Research on the Innovation of Labor Education Based on the Integration of “Five Educations” in Colleges and Universities ()
1. Introduction
In 2019, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the Opinions on Deepening Education and Teaching Reform to Comprehensively Improve the Quality of Compulsory Education. Targeted initiatives are proposed in highlighting the effectiveness of moral education, upgrading intellectual education, strengthening physical exercise, enhancing aesthetic inculcation and strengthening labor education, in order to build an education system for the comprehensive cultivation of moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and labor. Five educations together, focus on solving the problem of quality education in place. The integration of five educations is the means and way to implement quality education. Labor education, as one of the five educations, has been adopted by colleges and universities in implementing the spirit of the document and implementing labor education with diversified and personalized modes and methods. However, there are still some problems such as marginalization of status, proceduralization of form and utilitarianization of value from labor education in the education system of colleges and universities.
Based on this, this paper researches the innovation of labor education in colleges and universities based on the integration of five educations, studies the positioning of labor education in the quality education of colleges and universities, analyzes the innovation mode of labor education, and explores the new path to enhance the integration of five educations.
2. Analysis of the Current Situation of Labor Education Research
Under the theme of labor education innovation in colleges and universities, there are many scholars who have discussed it, which are summarized as follows.
The integration of labor education and bi-creative education. According to Lv Yanjiao and Jiang Jun (2022), colleges and universities should uphold the education concept of “integration and coexistence”, optimize the education mechanism of “integration and win-win”, build the education platform of “integration and construction”, and create the education atmosphere of “integration and co-creation” to promote labor education and innovation and entrepreneurship education. In order to promote the integration and sustainable development of labor education and innovation and entrepreneurship education, it is necessary to uphold the concept of “integration and coexistence”, optimize the education mechanism of “integration and win-win”, build the education platform of “integration and co-building”, and create the education atmosphere of “integration and co-creation”. Fei Zhiyong (2022) proposed to improve the effectiveness of collaborative education between innovation and entrepreneurship education and labor education through the synergy of curriculum, teachers, platform and evaluation.
Integration of labor education and physical education. For example, Liu Tao (2021) proposed a dual teaching mode of “physical education + labor education” in online physical education classes in colleges and universities, in order to guide college students to improve labor skills, respect labor, educate the body with labor, enhance physical fitness, and achieve the quality education goal of lifelong physical education and sound personality.
Labor education is combined with Civic Education. Chen Jiao, Yan Junxia (2022) proposed to explore the logical reasoning and practical path of integrating labor education with ideological and political education of college students, so as to improve the relevance, practicability, affinity and sense of acquisition of ideological and political education of college students. Zhang Ruyi, Wang Lu (2021) proposed to strengthen the educative function of labor education; broaden the teaching of labor education combining science and practice; optimize the development environment of labor education.
In addition, there are many scholars exploring new paths and models of labor education innovation, etc. These literatures have played a positive role in promoting the innovation theory and practice of labor education in colleges and universities. Based on the research of scholars, this project intends to explore the innovative system of labor education that combines reality and reality in the context of the integration of five educations, in which labor education is independent in concept and integrated into the complete teaching system in form.
It is hoped that this study can enrich and improve the theoretical system of labor education in theory, and explore a set of effective models and methods in practice, so as to provide reference for labor education in colleges and universities.
3. Analysis of the Problems and Causes in Labor Education in Colleges and Universities
In the current labor education in colleges and universities, there are still problems such as not deep enough understanding of labor education, marginal status, single and formalized way, not deep enough connotation mining, and integration and support with other four education needs to be improved. From the school’s perspective, schools focus more on students’ achievement and safety, lack teaching and practical aspects of labor education, and students rarely participate in campus labor. The reduction of labor opportunities and the absence of labor education are important reasons for the problems of wrong labor concept, lack of labor awareness and poor labor morality among college students.
3.1. The Ambiguous Position of Physical Education in the “Five Educations”
As the five aspects of quality education, the position of labor education is slightly ambiguous in the concrete implementation. Moral education, as value education, is highly valued in college education, especially under the dual role of Civic Education Course and Curriculum Civic Education. It has achieved many practical effects. Intellectual education, colleges and universities to improve professional ability and level as a grip, is the core work of colleges and universities always. Physical education for four years without a break, in addition to physical education classes, physical health test every year, gives into the credit and assessment management. As for aesthetic education and sports, there is a more awkward problem of ambiguous positioning in education in colleges and universities. Especially labor education, before the introduction of the document, many colleges and universities did not have credit regulations on labor education. Labor education is often integrated into various activities such as student activities and professional activities, and part of labor education is implemented in terms of content, but the concept of labor education is not formed, which blurs the positioning of labor education among the five education, and labor education has a wide range of marginalized phenomenon.
3.2. Formalization and Homogenization of Labor Education
If school education equates labor education with labor classes, professional internship, social practice and physical labor, and fails to deeply explore the unique nurturing value of labor education, then there will be a phenomenon of single form of labor education. In primary and secondary schools, labor education activities are carried out in various conventional and innovative ways, such as daily duty, weekly cleaning, playground cleaning and class meetings. Compared with this, the form and content of labor education in university are relatively less homogeneous, generally speaking, there are mainly personal hygiene cleaning in dormitories, and some universities also implement traditional forms of labor education such as regular kitchen help, tree planting, community support activities, etc. The educational concept of the glory of labor is also mentioned in the Civic Science class, and professional practice is also the main form of labor education using hands and brains. And these activities lack the sense of theme and systematization of labor education.
3.3. Insufficient Exploration of the Connotation of Labor Education
The understanding of labor, focusing on physical aspects of labor and activities, is reflected in labor education, where activities and hands-on skills become the main means and methods, and the essence and connotation of labor education are not sufficiently explored, and there are gaps in promoting the spirit of labor, establishing the concept of labor, developing labor habits and improving labor skills. There is still a serious deficiency in the standard of labor education against the requirements of the Notice of the Ministry of Education on the issuance of the “Guidance Outline of Labor Education for Universities and Schools (for Trial Implementation)”, which helps students to establish a correct concept of career selection and employment and entrepreneurship, to have the spirit of struggle to work in hard areas and industries, and to strengthen service labor, etc.
The phenomena and problems in labor education in colleges and universities are due to the problems in awareness, attention and ways.
First of all, strengthen the research and understanding of labor education. According to the notice of the Ministry of Education on the issuance of “Guideline for Labor Education in Universities and Schools (for trial implementation)” labor education in general colleges and universities requires “strengthening education on Marxist view of labor, focusing on productive and service labor around innovation and entrepreneurship, combining disciplines and specialties, accumulating vocational experience, cultivating creative labor ability and honest and trustworthy legal labor consciousness”. Labor education in colleges and universities should be organically integrated with Marxist education and strengthen the labor education board; around innovation and entrepreneurship education, establish a correct occupational outlook, be honest and trustworthy, establish a legitimate labor consciousness, combine professional theory and professional practice, and actively carry out labor education with hands and brains. Labor education should be organically combined with Marxist education, innovation and entrepreneurship education, quality education and professional education. In terms of content, it should further strengthen the education on values, labor consciousness, professionalism, and the combination of theory and practice.
Secondly, attach importance to labor education. Labor education is one of the links in the university education system centered on talent cultivation. It extensively penetrates into many aspects such as inside and outside the curriculum, theory and practice, inside and outside the school. In labor education in colleges and universities, it is often integrated in the curriculum and related activities, but it does not mean that labor education does not need an independent system, and the lack of an independent labor education system is precisely the important reason why there are many phenomena and problems in labor education in colleges and universities at present.
Finally, the way of labor education. The problem of recognizing and attaching importance to labor education determines the way in labor education, and conversely, the way further binds and hinders the recognition and attention to labor education. Changing the way of teaching in the classroom has always been an important part of education reform. How to combine the latest media means, technological changes, and the characteristics of college students in the new era, to adopt appropriate reforms of education and teaching methods, to enrich the form of labor education, and to enhance the effect of labor education, is an important aspect of labor education reform.
4. Research on the Innovation of Labor Education System Based on the Integration of Five Educations in Colleges and Universities
Based on the current situation of labor education in colleges and universities, it is necessary to establish a labor education system based on the integration of five educations. As shown in Figure 1, this paper establishes a labor education system based on the integration of the five educations in three aspects: establishing goals, refining contents, and organizing implementation.
4.1. Establishing the Goals of Labor Education
To accurately grasp the requirements for the cultivation of the labor spirit outlook, labor value orientation and labor skill level of socialist builders and successors, and to comprehensively improve students’ labor literacy so that they:
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Figure 1. Labor education system based on the integration of five educations.
establish a correct concept of labor, have the necessary labor abilities, cultivate a positive labor spirit, and develop good labor habits and qualities.
4.2. Refine the Content of Labor Education
According to the objectives of labor education, the contents of labor education are refined, including education of concepts, skills, spiritual education, and habit and quality formation.
1) Education of labor concept. The core of conceptual education is to establish a correct concept of labor. Students should have a correct understanding of the role and contribution of labor in human development and social progress, so as to form the ideology of respecting labor, respecting workers and the glory of labor. For the development of correct labor concept, we should make full use of multiple domain fields such as classroom Civics teaching, professional practice and social service to carry out education work in a phased and progressive manner.
2) Labor skills education. The logic of labor skill education is a process from hand to brain and then to heart. First of all, it is necessary to set up and arrange the necessary production work sessions, where students have physical experience. For example, agricultural production and industrial production sessions. Second, creative labor, combined with the learned professional knowledge and related tools to provide services to others, to feel the process of labor creating value. Third, combined with the learned knowledge to improve and perfect the labor tools or content, to increase the experience and knowledge, and deeply appreciate the educational concept of labor creating value. In the segment of labor competency education, physical labor is a necessary means to move from simple to complex, from daily behavior to professionalism, and finally to form the good qualities of labor education. This part of education should be completed together through the 2nd classroom, professional practice and other links.
3) Education of labor spirit. On November 24, 2020, Xi Jinping pointed out in his speech at the national commendation conference for model workers and advanced workers that “in long-term practice, we have cultivated the spirit of love and dedication, striving for excellence, hard work, innovation, indifference to fame and fortune, and willingness to dedicate. The spirit of the model worker, the spirit of labor that advocates labor, loves labor, hard work and honest work, and the spirit of craftsmanship that is dedicated, strives for perfection, meticulous and pursues excellence. The spirit of model workers, the spirit of labor and the spirit of craftsmen is a vivid embodiment of the national spirit with patriotism as the core and the spirit of the times with reform and innovation as the core, and is a powerful spiritual motivation to inspire the whole party and the people of all nationalities to advance unhindered and bravely”. The spirit of labor in a narrow sense mainly refers to, revering labor, loving labor, hard work and honest labor. The labor spirit in the broad sense should also include the spirit of model workers and craftsmanship. In the author’s opinion, in the education of labor spirit in colleges and universities, we should take the spirit of model workers, the spirit of labor and the spirit of craftsmen as the core, combine with the traditional culture and the spirit of the times, and carry out diversified education and teaching.
4) Education on labor habits and labor quality. According to the spirit of the outline document, the education of labor quality and labor habits should include safety norms, active participation, honesty and trustworthiness, hard work and endurance, cherishing fruits and eliminating waste. The education of labor habits and labor quality should be fully integrated with personal habits, quality education, and campus culture, as well as with basic behavioral norms, and gradually established and cultivated in an immersive way.
4.3. Organization and Implementation of Labor Education
On the one hand, within the curriculum system, labor education is organically integrated into the talent training program. Through compulsory courses and credit management, independent compulsory courses on labor education are offered and incorporated into credit management, with no less than 32 hours at undergraduate level according to the document, which requires colleges and universities to incorporate into talent cultivation programs. This initiative gives full play to the role of college classrooms as the main ground for talent training, and embeds labor education into the system of talent training by means of courses or by means of course modules. In terms of specific operation, one is to set up labor education courses independently. Secondly, it is embedded into the education of Civics and Political Science courses by way of curriculum modules, because according to the document, the curriculum content should include and strengthen the education of Marxist labor concept. Thirdly, it is embedded in the daily teaching of Civics in the curriculum in the form of curriculum modules. The Civics education in the curriculum is now full, all-round and all-process, penetrating into the whole talent training system, and it involves a wider range of fields. Fourthly, it is embedded into the theoretical and practical teaching of the profession in the form of curriculum modules. Labor education has the requirement of physical practice, therefore, combined with professional practice, it can effectively enhance the professionalism and the achievement of labor education goals. At the same time, it is combined with physical education’s physical force and sports spirit; and aesthetic education’s labor as beauty and the most beautiful worker, etc., which organically combines moral education, intellectual education, physical education and aesthetic education.
On the other hand, we make full use of various channels and methods outside of the curriculum to actively carry out labor education work. One is to make full use of the 2nd classroom, organically combine the daily life of individuals, the content of classroom teaching, and the three domain fields of social service, set up labor week or labor month, and carry out labor education in various forms such as special lectures, lectures, skill competitions, demonstrations as well as practice, to strengthen the understanding of the value of labor experience, enhance hands-on ability, and improve labor literacy. Second, we should make full use of campus culture. Campus culture is the most important form for students to form correct habits, concepts, qualities and spirit, and it has the key role of “embellishing things in a silent way”. The campus culture can be used to agree on the most basic norms of labor behavior, and through campus clubs and other organizational forms, combined with various holiday activities, to carry out a wealth of labor-themed education, as well as through various forms such as lectures and presentations, combined with the display of results, the comprehensive use of media and publicity channels to promote labor deeds, model workers and advanced figures, and to develop good labor habits and qualities.
In addition, labor education is incorporated into the comprehensive quality evaluation system of students. Strengthen the supervision of labor education implementation, refine the evaluation methods against the objectives and contents, and combine the process evaluation and result evaluation organically. For example, some colleges and universities implement the point system management, targeting at the cumulative evaluation of students’ behaviors outside the curriculum, as a basis for all-round assessment and evaluation of students; some colleges and universities establish labor education information evaluation system, using modern information technology means such as big data, cloud platform and Internet of Things to comprehensively and objectively record students’ labor process and results inside and outside the classroom, and carry out labor education process monitoring and documentary evaluation, as basis for assessment.
Fund Project
Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology 2021 Educational Teaching Reform Project Key Projects-Model and Innovation of Integrating Innovative and Entrepreneurial Education and Practical Teaching Phase Result (ZDJG-2105).