Abstract:

In the context of the rise of empirical methods and the construction of an autonomous knowledge system, the research on rural education in China highlights the dual value of empirical evidence and autonomy with its unique practical, cultural and academic significance. Following the vein of practice, understanding, knowledge and knowledge system, we can find the logic of practice development, academic knowledge production and knowledge system construction in Chinese rural education. Historically, the interaction between rural education policy, practice and empirical research can be divided into four major stages. Empirical research on rural teachers and rural students highlights the autonomy of the target group; school merger and the elimination of poverty in education under major social changes highlights the autonomy of the phenomenon.The questions “Can the poor have noble children?” and “Do rural schools have a future?” show the autonomy of discourse, and the policy evaluation and resource allocation show the autonomy of the road. However, the current knowledge system of rural education still suffers from fragmentation of problems, narrowing of data and superficialization of knowledge. The future trend of rural education research is urban-rural integration, student competence, and mechanism adjustment; the direction of deepening empirical research involves problem synthesis, method integration, and data standardization; and the goal of constructing an autonomous knowledge system is disciplinary cross-sectionality, content interaction, and academic autonomy.

Key words: rural education, empirical research, autonomous knowledge system