Taiwan teacher preparation program evaluation: Some critical perspectives

Abstract

This paper focuses on the influences and changes of recent Taiwan teacher preparation program evaluation (TTPPE) as one of the national evaluation projects conducted by the Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan. The main concerns are what kind of ideology is transformed through the policy by means of evaluation, and what influence TTPPE has as well as its usage. The first section provides a brief introduction of the development of TTPPE. The second section illustrates how market ideology (mainly neo-liberalism) influences and transforms into policy agenda. The third section critiques original usage of TTPPE outcomes. The last section shows the visions and challenges for TTPPE. The research methods include policy analysis of official documents and interviewing four stakeholders and faculty members to understand their experience and reflection. The paper is expected to provide critical insights for future teacher preparation program evaluation projects as well as for other teacher programs evaluation.