On May 25th, coinciding with "National Middle School Students' Psychological Health Day," the second Youth Psychological Safety Forum with the theme "Reshaping Educational Values: Happy Learning, Happy Growth" was held in Xi'an.
This event was jointly organized by the China Education Thirty Forum, Xi'an Education Science Research Institute, and Xi'an Dongcheng Second School, attracting over 600 education, medical, and social organization leaders from across the country.
In recent years, student mental health has become a hot topic of social concern. Data from the "2022 National Depression Blue Book" shows that the number of people suffering from depression in China has exceeded 95 million, with 30% being adolescents under 18 years old (50% of whom are students). In April 2023, the Ministry of Education and 16 other departments issued the "Comprehensive Strengthening and Improving Special Action Plan for Student Mental Health Work in the New Era (2023-2025)," elevating student mental health work to a national strategic level.
During the forum, Yang Dongping, member of the National Education Advisory Committee and Honorary Chairman of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, pointed out that the main reason students are currently "unhappy" is due to the influence of traditional educational values emphasizing "standing out and excelling."
Yang Dongping stated that our focus has long been on the part of education that can be monetized and turned into profit. In this process, students gradually lose and blur their uniqueness, leading to what he calls "examination-oriented education," a common practice in Asian countries. In China, this manifests as a one-sided pursuit of exam scores, viewing admission to prestigious schools as the only path in life, with the primary goals of elementary and middle school students being exams and test preparation, while neglecting aspects of personality development such as self-exploration, cooperation, and creativity.
Yang Dongping suggested that changing the education system to implement flexible, diversified school systems has become a crucial agenda item, aiming to achieve greater learning and teaching freedom and eliminate intense academic competition. Additionally, recognizing the educational opportunities provided by the AI era is essential. The internet offers limitless learning resources, many traditional occupations have disappeared, and children can explore new career directions.
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University's Executive President Xi Youmin mentioned that as AI enters human work and life, the value of knowledge-based education is rapidly declining, bringing disruptive changes to human survival and development. He believes that future education will transcend campuses and national borders, and human-machine symbiosis will lead to universal education. Universal education features personalized education, interest-driven learning, lifelong learning needs, interdisciplinary integration, and artificial intelligence support.
Li Zhenxi, Director of the New Education Research Institute and member of the China Education Thirty Forum, emphasized that education ultimately revolves around people, and the value of education is the value of individuals. He highlighted that from the perspective of educational science, good relationships are not only the premise of education but also the condition and guarantee of psychological safety.
Experts at the forum agreed that addressing student mental health issues is highly challenging due to its close connection with outdated educational values. With the rapid development of high-tech such as artificial intelligence, the outdated educational values are increasingly inadequate for educational progress, making it imperative to update educational values to meet the demands of the times.
