Abstract of
“The Great Experiment of Taiwanese Education (1987-2003).”
Chuing Prudence Chou (2003)
Taipei: Psychology Publisher
(Chuing Prudence Chou, Professor, Department of Education National Cheng-chi University, Taipei, Taiwan.)
This book investigates many controversial issues regarding Taiwanese primary and secondary educational reforms launched by the government during 1987-2003.
It contains seven chapters including:
1. The Taiwanese social context of the reform era:
The lifting of the martial law in 1987 and the democratization movement thereafter the great demand for transforming economic and technology structure to cope with social re-structuring needs beyond the 10,000USD in GNP
The impact from global trends of governmental de-regulation and free-market economy ideology parental un-satisfaction towards the severe competition from schools and the book-knowledge oriented education among their children
The appointment of the new Nobel Prize winner Dr. Lee, Y.Z from UC Berkeley (US) as the commander in the Committee of Taiwanese Education Reform between 1994-1996
The hasty changes of the seven Ministers of Education between 1987-2003 which created some negative impacts such as discontinuity and conflicts between their reform policies
2. Chronicle of Taiwanese educational reform since 1987
The break-out stage of the reform ideology (1987-88) including the external and internal environmental factors resulting in a series of nation-wide education changes
The developing stage of reform (1989-93) when the legislators passed many education bills and acts to ensure the reform policies to be based on throughout the country
The maturing stage of reform (1994-98): the foundation of the Committee of Education Reform under the Executive Yuan which drew many representatives from all walks of life to design the theme, framework and progress of the reform, etc.
The reform controversial stage (1999 to date) the numerous negative public opinions against the educational reform programs owing to the lack of pilot/trial studies in a small-sized scale; short of teacher in-service training and miscommunication and misinformation among the parents. The increasing gaps between the urban vs.rural and the rich vs. the poor has also aroused great concerns in the country.
3. The most influential characters in Taiwanese education reform:
Portrait of seven Ministers of Education including their professional backgrounds, educational believes and policy priorities.
4. The leading educational reform advocates in Taiwan:
Their reform ideas, theories, actions, experiments and influences throughout the reform era in 1990s.
5. Diagnosis of the controversial reform programs and policy practices including the adoption of the nine-year integral curriculum reform at the primary and secondary schools with an attempt to replace the traditional subject-oriented contents, de-regulation and marketization of the textbook publication, the experiment of math constructivism at the primary schools, the elimination of the unified high school and college entrance exams, the opening market for teacher training services and the introduction of teachers’ union to schools.
6. The impact of education reforms on changing profile of school campuses, teachers and students. Various statistics from popular polls and evaluation towards specific reform programs before and after the policy implementation.
7. Taiwanese education in 2020:
What will happen to the next generations of Taiwan after a series of nation-wide education reforms? What are the follow-ups and outcomes? Who benefit and who suffer as a result of the reform era?