A Survey on the Higher Education “Three Spirits” Construction in Sichuan Provinc

Abstract

Under the guidance of “the Scientific Outlook on Development”， the Sichuan universities and colleges have rethought the present lazy and separate situation of the “Three Spirits”. Based on analyzing the relationship of the “Three Spirits”， they have taken such measures as constructing learning group and cultivating educational tradition etc， and established the mechanism of “educational guidance” and “cultural edification” to promote the virtuous change of the “Three Spirits”construction， it thus has important practical value.

Key words： Sichuan universities and colleges； The Scientific Outlook on Development； “Three Spirits” construction

LEI Yun， MOU Lei （2013）. A Survey on the Higher Education “Three Spirits” Construction in Sichuan Province， PRC. Cross-Cultural Communication， 9（4）， -0. Available from： http///index.php/ccc/article/view/j.ccc.1923670020130904.3264

DOI： http：///10.3968/j.ccc.1923670020130904.3264.

Under the guidance of “the Scientific Outlook on Development”， Sichuan universities and colleges have made remarkable achievement in construction of Study Spirit， Teaching Spirit and School Spirit （the “Three Spirits” for short）. In order to accurately reflect “spirit construction” in Sichuan Province， we conducted a study for a number of colleges and universities， such as Sichuan Agricultural University， Southwest University of Science and Technology， Sichuan College of Education， Chengdu University of Technology， Chengdu Art Vocational College， and so on. The research indicates that Sichuan universities and colleges applied the new theory to examine the state of the “Three Spirits” construction， since they have studied “the Scientific Outlook on Development”.

1. REFLECTION ON THE STATE OF SPIRIT CONSTRUCTION ACCORDING TO “PEOPLE-ORIENTED”

According to the “people-oriented” development principle， the development of colleges and universities should ultimately be reflected as the students’ academic progress and teachers’ professional growth. We examined the state of the “Three Spirits” construction by new principle， and found that there were some problems about the “Three Spirits” construction in Sichuan universities and colleges as follows.

1.1 The Indolent “Three Spirits” Fallen into Vicious Circle

Previously， Sichuan universities and colleges paid attention to the increase of quantity and scale， for example， the full expansion of the school area， enlargement of college enrollment， supposed that other temporary backwardness can be covered as long as trying to prompt the scale development. Since universities and colleges studied “the Scientific Outlook on Development”， the “people-oriented” has become the guiding principles for the development of universities， from examining the past development of the concept， it’s not difficult to find that the previous principle just focused on the development of school scale and didn’t realize “the ultimate purpose of development was people”， which led to the lazy of “Three Spirits”， and developing into a vicious cycle.

“Indolent” is manifested in the following aspects： in aspect of learning spirit， learning objectives are not clear； believe in “sixty scores are enough”， the phenomenon of class late， leaving early and dozing in class are very serious； the phenomenon of copying others’ homework， plagiarism and cheating in exams become very popular. In aspect of the teaching spirit， due to expansion of university enrolment， a large number of young teachers hurry to their posts. They are not enough to study teaching methods and are irresponsible for what they have taught， some teachers are keen to doing part-time jobs outside the campus， and very few teachers participate in students’ extracurricular activities. In the terms of school spirit， the students throw rubbish casually， pour dirty water wantonly and lack of social morality. They’re full of enthusiasm about fashionable things， keen to consumption， and no conscious about thrift； they post everywhere， paint everywhere， and lack of neatness. The indolent “Three Spirits” impact on each other， enable university development fall into vicious circle， and quality of education goes from bad to worse.

1.2 The Separation of “Three Spirits” and Lack of Rational Knowledge

Regarding quantity and scale as development orientation， few people paid attention to the quality of higher education development， when the quality continued to decline， people concerned about the quality of development， called attention to “Three Spirits” construction. “Three Spirits” construction starts from recognizing themselves， and the formation of new understanding is based on the rethought of existed knowledge.

Before carrying out “the Scientific Outlook on Development”， the Sichuan universities and colleges took consideration of the “Three Spirits” mostly in the commonsense understanding stage and lack of proper theory base. Carrying on the “Three Spirits” construction by commonsense， it is difficult to accurately analyze the intrinsic relationship among the spirits， resulting in the “Three Spirits” construction standing apart. People usually think of “Learning Spirit” is the attitude of students， “Teaching Spirit” is the teacher’s teaching style， “School Spirit” is a school working style， they are quite distinct from each other， and there is a little cross content. The splitting situation can’t push the “Three Spirits” construction and realize sustainable development. Thus it often happens that： when education authorities emphasize certain aspect of construction， universities and colleges strengthen the relevant work， but a few days later it reverts to its original state.

2. EMPHASIS ON “SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”， AND CLARIFY THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG “THREE SPIRITS”

To overcome the problems that the “Three Spirits” construction can’t obtain sustainable development， Sichuan universities put forth effort to improve the understanding of the theory， and re-establish status and relationship between the “Three Spirits”.

2.1 Learning Spirit Is the Foundation of “Three Spirits” Construction

The Sichuan universities’ awareness for Learning Spirit is beyond limitation of student learning style. The past cognition for Learning Spirit is limited to students’ attitudes and behaviors， and it seems to have nothing to do with university and college teachers. After studying “the Scientific Outlook on Development”， this common sense is generally replaced in Sichuan Universities and colleges， the Learning Spirit become a concept that both study behavior of students and teaching attitude of teachers are included. According to the new cognition， the Learning Spirit includes two aspects. one refers to the learning objectives， learning method， learning attitude etc.， which mainly reflect the student’s learning status， indirectly affect student behavior on campus style； the other one refers to the teachers’ and staffs’ attitude towards scholarship， the spirit of science， the sense of exploration， they mainly reflect the research state of university teachers， and directly affects teachers’ attitudes and teaching styles. The new understanding has broken the separate state of the “Three Spirits”， and linked the spirit of learning， teaching and school together， teaching spirit and school spirit contains in the learning spirit. It is in this sense， the learning spirit become foundation of “Three Spirits” construction.

Strengthening the construction of Learning Spirit is the need to promote the healthy growth of students， also to prompt the teachers’ professional growth. Sichuan universities and colleges come to realize that construction of Learning Spirit is an eternal theme of the reform and development， the fine Learning Spirit makes both teachers and students not only feel a kind of pressure， then have the sense of urgency， but also feel a kind of power to urge their endeavor.

2.2 Teaching Spirit Is the Core of “Spirit Construction”

Teaching Spirit reflect the style and features of teachers’ spirit and work. Its formation affects on teachers’ Learning Spirit， and directly affects on students’ Leaning Spirit formation， and also plays the guiding role of School Spirit. Thus， the Teaching Spirit originates from Learning Spirit， impact on Learning Spirit and influence on the School Spirit. It is the core of “Three Spirits” construction.

A number of educational administration managers of Sichuan universities and colleges refer that the Teaching Spirit is a kind of atmosphere which is formed by the teacher’s collective consciousness and behavioral trends and affect on the overall education job. Once formed， it becomes a force of habit， and has impact on cultivating， restricting and educating people. After sorting out the investigation conclusion， the Teaching Spirit generally performs as follows： firstly， teachers’ character is influenced unconsciously. The excellent Teaching Spirit is able to infect the new comers， who will accept the existed Teaching Spirit unconsciously， and imitates the behavior of outstanding teachers. Under the assimilation of Teaching Spirit， the common trait which the whole teachers have is more and more obvious. Secondly， the role of regulation and restriction. Excellent Teaching Spirit is a kind of “invisible” system， become the principle which the majority of teachers consciously abide， and the norm which restricts the teaching attitude and behavior. Thirdly， the role of guidance and promotion. Excellent teaching can guide the teachers motivated， continuous innovation， promote teachers to adjust their teaching behavior to optimize their teaching activities， and to improve teaching efficiency.

2.3 School Spirit Is the Goal of “Three Spirits” Construction

As style of thought and behavior that the school teachers and students have in common， the School Spirit is an important index to measure the quality of university education. The ultimate goal for the “Three Spirits” construction is namely the establishment of good School Spirit， and tried to put it into university education tradition. Sichuan universities and colleges attach great importance to the construction of School Spirit， believe that spirit can make the teachers and students’ thinking and behavior show greater consistency， and have strong cohesion function. The School Spirit makes staffs and students form the common spiritual atmosphere， bring them together intangibly， communicate thoughts and feelings， integrate belief and sentiment， and cultivate and inspire the group consciousness and team spirit. The survey found that School Spirit has strong stability， once formed， as long as no external effect to make it produce a qualitative change， it will exist for a long time. Because each university has different development history， the different nature and structure， different education conditions and subjective factors， its School Spirit is usually formed with distinctive features.

3. FOCUS ON THE “COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT”， TO PROMOTE THE “THREE SPIRITS” UPDATED

Universities and colleges’ “comprehensive development” refers to the development of students and teachers， and its essence is the common development of university staff. The survey concludes that the development of teachers and students rely on the good Learning Spirit， Learning Spirit construction as breaking-though point to promote the development of Teaching Spirit and School Spirit is good for realizing overall renewal of the Sichuan Universities’ “Three Spirits” construction.

3.1 Full Mobilization， Construction of Learning Community

The Learning Spirit comprehended by “the Scientific Outlook on Development” has exceeded the previous knowledge. As the foundation of the “Three Spirits” construction， Learning Spirit should be formed not only by the students but also by mobilization of all the university and college staffs. Both teachers and students engage on the “Three Spirits” construction， it will be conducive to the construction of colleges and universities into a learning community， and then make the teachers and the students interact each other and push the comprehensive development of colleges and universities.

According to Sichuan Universities and colleges’ “Three Spirits” construction experience， learning community can integrate intellectual resources， optimize and purify working style， so that colleges and universities are in good running condition. In addition， learning collective is propitious for ensuring the sustained development of “Three Spirits” construction. Practice has proved that universities and colleges put the whole into the “Three Spirits” construction，and it will make the “Three Spirits” with broad base and avoid the construction with “a gust of wind” type as before， play the continuous role in improving the learning and academic atmosphere in universities and colleges. Investigation shows that， since using “the Scientific Outlook on Development” for the construction of “Three Spirits”， learning attitude and initiative have been obviously improved； the phenomenon of academic corruption is less and less.

3.2 Combine Learning Spirit with Teaching Spirit to Form the Good Tradition

Teaching Spirit and Study Spirit are interacted and mutually restricted. Teachers’ teaching spirit is affected by their own scientific spirit， study attitude， namely affected by the Learning Spirit. Meanwhile， teaching quality cannot be ensured without a good Teaching Spirit， the construction of learning will become an empty talk. In practice of the “Three Spirits” construction， through selection and recognition of good ethics group and the moral model， they strongly advocated the style of rigorous scholarship and strict teaching， made scholarship， and educating people combined to benefit of forming good Teaching Spirit， teacher’s Learning Spirit and bringing along the students to form good Learning Spirit. The good Teaching Spirit and Learning Spirit gradually integrate to form the fine university’s tradition， and it will make a profound influence on young students’ ideology growth and behavior.

3.3 Inheriting Learning Tradition and Cultivating Featured Talent

The administrators of Sichuan universities and colleges generally believe that School Spirit is formed from long-term construction of Teaching Spirit and Learning Spirit， cannot be anxious to achieve quick success and get instant benefits. Although the construction of School Spirit with longterm， it is not spontaneously formed， need to consciously regulate and cultivate.

Inheriting the university’s tradition is an important job for School Spirit construction. School Spirit is personalized and unique， it can act on Teaching Spirit and Study Spirit， make the universities and colleges to cultivate its own talents with unique feature. Under the influence of a certain School Spirit， students will be different from other students. Good School Spirit gradually integrated into the school education tradition， is an invisible powerful force， should be continued and developed.

In addition， the improvement of School Spirit is a systematic project， which needs to fully reform traditional views and mode of “Three Spirits” construction， also needs each link of teaching and management to coordinate and cooperate with functional department.

4. EMPHASIS ON HARMONIOUS DEVELOPMENT AND ENSURING “THREE SPIRITS” CONSTRUCTION

According to “the Scientific Outlook on Development” ideas， any development is realized in constant coordination process. Establishing appropriate mechanisms play an important role in coordinating all aspects of the relationship， and ensure the effect of “Three Spirits” construction. Following examples can reveal a segment of the whole.

4.1 Educational Guidance System

In the practice of Learning Spirit construction， Southwest University of Science and Technology has established Educational Guidance System. The so-called Educational Guidance System refers to establish various measures to correctly guide the students at different levels of education， including positive guidance at the beginning of the students’ entrance， the strict requirements for reasonable norms during the process of teaching， and strengthening the practice to promote professional learning. Specifically， when enrollment， this university help students set learning goals through university admission education， professional education， lectures， meetings and other forms to offer guidance to students： in their study， according to the features of individual， student dormitory， class， and grade， they carried out a series of educational practice activities like “I do my style to promote the learning spirit”， and stimulated the individual and group “intrinsic motivation of learning” to achieve the desired goal of the Learning Spirit construction； in educational practice， they played the guiding role of counselor， teacher， supervisor， help students planning a career through the individual counseling to make them go to work smoothly.

4.2 Evaluation and Incentive System

Sichuan Agricultural University thinks that the teachers’ Study Spirit is the key of “Three Spirits” construction， establishing evaluation and incentive mechanism is conducive to the formation of a good teacher’s Teaching Spirit. The evaluation and incentive mechanisms， refers to the establishment of evaluation mechanism to encourage scientific research， and recognition of rigorous and realistic， meticulous scientific spirit.

The specific measures for the incentive mechanism are as following. Firstly， they take a variety of ways to improve teacher’s academic levels. Further studying help teachers to master academic trends both at abroad and home， to understand frontier of the subject development； Secondly， they pay close attention to construction of academic platform to promote scientific research work. This university encourages young teachers to bring scientific research into teaching， through scientific research project to train them， meanwhile， effectiveness and pertinence of university classroom teaching have been improved. Thirdly， a fair and reasonable evaluation system is established to encourage teachers’ scientific research. This university has set up an evaluation standard for achievements in scientific research， and rewarded teachers at different levels according to this standard， which greatly aroused the enthusiasm of the teachers’ scientific research.

4.3 The Management Constraint System

“Three Spirits” construction cannot do without managing and restraining for reasonable rules and regulations. Chengdu University of Technology has facilitated the formation of the good Teaching Spirit through the establishment of management constraint mechanism， so that the “Three Spirits” enter positive development， the quality of education has been improved greatly. Management constraint mechanism details are as follows： firstly， they have formulated the scientific and rational teaching rules and regulation， carried out teaching assessment for teachers， enforced the education discipline， standardized teaching work， resisted unhealthy practice， promoted healthy atmosphere， and ensured that Teaching Spirit got construction achievements. Secondly， they have strengthened the supervision of teaching and learning， guarantee the quality. According to the characteristics of students， teachers continuously research teaching theory， pay attention to teaching art， improve teaching methods， and constantly improve the teaching quality. Thirdly， teachers must be strict with their students to promote the construction of Learning Spirit. Teachers should monitor classroom discipline， homework and classroom effect in time， help students to correct attitude towards learning， and establish a correct outlook on life and values.

4.4. Culture Cultivation Mechanism

Compared with other universities， the biggest characteristic of Sichuan College of Education is students’ mobility， and it is difficult to form good School Spirit. Therefore， this university carries on further exploration for School Spirit construction. Finally， they find a new way to promote School Spirit by cultural cultivation. Cultural cultivation mechanism， namely， actively is developing campus cultural activities， promoting the gradual formation of excellent School Spirit through a series of campus cultural activities. For example， through the “Women’s Talent Show”， singing competitions and large-scale literary party， students not only can display their talents， enhance self-confidence and sense of achievement， but also feel the times and social challenges， to cherish the learning opportunity in school. Other examples， comparing the bedroom， the bedroom interior decoration， living habits and other indicators， they elect the civilized dormitory， outstanding dormitory， and propagate them on the “dormitory culture festival” to enhance the construction of dormitory culture； moreover， through the construction of corridor culture， science and technology competitions and other activities.they establish a kind of campus culture which is positive and pursue progress， it plays an important role in constructing excellent School Spirit.

CONCLUSION

All in all， under the guidance of “the Scientific Outlook on Development”， Sichuan universities and colleges， through several years’ continuous and effective practice， have formed a mechanism for the “Three Spirits” construction which is mutual complementation and penetration with continuity and integrity， which effectively promote the changeover of the “Three Spirits” situation， and has important practical value.

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