Abstract
Teacher Education in Taiwan: State Control vs Marketization was written and edited by experts involved in research, practice, and consultancy within the field of teacher education in Taiwan. It is a collection of in-depth and critical analyses of teacher education development and improvement approached from different angles and perspectives. They include the history of teacher education; changes in education policies, laws, and regulations; major theories and philosophies that affected education thought; planning of diverse programs and practices for pre- and in-service teachers; evaluation of professional performance and development; and strategic alliances of key actors, among others.
The Introduction provides a detailed critical analysis of two orientations to teacher education in different periods of Taiwanese history – state control and free market – and as such outlines a comprehensive framework for the other chapters in the book. After that, the book is organized in three parts.
Part 1 covers the historical background of teacher education in the country since the colonization of the island that started in 1624 until the present day. It analyzes the objectives of education and teacher education policies of evangelical missionaries during the Dutch and the Spanish rules, the Zheng dynasty’s cultivation of talented people based on Confucian values, the Qing dynasty’s focus on preparation for China’s imperial examination, and the ‘authoritarian and assimilationist colonial policy’ (p.28) of Japan in teaching loyalty and obedience to the emperor (Chapter 1). Chapter 2 completes this in-depth overview of historical policies by discussing the development of Taiwan’s teacher education in the political and economic climate during Taiwan’s return to China (1945), Martial Law (1949–1987), and since Martial Law was repealed up until the present changes (2014). Such historical analysis is complimented by an in-depth study of theories and local and global processes that have shaped teacher education in Taiwan throughout centuries (Chapter 3) and ideologies behind Taiwan’s standards-based teacher education and the application of professional standards for teachers in the country (Chapter 4).
The focus of Part 2 is the development of teacher education in the country. Chapter 5 examines the development of pre-service teacher education and the philosophies that have informed it from 1949 until the present. Chapter 6 explores and analyzes Taiwan’s policies, laws, and regulations that frame the education practicum/internship part of teacher education. Finally, Chapter 7 is concerned with the history of and current framework and trends in teachers’ in-service training, learning, and professional development.
Part 3 of the book outlines the strategies and theories that have been adopted by the government in order to improve teachers’ performance and students’ educational outcomes. Development of teacher education institutions and their orientation influenced by the government and market mechanisms in different stages of Taiwan’s history is discussed in Chapter 8. Adopting new professionalism as a lens, Chapter 9 analyzes the process of creation and implementation of the system of evaluation of professional development of teachers in the current era of ‘continuously changing definition of teaching profession’ (p.198). Chapter 10 showcases the importance of strategic alliances between various stakeholders ranging from central and local governments, teacher education institutions, academics, and schools in order to identify problems and find solutions in a more effective and concerted manner. Chapter 11 adds to that with an analysis of the development, design, orientation, and implementation of teacher education evaluation and the results Taiwan has had so far from different evaluation strategies. Finally, Chapter 12 sums up Taiwan’s experience of moving back and forth between state control and marketization of teacher education throughout the country’s history, and charts out the insights and lessons that can be drawn from such developments.
This book is the first and only comprehensive account of teacher education in Taiwan. It covers major theoretical and ideological underpinnings that influenced the field of teacher education in the country and all the laws, policies, regulations, and other government decisions regarding teacher education throughout history. It shows the complexities of history, politics and economy, local and global realities and dynamics, the governments’ vision of teacher education and teachers’ value for the development of the society, and how all these factors have affected and shaped teacher education. In addition, it approaches the issues of nationalization and marketization of teacher education and their influence on the quality of teacher education in Taiwan and globally in a very critical but constructive manner. Another strength of the book is that the authors identify problematic areas in teacher education, evaluation, and other related practices that need improvement, and outline lessons that have been extracted from Taiwan’s experience in developing teacher pre- and in-service training, evaluation, certification, and licensing that may be beneficial for the country and the global community.
While the book should be commended for its comprehensive, critical, and rigorous analysis and perspectives, there is one important frame of reference missing, which is that of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan who are officially recognized and whose rights, including that to culturally-sensitive education, are enshrined in the country’s law. Indigenous people are discussed only in relation to Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese control of the island, whereas their experiences in the periods of the Chinese dynasties (the Zheng and Qing), the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang), and the current democratic period are omitted. From the book we learn that the Dutch and the Spanish occupied and colonized the island and subjugated its indigenous people through education as they sought ‘to civilize the non-Western world’ (p.71) and the Japanese simply extended the ‘European mega-imperial powers’ (p.73). However, the same standards are not applied to the power of authorities hailing from mainland China in different periods as they more neutrally, according to the text, established ‘the rule of law’ and helped ‘the restoration of Taiwan to China’ (pp. 71, 75, 158). As a result, the reader cannot ascertain what has happened regarding education for indigenous peoples during periods of Chinese control
There are also certain pieces of information provided regarding indigenous people that raise further questions. In Chapter 1 it is unclear who the indigenous groups were that the Dutch and the Spanish educated and converted. As of 2017, Taiwan hosts 16 recognized indigenous groups and at least 9 more are in the process of seeking recognition. There were many more groups in the beginning of colonization that did not survive subsequent assimilation and physical destruction of indigenous communities. Chapter 2 mentions Mandarin as the only language allowed in schools and states that ‘other dialects were prohibited’ (p.43), but it does not discuss the fact that the indigenous languages were prohibited too. The same chapter explains that the Dutch translated the Bible into the aboriginal language of the aboriginal people, neglecting the existence of many distinct indigenous groups with distinct languages. Furthermore, the author of this chapter argues that the objective of Christian education enforced by the Dutch and the Spanish was to uproot ‘Taiwanese identity’ (p.72). Yet before the Dutch and the Spanish established settlements on the island in the 17th century, the land was not populated by Taiwanese people, but had numerous indigenous groups belonging to the Austronesian family group. It is, therefore, not obvious what the author means by ‘Taiwanese identity’ and ‘Taiwanese people’ in the text.
Apart from references to indigenous/aboriginal people during the European and Japanese colonial periods, the reader is left imagining that indigenous peoples disappeared from the country during other periods. A distinct social and legal group in Taiwan, their issues in development and education and their activism for quality education are not even briefly considered. Despite increased awareness in the country that government policies and practices, including in the field of education, have negatively affected indigenous communities, the book provides no discussion on indigenous people as teachers or non-indigenous teachers who teach indigenous children. Chapter 5 mentions multicultural education and human rights education (p.121) as elective courses for pre-service teachers, but does not discuss their significance for this country where teachers indeed have to deal with deep cultural diversity. Chapter 6 explores the training and guidance teachers receive from universities and the government (e.g. p.149), but overlooks the vital need for teachers to be trained and guided to work with indigenous populations effectively and ethically.
Despite this limitation, the book should be a useful resource for many different audiences. Scholars, students and practitioners at all levels working with teacher education reforms, policies, and practices will find it an indispensable reference as the authors explore the development, implementation, and results of those in detail from the logics of state-controlled and market-based orientations informed by ‘globalization- and localization-related topics’ (p.xix). In addition, important insights are drawn and recommendations outlined based on Taiwan’s experiences with teacher education development and improvement that may be helpful for various stakeholders in the current age of unprecedented challenges posed by postmodernism, neoliberalism, the market economy, and information technology that force teachers to constantly pursue professional development and reassess their knowledge.