After the Revolution of 1911, Shi Jing University was renamed Peking University on 19 12, which was the first mathematics department in China. Mathematics departments were established earlier in Nankai University (1920), Xiamen University (1926), Sun Yat-sen University (1926), Sichuan University (1926 or so), Tsinghua University (1927), etc. In addition, during the period of 19 12 ~1915, Beijing Normal University (1912, formerly Shi Jing University Hall) and Wuchang Normal University (65438 Mathematics and Science) were established. It was changed to Beijing Normal University (1922), Wuhan University (1928), and Southeast 1928 was changed to Central University), and all of them set up mathematics departments. Other comprehensive universities, normal universities and colleges with science established during or after this period have set up mathematics departments one after another.
At the beginning of the establishment of departments, there were great differences in the implementation of mathematics education in various schools. Later, the Ministry of Education made principled provisions on compulsory courses. The main lecturers are mostly returned students, and the textbooks used are mostly foreign languages or Chinese translations except for a few editors. Judging from the curriculum, the level of mathematics education in colleges and universities is not low, but the teaching quality of each school is not small. There are usually only a few students in the mathematics department of each school.
193 1 Tsinghua University began to train graduate students in mathematics, followed by Zhejiang university, Central University, Peking University and Southwest Associated University (Kunming) which was composed of Peking University, Tsinghua and Nankai during the Anti-Japanese War. The research work in mathematics was also concentrated in these schools. Among them, Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University and Wuhan University also have publications and published mathematical papers.
In addition to training mathematics talents in China, we also send international students through some channels. For example, there are mathematics places among the international students who use the China-US Geng, China-UK Geng and China-France Geng public examinations. In 1930s, several foreign mathematicians such as osgood, Weiner and Adama were invited to give lectures in China.
From the Revolution of 1911 to the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), it was the foundation period of modern mathematics education in China. Jiang Lifu, Xiong Qinglai, Chen and other mathematicians of the older generation overcame many difficulties and worked hard to cultivate a number of mathematical talents. Although the number is small, it has made a valuable contribution to the rooting and germination of modern mathematics in China.
After the founding of New China, under the centralized leadership of the people's government, the education system of the Soviet Union was adopted, and great changes have taken place in mathematics education. 1952 after the adjustment of departments, normal universities and comprehensive universities set up mathematics departments, unified national teaching plans and syllabuses, and widely introduced Soviet textbooks. Compulsory courses and their contents in various schools have been standardized, ensuring a certain level. There are exercises in general basic mathematics courses, which help students more specifically. Mathematics major in normal universities is similar to that in comprehensive universities in the setting of basic courses, with the addition of pedagogy, psychology, mathematics teaching methods, educational practice and so on. In the last year to a year and a half, the mathematics major in comprehensive universities has been divided into several special groups, such as algebra, number theory, geometry, topology, function theory, functional analysis, differential equations, probability theory, mathematical statistics and so on. Students can be exposed to some cutting-edge jobs in modern mathematics. Later, the special group was cancelled and the courses were more diversified.
From the late 1920s of 191920s, the mathematics department of Zhejiang University began to adopt discussion classes to cultivate students' ability to work independently and engage in scientific research. Others, such as The National SouthWest Associated University, have also adopted it. In 1950s, combined with special group teaching, this practice was further promoted, and the mathematics departments of major universities gradually carried out scientific research and recruited graduate students. As more and more mathematics talents are trained in our country, the teaching staff has gradually changed the situation of relying mainly on returned students in the past, and the textbooks compiled by the Ministry of Education and individuals have gradually replaced foreign textbooks, which are generally more in line with their own reality. After 1957, some schools have carried out research in applied mathematics, added computational mathematics majors or special groups, and opened courses such as operational research. Courses such as probability and statistics are common, and talents in related fields have been trained. Students in science and engineering departments generally take a certain amount of advanced mathematics courses.
The above situation shows that after the founding of the People's Republic of China, mathematics education has undergone significant changes in quantity and quality, and has been gradually developed and improved. However, there are also some problems, such as: the required courses are too heavy, many courses are too professional, the teaching system is too unified, and students can't teach students in accordance with their aptitude, which leads to excessive learning burden, weak foundation, sometimes incomplete understanding of theory and practice, and vacillation in their work, which affects the development of mathematics education. Nevertheless, the achievements of mathematics education in this period are still great. The cultivation of general mathematics talents has always been based on the domestic situation.
During the Cultural Revolution from 65438 to 0966, mathematics education suffered serious setbacks. After 1977, reform policies and measures were put forward in economy, politics, science and technology and education. The development of the spirit of seeking truth from facts, the strengthening of school autonomy, the flexibility of teaching system and the increase of elective courses have enabled schools to give full play to their advantages and form their own characteristics. Because the policy of "vigorously developing applied research and attaching importance to basic research" has been clearly put forward, pure mathematics and applied mathematics have their own places, and the long-standing differences in the relationship between theory and practice have finally been clarified. In addition to basic mathematics, computational mathematics and applied mathematics, comprehensive universities and normal universities also offer mathematical logic, control theory, system science, information science, probability theory and mathematical statistics, operational research and economic mathematics, and many engineering universities also offer applied mathematics. Students in science and engineering, agriculture, medicine, economics, management and other departments in colleges and universities are taking more advanced mathematics courses than in the past.
Colleges and universities in China are an important part of national scientific research, and so is mathematics research. Especially in the last decade, with the overall development and improvement, some universities have established mathematics research institutes. The cultivation of advanced mathematics talents can be gradually established in China, and the degree system has been formally established. In mathematics, we have trained doctoral students in basic mathematics, computational mathematics, applied mathematics, probability theory and mathematical statistics, operational research and cybernetics, mathematics education and mathematics history. From 65438 to 0983, among the first batch of 18 graduate students who obtained doctoral degrees in China, 12 obtained doctoral degrees in mathematics. It must be pointed out that the Institute of Mathematics of Chinese Academy of Sciences has also played an important role in cultivating talents, including graduate students. Before 1966, overseas students and senior math teachers were sent to a few countries. Since 1978, the number of personnel sent has greatly increased. Many foreign mathematicians were invited to give lectures, and even more mathematicians from China went abroad to give lectures and attend international mathematical conferences. Academic exchanges between China and foreign countries have played a very good role in the prosperity of mathematics in China.
The Trend of Mathematics Education in China
Mathematics education is a social and cultural phenomenon, and its sociality determines that mathematics education should keep pace with the times and innovate constantly. A series of problems in mathematics education, such as educational objectives, educational content and educational technology, will change and develop with the progress of society. The background of mathematics education reform comes from at least nine considerations: knowledge economy, social relations, family pressure, international trends, examination reform, rejuvenating the country through science and education, deepening quality education, popularizing compulsory education and science and technology.