北宋的三次教育改革

我國自隋代開科取士之後，由唐至清，教育制度即與科舉制度同時並行；士子可以先入學校受教，然後再參加科舉入仕，亦可直接參加科舉，而不需接受學校教育。如此一來，科舉成為士子入仕的必經管道，而學校教育則可有可無，以致造成士子重科舉而輕學校，使得教育成為科舉的附庸。而且由於歷代政府，對於學校教育重視的程度又多不及科舉，因此歷史上遂只見取士而少有養士的政策。既然國家取士是以科舉為主，考試若能充份發揮選擇的功能，確實為國發掘到人才，則政事就可推動；否則所考非所用，必於政事之推動有所扞格。又科舉所取之士只重藝業而不知其德行有悖為政尚德輕才的傳統，尤為世所詬病。這種現象及問題，在北丹時期就已產生。當時由於內政外交上發生種種的困難，而政府又缺乏可用之才來應付難局，因此改革之呼聲，時有所聞。

Since the Sui dynasty in China a kind of scholar ─ officer examination system （analogous to the civil service examination system in the modern West）augurated and parrell to it a national educational system then developed. This has been carried on through the T’ang， the Five Dynasty Period and up to the Northern Sung. It was due to the shortcoming that students and candidates were paying more attention to their examination than to their education three attempts were more attention to their examin