Discussion on the Beginning Education of the School Year about University
Freshmen
Men-ji Shou1 , Chun-pin Ding1 , Cai-bin Ruan1 , Long-fei Zhu1
1
College of Clothing Technology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou，P.R.China
(smj79@163.com)
Abstract -The beginning education of the school year
about university freshmen is an important part of the talent
education in colleges and universities, which has a great
significance for college new students in adapting to the
college life, setting up the scientific career aims, and striving
for them. It mainly involves three levels: adaptability and
nurturance education, cultivation of sense of belonging and
sense of responsibility, and establishment of right view of the
making of talents and right view of ideals. The successful
new students’ beginning education of the school year will
have a positive and profound influence on the growth and
development of college students.
Keywords - Freshmen, Beginning Education, Entrance
Education
I. INTRODUCTION
The beginning education of the school year about
university freshmen is an educational activity. According
to their features, this activity sets a goal for the freshmen
to develop themselves comprehensively, which guide the
freshmen to adapt and integrate into the educational
activities of college life[1,2]. When the freshmen say
“good-bye” to their high school and come into the college,
their living environments, interpersonal relationships,
teaching mode, ideal goals etc. have changed a lot. This
stage is not only a new starting point on their growth and
development but also a major turning point of their life.
The beginning education guide the freshmen to grasp the
laws of college life, distinct their achieving aims and plan
their college career reasonably. It is an integral part of
university education. And the establishment of a scientific
and efficient system for the beginning education is of
great significance for university personnel training.
II. The Necessity Analysis of Beginning Education
A. The beginning education is an objective need of the university
personnel training
The beginning education is an important part of
Quality Education for college students. It plays a
fundamental role in personnel training and ideological
and political education[3]. New comers’ gradually
established values, thoughts and behaviors will have a
direct impact on the development of their four years of
college[4,5]. And the beginning education will help
freshmen know and grasp not only the talent education
but also the features of college life. It can also help them
to adapt the college life gradually. What’s more, it gives a
profound understanding of university personnel training
objectives and helps to form goals with self-consciously
coordinated interaction. The freshmen’ views of the world
have not completely set. There is a strong plasticity,
especially in a case of the complex social environment.
They are faced with the impact of the multi-cultural
trends and values. Carrying out the beginning education
of the year strengthens the students’ ideological and
political education[6,7]. And it also improves their
ideological and political quality, training them into
builders and successors of socialism with Chinese
characteristics.
B. The beginning education is the practical needs of freshmen to
adapt to college life
When freshmen come into the new enviroment and
begin a new life, they are both exciting and longing, but
they will feel lonely and puzzled[8]. They need much more
guidance and help. As they are gradually getting rid of the
dependence on their parents, they may often come across
difficulties on daily life. In high school their interpersonal
relationship is narrow and their demands were not so
strong. At the time they coming into the college, the
association scope expands suddenly. As they come from
different regions, they have different customs and diverse
characters. Especially when they live together, they often
meet interpersonal barriers. Many freshmen are lack in
the knowledge of the differences between the university
and the high school on learning. They are lack in
understanding the professional training objectives and
curriculum system. They don’t know how to plan for their
education. Not only the gap between their imagination of
perfect college life and the reality, but also the errors in
self-evaluation and the lost to the dominant position in the
group, especially in the talented new environment, they
may not feel suited mentally. Whether new students can
completely adapt to the period of the changing role as
soon as possible will affect all levels of entire college
learning. It can also affect the completion of unversity
studies, even the realization of their goals in life. So, it is
very important to grasp the beginning education of the
school year.
Ⅲ.The Main Content of the Beginning Education
The content of beginning education is very broad. It
needs to be synthesized considering talent education and
the needs for adaptation and development.
A. Adaptability and Nurturance Education
Adaptability education is to guide new students to
familiarize themselves with the new environment, be
aware of the characteristics of university life, and improve
the capacity for self-development, complete role changing
rapidly and formate fullest confidence to the life[9,10].
“Adaptability” mainly refers to regulate the state when
the physical and mental change in external circumstances.
Therefore, making themselves familiar with the changes
in the environment and the formation of the
corresponding level of competence and psychological
state is an adaptive education in the new life. Firstly, the
new students are faced with the new campus of the
physical environment, such as the different functions of
the building community. They should be customed to
learning everything in a short period of time, knowing the
place to live and so on. These are the basis to enjoy the
smooth commencement of university life. At the time new
students come across the reception of the University, they
will be able to feel the campus cultural environment. And
it can guide the new students to accept the institutional
culture and the concept of culture as soon as possible,
helping them begin a new life in a timely manner to make
a consistent aim with the campus culture-oriented and
incentive efforts. The new students are away from home
and their loved ones, when they enter into a new
interpersonal environment, they may feel lonely. And they
desire to exchanges. They want to build a harmonious and
friendly relationship with the people around. Good
adaptation of the environment can promote the
socialization process of college students and establish
right self-awareness and evaluation. It can also help
develop and perfect their personality. What’s more, it may
help them grow. Training objectives, curriculum and
teaching methods are different from high schools.
Learning how to adapt to the environment helps the new
students to know their learning objectives. It also
improves their autonomy and efficiency learning. The
beginning education should guide the new students to
improve self-care ability to adapt to the changes of living
environment.
Good adaptation is carried out for nurturance
education. Nurturance education is in the daily learning,
work and life[11].It is to teach ideological and political
education through formal training, strict management and
systematic inculcation by a variety of means of guidance
and training for individuals to form good habits. Then
their words and actions are in line with the relevant
regulatory requirements of the Ministry of Education
what college students should regulate. The emphases of
nurturance education are on discipline, study and safety
education. New studemts are guide to master and practice
what a college student should know, such as the ‘should
know should do’. It also guides students to enhance
ethical awareness, legal awareness and safety awareness,
and develop good behavior and study habits. Nurturance
education helps enhance the students’ consciousness,
improve their words and deeds and develop good habits
of lifelong education. Strengthening students’ nurturance
education is also the base of training qualified students
and maintaining the normal order of teaching, campus
harmonious and stable foundation.
B. Cultivation of sense of belonging and sense of responsibility
Sense of belonging is human’s basic psychological
needs. The new students’ sense of belonging is their rapid
recognition and commitment on the school, faculty, class
and professional in their thoughts, emotional and
psychological[12,13]. They are willing to assume the
responsibilities and obligations and participate in various
activities. When the new students come to a new
environment, it is important to be one of the new
collective, make others to accept themselves as valuable
and an emotional experience with others as a whole. It
closes the students and schools in the formation of a new
collective sense of belonging, even with the emotional
distance of the faculties. It helps new students adapt to the
new environment and promote the conscious recognition
of objectives and relevant requirements of the school
culture. It also promotes the concept of collectivism and
collective pride. What’s more, it improves ideological and
political education.
Cultivation of sense of belonging helps new students
understand their own social relations and roles, and lay
the foundation for responsible behavior and carrying out
Cultivation of sense of responsibility. As a moral emotion,
responsibility refers to a phenomenon that the competence
has an attitude of bearing social responsibility and
mission in a certain historical condition. It is the union of
cognitive, action and emotion. As socialist builders and
successors, new students are responsible for social
responsibility. Firstly, the change of being a college
student guides the freshmen to be responsible for
themselves. Secondly, it is important to grasp the change
of the students when they come to the campus. Their
responsibility for family and college should be
strengthened. And they should bear the preasure to do
something as children and students. Thirdly, the new
students should know the difference between high school
and college. The attitude of the responsibility for the
country and social should be strengthened. It makes the
social responsibility a high level and it is also what the
college students should do.
C. Establishment of right view of the making of talents and right
view of ideals
The freshmen come to the college with fantasy. They
are longing to be perfected. But they are lack in targets
and reponsibilities. There is a deviation in their view of
making talents. It is general that they often come across
confusing. Many students don’t have a clear aim. Thus,
establishment of right view of the making of talents is
very important[14,15]. It can help students make a clear aim
and enjoy their learning. And it will guide the new
students make a right choice and become a person that
agree with personnal and the social needs. It makes them
brave enough to bear the heavy historical responsibility.
Then, it drives students to stick to their aims. Even when
they come across difficulties, they won’t give up. What’s
more, it helps students make a more clear aim which
processes with the progress of the times.
Establishment of right view of the making of
talents is linked to right view of ideals. The view of
ideals react the students’ view of world, life and values.
It reflects students’ political direction. It is important to
their ideological and political quality and overall
quality. The report ‘CPC Central Committee on
strengthening and improving the ideological education’
says it is important to strengthen and improve students’
view of world, life and values. College students
achieve the short goal of their life to receive the talent
education. They lose themselves at a short term. Right
view of ideals should be tought to them. Lofty ideals
and beliefs are necessary for them. The strict sense of
being talent, fighting for the motherland and strong
mission are needed as well.
IV. The Ways of the Beginning Education
A. Combine the stages of education with deepening education
Entrance education is the regular work of the talent
education. It is an important part of the beginning
education and it is also basic work. Entrance education
includes school discipline and history education,
professional study and education, mental health and
safety education. Scientific planning and careful
implementation are needed. It may help new students’
preliminary understanding of the school, profession and
college life in a short period of time. The students should
initially identify a way of thinking and a way of life
suited for them. It can lay a solid foundation for future
growth and development. However, entrance education is
contains a short time and heavy task. Students are lack of
perceptual. It is difficult to complete objectives and
requirements of the beginning education. Thus, after the
focusing education time, plans should be made to
organize special events. ‘Ideological and Moral
Cultivation and Legal Basis’ should be applicated. Above
all, those can guide new students to understand the
university, adapt to the University, beyond themselves,
grow and success.
B. Combine the theoretical education with practical activities
The beginning education should give full play to the
role of "Two Courses", and gave lectures, group lesson
system of education in Marxist theory and ideological and
moral education. It is to guide students to aware a correct
theory, so that the new students can understand the
characteristics of higher education and personnel training
objectives. It makes them shoulder historical mission.
That a clear way should be made and the motivation
should be enhanced. Students should be tought to use the
Marxist stand, viewpoint and method to analyze and solve
problems. They should establish right view of world, life
and values. Combine the personal ideals with the
country's future and destiny. At the same time, adhere to
the combination of the philosophy of education and
practice, plan carefully and organize meticulously. And
new students should be guided to participate in the
practice of the campus cultural construction and social
welfare services. Students should strengthen thoughts and
behavior in practice. And they should enhance the
ideological level in the practical experience.
C. Combine ideological education with strict management
The beginning education has two important parts.
One is ideal and belief education. Patriotism is very
important. Ideological and moral constructions are bases.
Ideological and political education should be strengthened.
The other is strict management. New students’ daily
behaviors and details should be care. Strict requirements
and timely corrections are needed. It is very important to
obey the disciplinary norms. Military Training is a good
opportunity to start the beginning education. Patriotism,
collectivism and caucus construction should be
considered. Combine the company formed in military
training with the students’ characteristics is necessary. A
company Student League branch should be created. The
construction of the ideological, organizational, work style
should be strengthened. Students are subject to strict
organizational discipline and exercise the will of character.
It guides students to be politically qualified, in a good
style and enter into the disciplined direction. It helps
students form ideological characters and behaviors.
D. Combine the teacher’ guide with self-education
In the exploration of new life, students often make
the excellent teacher or the high grade student as a role
model. It is important to strengthen and focus on the
effect of the guiding role of the teachers and seniors.
Teachers’ academic standards, learning attitudes, moral
characters and demeanors play a profound, direct and
subtle role to the students. It is necessary to carry out the
academy of sciences and the principal special report for
the new students. Teachers should play an exemplary role
of words and deeds. And teachers should also lead the
students to learn how to learn and how to be a student. At
the same time, personal experience and neonatal
exchange should be organized by outstanding students.
They should play a mentoring role. Their good deeds will
inspire new students to make progress in their study.
Students’ organizations should play a role. The subjective
consciousness of the college students should be
strengthened. The new students’ enthusiasm of
self-education should be fully mobilized. New students
should be made to participate in self-education activities
for growth and success actively.
E. Combine the talent education with the actual predicament
The beginning education should help new students
solve their practical difficulties and ideological combined
with political education in the psychological, economic
and taught education. Not only guide the student to fight
for their aims, but also help them come across difficulties.
There may be a lot of problems to do such things.
Guiding and helping students out of negative
psychological and emotional is also difficult. Student
activities should be held. Students should be helped to
understand the channels of party. Government as well as
schools should open up economic systems for poor
students. Making the students feel that Party and the
government are care for them. So they can feel the
warmth of the new extended family. Solving practical
difficulties helps new students adapt to the new
environment and formate a sense of belonging. It helps
new students overcome the temporary difficulties on the
growth and win a strong spirit. What’s more, it can
improve the ideological and political education and the
beginning education.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The research was supported by the teaching reform
project (e11120) of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University. The
authors would like to appreciate their thanks to them.
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