追求卓越與平等：當代美國教育發展潮流之分析

In Search of Excellence and Equality

「教育品質卓越」與「教育機會平等」，是過去三十年之間美國教育發展的主要目標。兩者同等重要，但隨著時代背景與社會需求的不同，在美國教育發展潮流當中扮演了不同角色。一九五０年代後期，美國受蘇聯發射第一枚人造衛星的影響，大力改革教育品質。六０年代中期以後，由於社會上民權思想及學生運動的影響，在教育界強調保障少數民族、反隔離等平等理想。進入八０年代，由於「危機中的國家」教育報告揭露了美國教育品質低落的現象，再次引起教育界追求卓越的呼聲，連帶促成許多改革行動。本文介紹美國教育界追求「卓越」與「平等」兩大目標的基本信念與實施手段，並且對於此二目標的本身爭議與相互衝突現象略作分析，文末並以此為借鏡對我國教育發展作簡短建議。

“Excellent quality”and“equal opportunuty”are the two major goals for American educational development in the past three decades. Each of them has played a distinct role in American education in the light,of the specific social needs at different stages. In the late 1950s, the American schools, influenced by the Sutnick event, launched a series of reform actions to improve educational quality. Going into the mid-60s, however, the civil rights movement and the student movement made the grestest impact on American campus which then called for educational equality. In the recent years, the educational goal has again turned to the pursuit of high quality because of the publication of“A Nation at Risk”in 1983 and other educational reports. This paper briefly reviews the contemporary educational history in the United States with an emphasis on how excellence and equality characterize its recent development. The paper further analyzes several controversial issues about these two goals and makes suggestions to Chinese educators according to the referred American educational experience.