Abstract:

Current research on the construction of an autonomous knowledge system in the Chinese education discipline has entered a plateau stage or fallen into a bottleneck. To achieve breakthroughs while maintaining the correctness of research directions, it is essential to strictly follow the internal logic of knowledge production. Further in-depth research can be conducted from the perspectives of ontology, epistemology, axiology, and praxeology. Ontology addresses the question of what constitutes an autonomous knowledge system in the Chinese education discipline. The understanding of “autonomy” should not be generalized but should focus on the relationship between China and the world, adhering to the principle of taking China as the mainstay and using knowledge for China’s own purposes. Autonomy is neither self-isolation nor a return to antiquity. Since the introduction of Western learning into China, after more than a century of effort, China has established an autonomous knowledge system in the education discipline; however, its quality remains insufficient. The objective evaluation of China’s current autonomous knowledge system in the education discipline can be described as “existing but not excellent”. It is necessary to establish “thresholds” for educational knowledge: not all written expressions about education can be regarded as educational knowledge. Educational knowledge belongs to the domain of social science knowledge and should possess the functions of describing, explaining, and predicting educational phenomena. Epistemology mainly focuses on the production and validation of educational knowledge. Concepts should be proposed with caution to prevent conceptual inflation. The quality of educational knowledge largely depends on the quality of propositions, and middle-range theories can be regarded as a future direction for the construction of the educational knowledge system. The construction of an educational knowledge system cannot avoid value-related issues. Value involvement does not undermine the objectivity and universality of educational knowledge. Values should be treated as an important research object, with inquiry into which value orientations guiding educational practices are most conducive to students’ holistic development, individual development, and sustainable development. Universal human values such as fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom should be upheld, while traditional Chinese educational knowledge should undergo value-based evaluation and selection. Educational knowledge emerges from practice and is tested through practice. Researchers should engage deeply with practice and employ diverse methods to investigate genuine questions arising in practice, collaboratively producing knowledge with practitioners. Practical knowledge should be fully explored, generalized, and abstracted, and then elevated into theoretical knowledge with a higher level of abstraction.

Key words: Chinese education discipline, autonomous knowledge system, social science, knowledge production, research methods, values, educational practice