人文教育思潮--文藝復興及教會改革時代

歐洲教育史上強調人文精神的，可以溯源於古希臘羅馬時期，但「人」為本位的時潮，卻為中世紀教會之以「神」為本位所取代。幸而文藝復興及宗教改革時期，「人」的覺醒及再生，重新抬頭。擺脫權威的枷鎖，恢復個人的尊嚴與價值，這是人文精神的重要口號。教育學者呼籲，在教材、教法、師資素質，及對待學童的態度上，都應以關懷、慈愛、耐性為重點；而文學、詩歌、美術、音樂及雕刻等人文氣息，更十分濃厚；訴諸行重以淑世及改革為職志者輩出，使歐洲歩入一個嶄新的時代，從此邁向近代的世界文明。

Humanistic education in the western world has its historical background in the ancient Greece and Romans. Predominated by “human” has been substituted to “super human ” in the period of the Middle Ages. Awakening and rebirth spirit in the Renaissance and the Reformation recovered the territory which had been overcame by the Christian church and returned it again to the hands of men. Human dignity and value in individuality effected remarkably and tremendously to the field of teaching methods， materials， attitudes， and other educational theories and practices. It advanced in culture and civilization in general and schooling in particular， and demarcated a line between modernization and tradition， western and eastern.