Research on the Current Situation Education for Life of College Students under the Background of the New Era ()
1. Background and Significance of Research
Education for life, as the name suggests, is a comprehensive education around human life. Education for life originated from death studies, death education, and life and death education that emerged in Western countries [1] . Education for life has multiple coverages, and its essence highlights the indispensable and rational relationship between the natural, spiritual and social nature of life (Renfu He, 2012) [2] , emphasizing that the priceless life is not only the priceless of physical life, but also the pricelessness of spiritual life. Education for life goes beyond suicide prevention and seeks to enrich life forms of existence.
1.1. The Contradiction between the Development of Society and the “Crisis of Life” Appears
China is currently in a period of social transformation, and its comprehensive national strength is continuously improving. Under the stimulation and development of the market economy, politics, economy and culture have all developed and prospered. The nature of human life has also been baptized to varying degrees in the face of abundant material interests. The improvement of people’s living standards corresponds to the yearning and pursuit of a rich and colorful spiritual life. At the same time as material wealth increases, the negative effects of individualism, money worship and utilitarianism are also expanding. There is a secular trend of materialism in society, which splits the meaning of life into “the value of human life lies in the pursuit of material things.” “Enjoyment” makes people forget the transcendence and diversity inherent in life; the opposite is the more idealistic tendency, which believes that humans should pursue value ideals, give up the instinctive life of animals, and pursue human social significance and moral value. These two schools of thought actually have a one-sided understanding of the “meaning of life” of human beings, so the content of the meaning of life formed is only “fragmented” and “one-sided” connotations and meanings. Understanding has also become the confusion about the value of life when modern people think about the important content of “life meaning”, and this phenomenon is especially obvious in the current network age.
1.2. Worrying About the Current Situation of College Students’ Attitude of Life Value
College students are an important national talent reserve, their mental health education has always been a hot topic of common concern to the society. At the same time, they are in a critical period of formation of world outlook, outlook on life and values, and they are also in a special stage of life growth. How to guide college students to form correct values and ideals and beliefs through educational means or methods is imminent in the important stage of life growth of college students.
In recent years, violent incidents of disregard for life among college students, which do not cherish their own and others’ lives, have frequently appeared in newspapers and online media. Such behavior has not only caused great harm to themselves, but also brought great harm to families and schools.
In addition, students continue to learn the knowledge of “how to live” in colleges and universities, but rarely hear and find the answer to the question of “why we live”. The theme of “learning is for a better life in the future” has gradually evolved into, taking the satisfaction of material desires as the only goal of life pursuit, and only focusing on the current feeling of life. And when the short-term materialization ideal is realized, the spiritual emptiness begins to surging and occupies their hearts. A strong sense of meaninglessness in life is accompanied by anxious emotions, allowing the difficulties of life to spread in one’s own thoughts. What’s more, some students choose to give up the search for the meaning of life, so that ideals and goals of life disappear in chaos, which makes learning lack enthusiasm and initiative, and the quality of life continues to decline.
The emergence of these problems stems from the lack of understanding and in-depth thinking of the value of life among college students, and a one-sided or negative understanding of the value of life will cause college students to be confused about the meaning and purpose of life in the future, or even give up their own lives directly.
The growth of life and the realization of value are inseparable from education. The essence of education is to enable life to grow and develop better. Doing a good job in the life value education of college students is an important theme related to “who cultivate and how to cultivate”, and the research on the current situation of college students’ education for life in the context of the new era is to guide college students to explore the meaning of life, experience the beauty of life, and better realize the value of life.
The research on the current situation of college students’ education for life under the background of the new era is to sort out the research status of college students’ education for life, sort out the research progress and situation under this topic at home and abroad, and provide reference and practice for enriching and deepening the theoretical connotation and practical activities of college students’ education for life.
1.3. Significance of Research
This research is dedicated to discussing the current situation of college students’ education for life under the background of the new era, which is conducive to further deepening and enriching the theoretical connotation of college students’ education for life. After understanding the current situation and characteristics of college students’ education for life in different countries, it will provide some reference for the in-depth study of college students’ education for life in the future.
At the same time, college students’ education for life is a new research perspective in the field of education for life. Through the research on the current situation of college students’ education for life, it is also beneficial to provide some thoughts and help on how to establish the content of college students’ education for life and how to effectively carry out college students’ education for life. It provides a reference for my practice activities of college education for life.
2. Current Status of Foreign Research
2.1. The Research of American Education for Life
Education for life originated in the United States, and it was the early prototype of death studies on the basis of preventing suicide and studying attitudes towards death. In the 1960s, J. Donald Walters first proposed the idea of education for life when he was concerned about youth suicide and violence. After founding Ananda School, he actively carried out practical activities related to education for life. After years of development, the theory and practice of American education for life are relatively mature. The content of American education for life covers a wide range, such as death education, livelihood education, frustration education, character education and so on. In terms of the ways and methods of education for life implementation, the United States focuses on curriculum teaching, while emphasizing the integration of multiple disciplines, and also emphasizing the importance of social practice activities in the theme of education for life, combining theoretical knowledge with hands-on practice. In terms of knowledge teaching methods, the United States believes that taking a single course cannot achieve the purpose of education for life, and will also take the form of personal experience, discussion, role-playing, life narrative and other forms of practical training. On this basis, the United States has formed a relatively mature education for life system in which schools, families and society cooperate (Hongyan Zhang, 2011) [3] .
2.2. Current Status of Education for Life Research in Japan
After the Meiji Restoration, Japan was influenced by Western research on death issues, and in the 1970s, the study of “life and death” also emerged, focusing on the value of life, and gradually carried out localized death education in some colleges. For example, in order to help people seek the value of life, learn to take care of terminally-ill patients, and think about the meaning of life and death, Sophia University in Japan established the “Life and Death Research Association” (Fenglin Jin, 1999) [4] . It clearly puts forward the concept of “respecting people’s spirit and reverence for life to locate the goal of moral education”, aiming at the social reality problems such as neglect of life, destruction and waste among young people, and trying to influence the education of young people’s life values from the educational level (Renfu He, 2010) [5] .
At present, in terms of educational content and methods, Japan regards life outlook education as the core content of education for life for college students. Through a series of themed education, infiltration education guides students to pay attention to the connotation and meaning of education for life.
2.3. Education for Life Research in Other Countries
As early as the 1990s, the United Kingdom defined the content of education for life as an interdisciplinary curriculum. At the beginning of the 21st century, the British government incorporated education for life into the formal education curriculum of the country and schools (Fang Li, 2010) [6] .
Many countries abroad have carried out research on education for life. For example, Life Educational Center established in Australia in 1979 has developed into an international organization dedicated to preventing youth suicide, drug abuse and other behaviors occur. Germany also published corresponding textbooks for “education of death”, and Italy also established the world’s first “death preparation school” in its south. It can be seen that the purpose of foreign education for life is to arouse people’s love for life and to eliminate the threat of life. The social education has a strong reality and pertinence. In the actual educational practice of schools, foreign countries mostly adopt the education model of small entrance, such as dividing the content of education for life into “livelihood education”, “character education”, etc. This approach is useful for studying the education for life of college students under the background of the new era. It has good reference significance.
3. Current Status of Domestic Research
3.1. Current Situation of Education for Life Research in Hong Kong and Taiwan of China
Education for life in Hong Kong of China is based on solving practical problems. The high unemployment rate and suicide rate caused by the Asian financial crisis are the main reasons for Hong Kong to carry out education for life research. The research in Hong Kong is mainly carried out in four aspects, namely, the background of education for life, guiding and cultivating students to strengthen education for life and achieve all-round development, education for life content, and implementation methods. In education for life for college students, Hong Kong mainly relies on institutions such as college psychological counseling centers and behavioral health teaching and research centers to carry out a series of education for life work, such as giving lectures, guiding students to think positively and facing life and death events, and provide systematic and comprehensive training courses, experience workshops, and conduct relevant training in education for life. At the same time, Hong Kong also emphasizes promoting people’s correct view of life and death through mutual cooperation at different levels such as community, profession and research.
Taiwan of China’s education for life is under the influence of the American education for life research trend, and the research is in-depth and comprehensive. Education for life in Taiwan includes not only theoretical research, but also the practice of education for life from childhood to adulthood within the education system under the active promotion of the government (Shaorong Jiang, 2017) [7] . Education for life research in Taiwan is mainly carried out in three aspects: the influence factors of education for life theory and practice, the specific content of education for life, and the practical research of education for life. Education for life has become a common educational subject in Taiwan (Lihua Wang, 2014) [8] .
3.2. Education for Life in Mainland China
In the 1990s, education for life appeared in China. However, education for life was not the main research focus during this period. At the beginning of the 21st century, scholars began to focus on the relationship between life and education, and started theoretical and practical research on education for life from different perspectives and fields.
3.2.1. Theoretical Research on Education for Life
The research on education for life in the mainland can be divided into education for life in a broad sense and a narrow definition.
Education for life in a broad sense starts from the human standard and the ultimate goal of education. It believes that education is for the individual of life, the process of education is essentially the process of continuously improving the quality of life, and education for life runs through the education process from beginning to end. For example, Lan Ye (1997) believed that we should study educational theories and view the educational scene from the perspective of life. He proposed that “the classroom should be full of vitality” [9] . Jianjun Feng (2007) proposed that the essence, characteristics and needs of life should be reflected in the education process, so that education should respect the needs of life, improve the development of life, and enhance the meaning of life [10] . Hui Liu (2002) directly pointed out that the education of life morality is the education of returning to life, following the way of life, and caring for life [11] .
Education for life in the narrow definition is aimed at the phenomenon of disregarding life among students. It is proposed to set up education for life as an independent course with special teaching content and practical activities. For example, Shiping Xu (2002) believes that education for life is to carry out education for life and training in a purposeful, planned and organized way, so as to fully display the quality of life [12] . Jiliang Liu (2004) studies from the individual sense of life. He emphasizes that education for life should pay attention to the uniqueness, integrity, process and humanity of individual life, and emphasizes that education for life should focus on natural life, spiritual life, value life and harmony. The four elements of intelligent life are organically combined to achieve the healthy development of individual life [13] .
3.2.2. Research on Education for Life Practice
In terms of practical activities, the mainland area is promoting “from the introduction of the concept of education for life and classroom teaching mode to the specific implementation of education for life practice” in many regions and in various forms. Let education for life not only be limited to the scope of education, and achieve a major breakthrough in education for life practice. Jiangxi Normal University offers a school-wide elective course of “Life and Death Education and Philosophy of Life and Death”. Jilin University offers the elective course “Philosophy of Life and Death and Education for life”. Beijing Demonstration University has established a education for life research center, etc.
It can be seen that education for life in the mainland extends the scope of education for life from basic education to higher education, and carries out education for life with classrooms as the main carrier, which also provides an opportunity for further research on education for life for college students in the new era.
3.2.3. Research on Education for Life of College Students
By sorting out the research on education for life in China, we can find that the research on education for life for colleges and students started late, and the number of achievements is small, but it has been increasing in recent years. In terms of research direction, domestic researchers are mostly pedagogical theories, mental health education and ideological and political education, etc., and there is a lack of targeted education for life teachers.
In the definition of education for life for college students, scholars mostly use the definition of education for life for reference, but have not yet formed a unified concept and viewpoint. Xuefen Lai (2005) started from the realistic problem of the rise of self-injury and suicide among college students, and proposed that education for life courses should be set up in colleges and universities to “guide students to understand the value of human life, guide them to form a humanistic spirit, and cultivate students’ pursuit of ultimate belief, to develop students’ caring and caring” [14] . Huiping Chu (2007) proposed that colleges and universities should establish a systematic education for life system, and the education for life curriculum in colleges and universities should cover four levels: understanding life, respecting life, experiencing life and death education [15] . Yijun Zhou and Yaosheng Sun (2017) believe that education for life is the shaping of individual values and the expression of the true meaning of life [16] .
In the research on the dilemma of education for life of college students, Yanming Han (2011) proposed from the philosophical level that the dilemma of education for life mainly includes the loss and pursuit of the sense of life’s destination, the division and cooperation of education for life functions, the order of life power and goodness, and separation and integration of management and education [17] . Some scholars have also analyzed the education for life situation and problems of some colleges and universities from the perspective of current affairs research and practical observation and summary. For example, Jiaming Zhang’s (2011) research results show that most college students are aware of the important role of education for life and expect colleges and universities to strengthen education for life for them [18] . Peiqing Huang (2011) believes that the main problems of education for life for college students in my country are the slow progress of the curriculum, the lack of effective integration with campus cultural activities, and the need to strengthen the practice link [19] .
In terms of research on the specific implementation methods of college students’ education for life, there are many research results. Scholars mostly carry out research from different subjects such as society, schools, students and families, and also think from different methods such as curriculum teaching, psychological counseling, special education and practical activities. It can be seen that scholars attach importance to the role of social education, school education and family education in the education for life of college students. Xiaohong Wang (2009) pointed out that schools are still the main channel of education for life, family and social education are important auxiliary channels, and a education for life network should be formed [20] . Cunxu Bo (2011) emphasized the division of responsibilities of different subjects in education for life [21] . He believed that the family should assist the individual to establish the primary destination of life, the school should systematically internalize the philosophy of life, and the society should face the contradictions of life and complete the individual.
4. Summary and Inadequacies
4.1. Research Summary
Throughout the literature research on the subject of education for life for college students at home and abroad, the research direction of education for life can be divided into the following aspects:
In terms of theory, scholars have provided a solid theoretical basis for the research on education for life, but the related research on education for life for college students starts late and has less research content. Therefore, the content of research on education for life for college students lacks pertinence.
In terms of research methods, domestic scholars’ research lacks empirical research. The lack of empirical research data makes the content of education for life for college students unable to be combined with the urgent needs of education for life for college students in my country, and also makes the research under this topic ineffective. In the related measures to strengthen the education for life of college students, most scholars summarize and organize according to their own teaching experience, and the theoretical guiding significance is not enough to become a common and operable behavior.
In terms of research topics, scholars have carried out extensive research on meaning, content and implementation methods, but in the context of the new era, whether there are other factors that appear in the context of the current era has an impact on the life value and meaning of college students. There are few research contents on how to combine the characteristics of the current era to carry out the education for life of college students, which makes the research on this topic lack of supportive research, which in turn leads to the lack of timeliness of the research.
To sum up, it still has important practical significance and value to continue to explore the theme of education for life for college students in the new era.
4.2. Inadequacies
This research is a review of the current situation of college students’ education for life under the background of the new era. Under the background of the new era, the content formed after sorting out the literature on the background of college students’ education for life and domestic and foreign literature on the current situation of education for life and college students’ education for life and summary thinking. At present, the domestic research on the subject of education for life for college students is still limited, and the research data also shows that college students have a demand for the subject of education for life, and there are unique places different from other subjects of education for life in terms of demand mode and structure. The content of education for life for college students in the new era should be studied more directly and deeply, so it is very necessary to carry out more targeted education for life.
Secondly, how to properly combine practical activities with the theory of education for life, so that the college students can get a real improvement in life value and education for life, still needs to continue to promote research and thinking under the current subject, which is also the shortcoming of this research. At present, the current research is mainly to sort out the existing literature without conducting an empirical investigation. In the follow-up, more empirical research on education for life that meets the actual needs of college students should be continued under this theme.
Furthermore, this article is only talking about the group of “college students” in general, but there are also differences in different degrees among the groups, such as the different understandings of the value of life brought about by regional differences, the differences in ethnic cultures and beliefs on the value of life. The thinking angle of the group will also affect the group’s understanding of the value of life.
Therefore, the future research on the current situation of the demand for education for life for college students should be conducted through questionnaires, interviews or experiments, from an empirical point of view, consider the variables that affect the college student population, and understand which variables have a higher correlation with the demand for education for life. , to understand the favorite ways and forms of this group, so as to provide education for life services for college students in a better and more targeted manner.