Contemporary Adaptations in Taiwanese Education

Milestone events in Taiwanese Education

detailed information

	event	year	Influence
1	Revision of the University Act	1987~1994	1.The beginning of autonomy of university and selection of the Principle. 2.Abolished the Common Required Courses List.
2	410 Education Reform	1994	1.Facilitated the establishment of the Commission on Education Reform from Executive Yuan. 2.Legislation of Educational Fundamental Act. 3.Reduced the number of students per class in primary and secondary schools.
3	The Commission on Education Reform in Executive Yuan	1994~1996	1.Confirmed education reform stands as a government statement. 2.Confirmed “Loosing ties” as the main route of development in education. 3.Striving 157 billion Allocations Legal Expenses for Education Reform Action Plan.
4	Legalization of parent-teacher association	1989~1994	1.Parent-teacher associations widely established in Taiwan. 2.Regulations for Parental Involvement in Compulsory Education had been legislated. 3.The progress on parental involvement in Regulations for Parental Involvement in Compulsory Education appeared to be limited.
5	Reforming of teacher policies	1989~1995~1999	1.Distinguishing teachers from government employees. 2.General universities participate in teacher training. 3.Change from public funding to self-funding. 4.Change from assignment to recruitment. 5.Teachers establish a teachers' association. 6.Change the teacher pension system from gratuity to a savings plan.
6	The Establishment and Development of Community Colleges	1998~	1.Providing affordable lifelong learning. 2.Developing local studies. 3.Creating networks of instructors organized by local experts. 4.Creating networks of students composed of local residents.
7	The first 21 reform	1993~1999	1.Suspended the application of standardized textbooks in Grade 1-9 Curriculum. 2.Revisioning policies of Primary and secondary schools towards school-based governance.
8	Educational Fundamental Act	1994~1999	1.Initiated the legislation of the three experimental education laws in 2014. 2.Supporting and safeguarding education funding.
9	The Compilation and Administration of Education Expenditures Act	1997~2000	1.Education funding increased to approximately 100 billion on average every 4.4 years. 2.Ensured the development of education in Taiwan will not be constrained by financial shortages. 3.Citizens could participate in education financial governance through two committees. 4.Ascending of the various education expenditures.
10	Grade 1-9 Curriculum	1998~2004~2018	1.Antagonized traditional leaders of the academic and Teacher Training field. 2.Confirmed the structure and priority of schools in curriculum governance. (school-based curriculum). 3.Divided Learning Areas by Symbol Systems. 4.Established two major types of Curriculum Guidelines units: "Domains" and "Issues." 5.Established that teachers can compile their own teaching materials or textbooks. 6.Increasingly merging both weekly schedules and semester schedules. 7.Initiated the advocacy of "learning paradigm" instead of "teaching paradigm" but appeared to be unstable. 8.The high school Curriculum Guidelines committee refused to converge the policies connected with Grade 1-9 Curriculum.
11	Curriculum Guidelines of 12Year Basic Education	2009~2014~	1.The national treasury allocates 20 billion every year to reverse the social and economic distribution of senior high school students’ families.(Free tuition subsidy for private high school students) 2.High school entrance exams are gradually moving towards exemption. 3.Promoted the third round of curriculum reform. 4.Implemented academic portfolio for high school students. 5.The methods of entering university becoming more diversified.
12	The legislation of 3 types of Experimental Education Act	2012~2014~	1.People can create an education that meets their own needs. Taiwanese education has begun to adopt the spirit of "education-maker". 2.Accelerate the development of self-directed learning paradigm discourse and practice. 3.Inspired the spirit of self-directed learning in Curriculum Guidelines of 12Year Basic Education. 4.Accelerated the introduction of various alternative education schools to Taiwan. (Montessori, Waldorf, etc.) 5.Legalizing Bible reading education. (Bible, Buddhist scriptures, Confucian scriptures) 6.Launch a hybrid national education support model. 7.Several years after it, the cram school managed experimental education in the institution. 8.Started the struggle for the legitimacy of self-operated compulsory education. 9.Gradually expand state treasury subsidies for “national-education-maker”. 10.Started independent learning and leadership training on the teacher side. 11.Provided a foundation for connecting "post-AI public education". 12.Start the exploration and development of "class-based courses".

A Visual Representation of Interconnected Milestones in the History of Taiwanese Education

1. Blue Lines: Historical associations.
2. Red Lines: Developing associations.
3. From left to right, the diagram is divided into three stages:

   (1)Get out of martial law：①~⑦

   (2)trending toward publicization：⑧~⑩

   (3)paradigm shift：⑪~⑫

The thirteenth milestone event in the foreseeable future (Public of self-directed learning)

1.Preparation and formation

(1) Affordable Self-directed Learning Initiative/Experimental Education Development/108 Curriculum. Above three are intertwined

Since the Commission of Education Reform of the Republic of China advocated "creating affordable self-directed learning" at the Quality Education Seminar in 2010, this initiative has never subsided.

Since April 28, 2012, a number of self-study groups have proposed "legislation to protect experimental education" at the quality- learning Forum, and began to promote legislation. By 2014, the legislation was successfully passed by taking advantage of the county and mayor elections.

After the implementation of 3 types of Experimental Education Act,individual self-study, group experimental education, institutional experimental education, school experimental education, and public and private experimental education have all developed greatly. It can be divided into four major groups:

1. Introduction of alternative education schools (Waldorf, Montessori, Jena, Sudbury Valley, KIPP and KIST etc.)
2. Multiculturalism and multifaith: such as reading the Bible, Buddhist scriptures, and Confucian scriptures
3. Evade legal regulations
4. Strengthen students’ self-directed learning

Among them, the community of strengthening students' self-directed learning has developed many "discussions" and "practical essentials" on the self-directed learning model, and inspired the "108 Curriculum". It also recognizes the self-directed learning model through the four chapters of the "108 Curriculum" including the background, concepts, course objectives, and core competencies, and provides the following two self-directed learning implementation spaces:

Number of self-directed learning sessions available for elementary and junior high schools

Add "flexible learning courses" at 20% of the number of study sessions in the field:

Lower grade primary school	Medium grade primary school	high grade primary school	Junior high school
6~8 sections	8~11 sections	9.2~12.2 sections	8.8~11.8 sections

School-determined electives for senior high school

School-determined courses will start with a 1.2 magnification and will gradually reach a 1.5 magnification.

(3) 2023 Education Funding Standards Committee Proposal/2024 Education Funding Standards Committee Report

2023 EFSC Proposal

Cause of action：
Recommended that this committee begin to discuss the basic needs of education funds to include "self-directed learning support manpower".
Proposal committee members: 丁志仁, 謝國清

Description：

1. Taiwan’s public school education is currently facing three major crises: the “value sinking” of traditional public school education brought about by generative AI, the decline in the number of newborns, and the competition for the legitimacy of “self-organized compulsory education” by alternative education.
2. In addition to "teaching manpower" and "administrative manpower", the manpower part of the basic needs of education has added "self-directed learning support manpower" of 0.1C (C refers to the number of classes), and a trial calculation has been carried out.
3. List the usage scenarios of self-directed learning teaching manpower, initially 12 items, later increased to 16 items, such as:
   1. Forming course: The teacher assists students in group class (the teacher provides a lot of companionship and OST).
   2. Clubs: Organize clubs based on students’ interests and aptitudes.
   3. Elective courses: Elective courses are provided.
   4. Expert teaching support: open-door education, allocate hourly pay to teaching support staff, such as parents and experts in various industries, to share career or life experiences.
   5. Double teacher system: Two teachers cooperate with each other to promote students' self-study, joint learning within groups, mutual learning between groups, and teacher guidance.
   6. Parent participation in educational affairs: Systematically introduce parents to teach, prepare lessons, and participate in management learning.
   7. Mix three types of resources: participating in school classes, participating in experimental education, and parents using learning resources (such as social education centers) to support students' learning.
   8. Mobile Learning: Learning activities that include three elements: student planning, group learning, and off-site learning.
   9. Visits: Students participate in and plan visits.
   10. Internship: Allow students over the age of 16 to enter the workplace for internship or practice with masters in a master-apprenticeship system.
   11. Theme lesson preparation: The teacher decides the scope, and the students decide the specific report topic. The teacher accompanies the students to rehearse and provide guidance.
   12. Remedial teaching: Apply the above principles for remedial teaching, and you can use external manpower.
   13. Market: Plan cross-school learning markets.
   14. Watch the film together and discuss: Watch the film together in a group or learning community, analyze the film, and hold discussions after the screening.
   15. Editing a newspaper: Agree on a theme and time range, and students will collect materials together, edit them into a newspaper, publish them on stage, and watch each other grow.
   16. Storytelling: Students first collect stories from various advertisements and professional supporting articles, discuss and analyze them, and then re-create them, such as turning them into micro-scripts.

2023 results: Representatives from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics and the National Development Council objected. Because the meeting was decided based on consensus, it was not passed. However, the chairman, Minister Pan, cooperated. He ordered the K-12 Education Administration to conduct a commissioned study on the case of "Incorporate self-directed learning manpower into the basic needs for educational expenditure", and the research results were submitted to the committee's 113th annual research group and committee meeting for discussion. "

2024 「Incorporate self-directed learning manpower into the basic needs for educational expenditure report」

(4) Revise the "Key Points of Promoting Experimental Education with Subsidies from the K-12 Education Administration, MOE"(kill two birds with one stone)

	Subsidy Project	Subsidy objects	Approximate baseline	Remarks
Learning Resources	1. Forming courses	Schools, institutions, groups, self-students	1. The school adds 10% to the existing subsidy basis 2. For other targets, the upper limit is NTD 12,000 per student per semester 3. Support items: attendance fees, consulting fees, hourly fees, lecture hourly fees, labor insurance premiums, pensions allocated by workers themselves and insurance premiums for acting teachers or non-public teaching staff safety insurance, printing fees, transportation fees, and accommodation fees , meal expenses, venue fees, teaching materials and teaching aids fees, information collection fees, student safety insurance premiums, National Health Insurance supplementary insurance premiums and miscellaneous expenses, or other related necessary expenses. 4. Lecturer pay increased to NTD 2,000 per session
	2. Form a community with similar interests	Schools, institutions, groups, self-students
	3. Offer appropriate elective courses	Schools, institutions, groups, self-students
	4. Teaching support from experts	Schools, institutions, groups, self-students
	5. Internship	Schools, institutions, groups, self-students
Coaching Resources	1. Hire professional counselors	Schools, institutions, groups, self-students
	2. Coaching teacher development/enhancement training (counseling talent enhancement training) (Note 1)	Experimental Education School/Institution/Group
	3. Special therapy (such as art therapy) courses and activities(Note 2)	Schools, institutions, groups, self-students

However, this matter still faces the following variables:

1. Will the policy direction of promoting self-directed learning change again?
2. Can the entire plan be supported by the ministry’s budget?
3. Does the local government have incentives to prepare corresponding matching funds?
4. Refining the subsidy objects to individuals, is there enough professional manpower to support the work of requesting and checking?

2. Let “public self-directed learning” be implemented

Roll up your sleeves and get to work –– Start with the OST that will come soon

1. Who wants to participate? A promoting micro-community: 丁志仁、傅心怡、黃于庭、施采邑、游士賢、譚翰駿 etc.
2. Need to promote organizations: Adjust the "Gogopublic plan"
3. Schools, institutions, groups, and self-study families are needed to simulate: about four or five are needed (not necessarily distributed throughout Taiwan, you can focus on the north first), priority:
   • 身生實驗教育機構
   • 公辦公營的和平實小
   • 宜蘭人文
   • 全促會社大與十二年國教
   • 台北五明國際學苑
   • 岳明？

   It is best to simulate: "Forming courses", "Group groups with similar interests", "Open appropriate elective courses", "Experts, experts/professional teaching support", "Internship"

4. Prepare operating instructions, for example: Forming courses
5. Spread grassroots publicity, suitable people can apply, and it will be spread to relevant people and groups at a higher speed
6. Need to have allies among civil servants.
   • central?
   • Local county and city civil servants must also have allies (director of local education bureau)
     1. Taipei City
     2. New Taipei City
     3. Yilan County
7. Macro promotion path is drawn up,
   • Kinetic energy maintenance
   • Consolidate key points of subsidies
   • Study on "Education Quality Indicators"
   • …