Professor LIU Shaoxue: Exploring Education, Cultivating Minds

Throughout a distinguished career spanning the transformative golden era of Chinese higher education—from the landmark “985 Project” to the dynamic evolution of the education discipline itself—Professor LIU Shaoxue has remained a steadfast advocate for practice-informed scholarship and student-centered growth. Navigating shifting academic paradigms with intellectual grace, she has consistently championed grounded, impactful research while mentoring generations of students with wisdom and adaptive care, embodying a profound commitment to the enduring humanistic values of education.

PART 01: Scholarship Rooted in Practice

Professor LIU’s academic journey is interwoven with the story of China's higher education expansion. Joining SJTU in 1998—a period she recalls as ripe with reform and possibility—she actively translated academic insight into institutional strategy. This foundational experience cemented her belief that meaningful educational research must engage authentically with real-world challenges. As she contributed to building SJTU’s education discipline, she championed a vision where scholarly rigor and practical relevance strengthen one another, insisting that research should speak directly to national development and concrete institutional needs.

PART 02: Growing Alongside Her Students

At the core of Professor LIU’s pedagogy is a deep, evolving relationship with her students. Early in her career, she learned from seasoned professionals returning to campus, fostering a dynamic of mutual education. Sensitive to the changing tides between generations, she has thoughtfully adapted her mentorship—granting “freedom within a framework” to newer cohorts, honoring their individuality while guiding their growth. To her, every student is a distinct story; true teaching means recognizing and nurturing that uniqueness.

PART 03: Education as a Human Endeavor

In her reflective work, "What Has Education Changed?", Professor LIU explores how learning shapes identity, life paths, and society itself. She advocates for “education for the good”, asserting that its true purpose is the cultivation of the person, not the pursuit of external metrics. Even amid technological shifts like the rise of AI, she calls educators back to first principles: tools must serve human flourishing, not define it. For Professor LIU, authentic education lies in nurturing character, capability, and conscience.

PART 04: Looking Forward

Professor LIU envisions an educational future firmly rooted in real contexts and devoted to addressing pressing human challenges. As a founding pillar of the School of Education, she continues to bridge tradition and innovation. In her view, the power of education lies not in chasing trends, but in faithfully stewarding knowledge, fostering growth, and above all, honoring the inherent worth of every learner.

Translated by NIU Jiayi

Rewritten, Proofread and Edited by CHEN Ruoxi