when doing anythin g, they must judge from the God’s standard, and every weekend, all members of the family must go to the church to make the Mass, so as to, maintain the pure land of mind forever.

American has good economic conditions, perfect old-age social system. Americ an parents don’t have the idea that rearing children against old age. Instead, they think when they become old; they can go to old people’s home to live the rest of their life. So they rear the children to 18 years old, who become independent persons, and they finish their jobs without considering what the children will be in the future. They don’t care about whether the children will bring honor to them or not.

By comparison, China, a nation which economic condition is poor, has incomplete social old-age system, and has some old conception questions. Chinese

parents consider that children’s education is connected with the rest of their life. They treat the children as their own property; require children to pay back for them. And the thing that presents it in their ways is education. Many Chinese parents treat the thing of beating children as a personal affair. They think no one can interfere.

3.4.3 Different Thinking Patterns

The Chinese parents care about the reputation in educating the child, thinking educating the child to become a useful person is their achievement, but if not, the parents feel shameful. But the most important point is that their attitude towards the position of family institution’s position is also different. In china’s traditional fa mily, parents’ authoritative consciousness plays a leading role while in American family mainly emphasize struggle, equality, democracy and human rights.

Another thinking pattern reflects in the economic way. In China, earning money to support one’s family and managing the wealth are adult’s matter. When having no money they can ask the parents for some. Even if after getting married, they can also do this. The Chinese parents always render economic assistance gratis to the children, and try every means to satisfy the children with the money, and indulge the child’s excessive consuming desire.

While in American, the parents do not supply the money for the child regularly, but issue the child a fixed fund regularly. And they help the child to set up the correct consciousness of managing finances, foster a good habit of managing money matters, besides these, they also pay great attention to raising basic quality of managing money matters. The American parents teach the child to make plans for budget items, learn to spend money reasonably; They encourage the child to work outside to gain income by themselves; They educate the child to store up the wealth, not to spend money freely; They help the child learn to donate, help other people; They educate the child to be honest, have the self-respect facing money; They tell the child saving money is a virtue; And they teach the child to hold the opportunity of managing money matters and make the correct decision, and be ready to serve others.

IV. Comparison of the Methods of Children Family Educations between China and America

4.1 The Methods of CCFE and ACFE

The methods of family education are the concrete measure of education contents. The choices of which education methods are connected closely to a nation’s custom, culture and history. At the same time, it is restricted by education aims. Conversely, whether the parents can use the scientific education methods properly is connected to the realization of family education’s aims and contents.

Consequently ,so many countries are researching that how to teach the children and how to creating the better family education, but ,in the world ,many methods were only combined all kinds of family education ignorantly ,there must have a bad influence ,when we combined with the different family education ,we must pay attention to that we should be use the merits of the education ,must be knowing what it is and why it is ,though analyzing the cause of the environment and find out the reasons of the education .thus like this ,we can create the perfect family education and the future of our country will be better.

4.1.1 The Advantages of CCFE

The concepts of China’s Family Education are forced by the China’s traditional culture. The Chinese traditional Confucian cult ure emphasizes “the cultivation of one’s moral character, the running of one’s family, the administration of a state, the peace and security of the world” (Ai Lin, 2005). Therefore, the Chinese parents have regarded the morals as the highest value orientation in the education. In that case, the guardian trains the child to practice the moral culture, cultivates mental poise, self-restraining, emphasizes reservation, and the idea of social rank.

The Chinese parents of ancient times fully realized this truth, they guided the children in reading the Four Books and the Five Classics when they are young, all the various schools of thought, stimulated their desire for seeking knowledge.

The parents are child's models: usually a simple movement is more effective than the inculcation of ten thousand instructions. However, the traditional family education in China, on account of the respective differences in more aspects is different from that in American. They have their own characteristics between regions and cultures.

The main connotation of Chinese family education is the mercy, righteousness, the ritual, the wisdom, the honesty, loyalty, forgiveness, and the Chinese child was taught by historical story, ethics, loyalty, filial piety and integrity when he was young. Thank to these moral principle, the relationship among people in China is amiable. We conquer the natural disaster based on the concept—one is in trouble, others try to their best to help.

4.1.2 The Disadvantages of CCFE

With the development of educational cause, American educational thoughts penetrate slowly through the East. When facing the traditional and modern thoughts, Chinese parents are at a loss as to what to choose. Therefore, directing at some bad phenomena, we regard it as necessary to understand.

Firstly, children have less right to speak, that is to say, Chinese parents require their children to obey the rules, and have few different ideas. As the American president Nixon said “the task of Chinese education system is to train children into a person who is docile, completely listen to elder generation. In this way, they lose Chinese Darwin and Einstein.”(Huang Xu, 2004)

Secondly, Chinese children have limited right to choose and most of them would like to do things according to parents’ w illingness.

Thirdly, Chinese parents always appear with an image of authority so their

statuses are higher than their children at home.

Fourthly, Chinese parents always destroy children’s rights of privacy. For example, their school bags are searched; diaries are peeked.

There are a lot of problems emerging out in CCFE, which is still weak. The education expert concerned, who made the long-term pursuit of investigations, thought that 2/3 CCFE is improper. All the analysis justifies the conclusion: the first, malignant events erupt unceasingly. It not only indicates the importance of children family education, but indicates the importance and necessity of carrying on scientific Family Education; the second, in current home education, there is still erroneous zone. It may be summarized as three excess and one excessive height: that is , quite some parents are excessively concerned with the children, excessively retrained and nosed into the children’s affairs, excessively chatter and criticize the childr en, and something excessive is expected of the children. The third, under the market economy condition, there is the multiple concept of value, the only child community grows as well as the divorce families increase and so on, all this brings about many unprecedented new situations and new problems; The fourth, rural population account for 80%, the countryside housing disperses, the condition is bad, guardian’s cultural quality is somewhat low, the countryside’s Family Education has become the key and diffi cult point in developing family education.

4.1.3 The Advantages of ACFE

The American emphasizes the child’s power of understanding. They like letting the child practice by him, going to the nature, seeking the knowledge from life. Their study resides in many kinds of forms. The American family has the special cooking class, the hard-work class and the playroom. They do not think that play and study are conflicting with each other, and encourage the child to study outside, pay great attention to the child’s ability to ponder. The parents usually lead the child in seeking the nature’s mystery; help them know about the society. They carry out Dewey’s education is life, school is society. They encourage the child to go to the library, the museum to read the books he is interested in, and participate in the social practice.

Firstly, children have their right to speak, in other words, they can show their opinions on family affairs. American parents inspire their children to say what they want to say.

Secondly, American children have right to choose, when the children start to show their ability to cognize things, they would like the children to choose by themselves. The children can choose games, books, friends, jobs and so on. American parents wouldn’t put the ir opinions on their children. Most of the time, their role is to lead the children to choose, or they only stand behind the children, to give them confidence.

Thirdly, American parents can make friends with their children; they can communicate on the base of equality.

Fourthly, American parents respect children’s rights of privacy.

4.1.4 The Disadvantages of ACFE

As we all known, America belongs to capitalist country. So the American pays more attention on the economic benefit. The relationship among people is cheat; there are lack of true sentiments, even in the children and the parents. For example: the parents do not provide the economic help after the marriage of the children even after the children is 18.

According to the report from American Union association, in America, a number of children are lack of communication. American think that every member in a family, he or she should had his or her own space. In their opinions, they can't interfere in each other even they are in a family.It means his has little time to stay with their parents. So they have less responsibility to their parents. But, in Chinese people’s eyes, it’s no a good idea to leave their parents. It may lose the chances to communicate with each other.

Different from Chinese family education, American indulgent type of family education had more harmful affection. Because over indulgent, it made a lot of social problems, such as, teenage crime. In radio or TV, we sometimes can get information that a 15-year-old boy shot his friend in the middle school.

4.2 The Differences of Methods between CCFE and ACFE

The Differences of methods between CCFE and ACFE reflected in many aspects. If the child is fight, Chinese parents will stop it at once, because the Chinese family and the Chinese education think that a good child will not fight. Most of Chinese parents fear their own child will suffer losses, and also fear hurting others. The thought of dealing with fight in Chinese families, is based on the Confucian idea of friendly and harmonious relations.

When American parents see the child fight, they will stand by. American guardians are based on the ideal of maintaining the personal interest prominently, achieving and safeguarding individual rights and interests from any injuries. American thinks only individual rights and interests are protected and respected, then there will be the harmony in society and equality of each person.

Generally speaking, in American families, “Parents mainly use an equal way to educate their children. They re spect children’s personality and rights. Children, in the family, are treated as independent individuals. Parents and children are equal.”(Delis, 1982) By comparison, Chinese family education’s methods lack of equality. Chinese parents don’t treat their ch ildren on the same level as themselves. Instead, parents stand for the elder generation and the children stand for younger generation.

V. Conclusion

Through the analysis above, we can easily conclude that there are numbers of differences between Chinese children family education and American family education. The most obvious difference lies in the concept. In the concept of children family education, Chinese family centers on training their children into a talent. Chinese parents always ignore practical skills, such as: living skill, working skill,

communicative skill etc. However the American family pays more attention to the ability of children’s self-living. In the method of children family education, the pattern of Chinese children family education can be aptly to be described as parents-dominated one, while American children family education tends to be democratic one. And each of them has its own advantages and its shortcomings; we should advance the family educational modernization instantaneously. Therefore, in my opinion, on the one hand, we need inherit and develop the fine educational tradition of ancient China; on the other hand, we need derive the essence from American family education, and promote the reform family education characteristic of China. So Chinese family education should be adjusted reasonably, it mainly includes the following 4 aspects:

1. first of all, family educational idea should be modernized, we should reject obsolete educational idea, keep pace with the times.

2. Establish guardian’s concept of law in education, and solve the problem of the parent’s doing educational work in accordance with the law; Enhance family educational consciousness of democracy, respect child, equal communication.

3. Adopting the scientific method of encouragement, guidance, and tolerance, enhancing the child’s self-respect, the self-confidence and the desire to do better.

4. Follow closely development of the knowledge economy and the information age, further open up the family educational mentality, enhance opening consciousness, enhance the family educational compatibility; Solve the education tendency - regard wisdom and belittle morality, promote organic synthesis between intelligence factors and the non-intelligence factors, and educate the child to learn to study and seek knowledge; inherit Chinese outstanding family educational tradition. Meanwhile the child must also face the world, absorb and introduce the quintessence foreign ideology and culture, and carry out the communication between Eastern and Western family education.

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