Over the course of Taiwan’s history, political events have shaped the nation’s education system.
1895 – 1945 Japanese occupation
After winning the SIno-Japanese War in 1895, Japan gained control over Taiwan. During the occupation, a formal education system was created and compulsory primary education introduced (Heylon, 2008, p.49
9). The government strictly enforced the teaching of Japanese curriculum and use of the Japanese language (Heylon, 2008, p.499). Though an education system was established at this time, discrimination and division of Japanese students and Taiwanese students was evident (Hubbs, 2013, p.81).
9). The government strictly enforced the teaching of Japanese curriculum and use of the Japanese language (Heylon, 2008, p.499). Though an education system was established at this time, discrimination and division of Japanese students and Taiwanese students was evident (Hubbs, 2013, p.81).
1945 – Chinese Nationalist Rule
After WWII, Japan ceded Taiwan to the Chinese Nationalist Party
, Kuomingtang (KMT), who at the time was the political party of power in Mainland China. (Hubbs, 2013, p. 82). The KMT eliminated all traces of Japanese colonization by changing the national language of Taiwan to Mandarin Chinese and implementing the Chinese curriculum into the education system (Heylon, 2008, p.502). Specialty schools for teacher development was also established. (Heylon, 2008, p.502). During the post-war era, Taiwan received a lot of economic aid from the United States, much of which went towards education. After the KMT lost its political power to the Chinese communist party in 1949, they fled to Taiwan and continued its political regime and established the martial law.
, Kuomingtang (KMT), who at the time was the political party of power in Mainland China. (Hubbs, 2013, p. 82). The KMT eliminated all traces of Japanese colonization by changing the national language of Taiwan to Mandarin Chinese and implementing the Chinese curriculum into the education system (Heylon, 2008, p.502). Specialty schools for teacher development was also established. (Heylon, 2008, p.502). During the post-war era, Taiwan received a lot of economic aid from the United States, much of which went towards education. After the KMT lost its political power to the Chinese communist party in 1949, they fled to Taiwan and continued its political regime and established the martial law.
1968 – Establishment of a 9 year compulsory school
Prior to 1968, compulsory education was only for the six years of primary school. Education is seen as a way to improve national living standards, pursue economic development, and achieve independence of the nation. To ensure that the people of Taiwan are well educated, the government extended compulsory education to 9 years, which includes primary school and junior high school (Ministry of Education, 2013).
1987 – Martial Law lifted
In 1987, the martial law was lifted and thus the nation went through rapid democratization, pluralism, and liberalization. This also meant that the education system will undergo drastic changes in the coming years.
1994 – Establishme
nt of the Council of Education Reform
nt of the Council of Education ReformThe Ministry of Education established the Council of Education Reform to study the feasible strategies for restructuring the educational system.Three years later, after performing the feasibility study, an inter-ministrial commission was established to promote and implement the education reforms. (Wang, 2003, p.276). These education reforms can be viewed as Taiwan becoming more and more westernized.
2002 – Implementation of compulsory English language courses in public schools
Realizing that English is an important global language, the Ministry of Education implemented a policy to start English courses in the third grade that extends to senior high school. Some school districts decide to start courses as early as the first grade. This can be seen as one of the ways Taiwan is internationalizing their education system (Ministry of Education, 2013).
2004 – Gender Equity Education Act (性別平等教育法)
The legislation is put into place to improve gender equality in education. Schools should not discriminate in its teaching, assessments, etc against the students on the basis of the student’s gender and sexual orientation (Executive Yuan, 2013).
2005 – Establishment of the Higher Education Evaluation & Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT)
Endowed by the universities and the government, an external organization was created for the purpose of quality assurance and accreditation of all the higher education institutes and its programs within Taiwan.
