Schools In Taiwan Research Articles

Challenges and Professional Support for Principals at Rural Schools for Sustainable Development

This study aims to explore the challenges faced by principals in rural schools in Taiwan and the professional support they require to improve leadership and school management. Utilizing focus group interviews, data was collected from 16 participants (7 women and 9 men), focusing on issues such as limited cultural capital, student retention, teacher shortages, poor student performance, and insufficient school funding. This research highlights the specific challenges of teacher retention, student mobility, and administrative burdens. The key professional support identified includes targeted professional development, curriculum inspection, parental engagement, and collaboration with colleagues and experienced principals. This study suggests that creating professional development communities, fostering collaborative networks, and increasing administrative support can significantly enhance rural school leadership and improve education quality. The findings offer practical insights for policymakers to tailor support systems to meet the unique needs of rural school principals in Taiwan, drawing on successful strategies from both local and international contexts to ensure sustainable educational leadership and development.

The effects of hands-on content-language integrated learning on fourth graders’ acquisition of target vocabulary and procedural knowledge in Taiwan

Despite the widespread use of multimodal pedagogies in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) contexts, empirical studies specifically focusing on the impact of hands-on learning on target vocabulary and procedural knowledge acquisition in CLIL Social Studies, particularly in Taiwan, are relatively uncommon. Grounded in embodied learning theories, this study investigated the comparative impact of hands-on learning versus worksheet-based instruction on fourth graders’ target vocabulary acquisition and procedural knowledge within a CLIL Social Studies setting in Taiwan. The study also explored students’ perceptions of their learning experiences with these instructional methods. This quasi-experimental study involved four intact fourth-grade CLIL Social Studies classes from three elementary schools in Taiwan, comprising 40 students in the Experimental Group (EG), who engaged in hands-on learning, and 34 students in the Control Group (CG), who engaged in worksheet-based learning. Activities included Chinese dumpling making, bird’s nest building, and designing a pot of succulents. Data were collected through pre- and post-tests to assess target vocabulary acquisition and procedural knowledge, followed by learner experience surveys to evaluate students’ perceptions of their learning experiences. The analysis included paired-samples t-tests, independent-samples t-tests, and thematic analysis of open-ended survey responses. Results revealed that the EG significantly outperformed the CG in both target vocabulary acquisition and procedural knowledge across all three activities, with large effect sizes (d = 1.05–1.51 for target vocabulary and 0.95–2.89 for procedural knowledge), demonstrating the effectiveness of hands-on learning. However, while significant differences were observed in memory retention of target vocabulary and procedural knowledge from the survey results, no significant differences were found between the EG and CG in terms of perceived ease of learning. These findings suggest that hands-on learning offers substantial benefits over traditional worksheet-based instruction in CLIL settings, though the transition to hands-on methods may require additional support. Practical implications include the strategic selection of relevant vocabulary, the implementation of structured hands-on approaches, and the emphasis on behavioral reinforcement to enhance learning outcomes.

An Examination on the Planning and Practice of Bilingual Education in Primary and Secondary Schools in Taiwan

Over the past few years, several reforms in language education have been outlined to implement the full-scale bilingualization of the education system in Taiwan. Among the 3392 public primary and secondary schools, nearly one-third of them have been implementing bilingual education in certain subjects. The vast majority of these schools have adopted Immersion, CLIL, or EMI as models for bilingual education. It has been argued that these exotic models cannot be “transplanted” to the education context of Taiwan, and he proposes the FERTILE model. Adopting this model as the theoretical framework, this qualitative study aims to examine how school practitioners plan and practice bilingual education in Taiwan. Data were collected through the document analysis of the progress reports from thirty-five primary and secondary schools and three focus group discussions (FGDs) with nine subject teachers. The findings show that the participants made considerable efforts to construct a bilingual environment and have an identical understanding about the strategies for bilingual instruction that emphasize subject knowledge and students’ comprehension. However, the participants experienced a diverse ecology of bilingual teacher learning communities and received differential support from the principals. Qualified and stable teaching manpower was identified as the key to sustain bilingual education. Implications to different education stakeholders are also discussed.

A critical discourse study of cultural and national identity (re)construction in Taiwanese high school EFL textbooks

ABSTRACT In foreign language textbooks, cultural representations embedded in texts and images not only facilitate the acquisition of linguistic knowledge but also construct ethnic or political identities. Over the past century, the mainstream ideology in Taiwan has changed due to the rotation of ruling parties and generational shifts. This change is also evident in contemporary English-as-a-Foreign-Language textbooks. In light of this emerging issue, this study employed critical discourse analysis to examine three sets of textbooks that are widely used in high schools in Taiwan. The study reveals that textbooks produced in Taiwan generally: (1) highlight the indigenous culture of the island, (2) extensively depict contemporary Taiwanese celebrities, specialties, and natural landscapes, (3) embellish the period of Japanese and Dutch-Spanish colonisation, and (4) strategically differentiate between ‘China/Chinese’ and ‘Taiwan/Taiwanese’. The findings expose the Taiwan-centric perspective of the textbooks while downplaying the significance of the national title – ‘the Republic of China’.

Creative Teaching in the Context of Educational Reform: Insights from the Perspective of In-service Teachers

Aim. This study aims to elucidate the multifaceted nature of creative teaching within the specific context of educational reform by exploring the nuanced perspectives of in-service teachers through their real-life teaching experiences. Methods. A qualitative approach was adopted, with semi-structured, vignette-based interviews with 19 teachers from elementary, junior high, and senior high schools in Taiwan. Data analysis followed reflexive thematic analysis methods. Results. The findings underscore that in-service teachers perceive creative teaching not as the creation of entirely new educational paradigms but rather as the adoption of unconventional methods. This entails the adaptive and strategic utilisation of diverse teaching methods, the integration of multidisciplinary content, and an enduring commitment to continuous improvement. It is an incremental process involving the continuous absorption of new concepts, the adaptation of new methods, and making progressive adjustments. Conclusion. Enhancing teachers’ creative teaching requires a context-specific understanding of its essence, facilitating targeted promotion and teacher education. This study addresses the research gap by qualitatively investigating teachers’ perspectives on creative teaching and its implementation. The insights gained in this study are crucial in guiding the effective integration of creativity into pedagogical practice within teacher education and professional development endeavours. Cognitive value. This study challenges the conventional notion that creative teaching involves the invention of entirely new methods, arguing instead that creative teaching is primarily concerned with the ways in which teachers implement unconventional approaches, rather than the novelty of those approaches. These findings offer a novel perspective on fostering creative teaching within teacher development endeavours.

Bilingual lesson planning in Taiwan: challenges and implications

ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate the planning of bilingual teaching by in-service teachers in elementary and junior high schools in Taiwan. Through individual interviews and a questionnaire survey, the author examines (1) the principles that bilingual teachers (including content teachers and English teachers) integrate into bilingual lesson planning; (2) how bilingual teachers’ integration of these principles differs considering the types of teachers, levels of schools, and bilingual teaching experiences; and (3) challenges facing teachers in planning bilingual teaching. The findings indicate that when planning bilingual lessons, the teachers frequently considered the principles regarding the dimensions of content, language, teaching methods, teaching activities, materials, assessment, and class arrangement. On the other hand, teachers’ integration of the principles differed between teacher groups, and teachers encountered various challenges when planning bilingual teaching. Based on the findings, suggestions are made for bilingual lesson planning and teacher professional development.

Principals’ Use of Leadership Metaphors in Three Urban Junior High Schools in Taiwan

Principals utilize leadership metaphors to guide teachers in implementing educational, curriculum, and institutional/structural change. This study explores how principals employ metaphors to drive school change and presents a two-year qualitative case study of three urban junior high schools in Taiwan. During the first year, the researcher observed and participated in school meetings, collecting documents and data from the perspectives of principals, teachers, and parents. In the subsequent year, in-depth interviews were conducted with three principals. The findings demonstrate that principals who incorporate metaphors into their collective sense-making processes in leadership can facilitate social change and foster innovation in education.

How teachers develop professionally: strategies used by high school teachers in Taiwan

ABSTRACT This study used a constant comparative qualitative research method to explore formal and informal learning strategies teachers use to develop professionally and the impact these learning strategies have on their professional practices. Participants were selected through snowball sampling, consisting of 20 teachers from five high schools in Taiwan. Three were male, and 17 were female, with an average age of 43. The study found that participants’ formal learning strategies include attending workshops and conferences and doing professional courses in colleges or online. Their informal learning strategies include discussions and sharing ideas with colleagues, using the internet to learn and search for information, reading reference materials, and reflecting on teachings and students’ feedback. The impact of the learning on participants’ professional practices includes improved subject content and professional knowledge, teaching and learning skills, classroom and time man agement skills, teaching and learning aid production skills, and collaboration and information-searching attitudes.

Mediating attentional control between depression and problematic Internet use in female adolescents: the role of attentional focusing and shifting.

Female adolescents are more prone to depression compared with male adolescents, and depression is often associated with poor attentional control and problematic internet use (PIU). Attentional control includes both focusing and shifting functions. Focusing refers to the ability to direct attention to a task despite distractions. Shifting refers to the ability to flexibly switch attention between different tasks. This study examines the mediating role of attentional focusing and shifting between depression and PIU. Female high school and college students (n = 476) in Taiwan participated in a survey administered at three time points over a seven-month period. The single- and two- mediator models examined their joint mediation effects. The results showed that the direct effect of depression on PIU was significant. The indirect effects also showed that attentional focusing was a negative partial mediator in the relationship between depression and PIU, while attentional shifting was not one. Informed by attentional theory and digital emotion regulation, addressing depression to mitigate its negative impact on attentional control and negative emotions is crucial. The potential impact, whether harmful or beneficial, of adolescents carefully selecting their online activities to reduce the risk of PIU remains contentious. Given the focus on Taiwanese adolescent girls during the COVID-19 pandemic, further research is needed to extend the applicability of the theory to other periods without being affected by COVID-19.

Associations between Marketing Exposure, In-game Purchases, Problem Gaming, Simulated Gambling, and Psychological Distress among Adolescents.

This study examined the relationships between marketing exposure, in-game purchase, problem gaming, online simulated gambling game playing, and psychological distress. Data were obtained from a sample of 2,595 seventh-grade students from 30 middle schools in Taiwan. A self-administered questionnaire was conducted in 2020. The results indicated that 94% of adolescents engage in online gaming, with 38% making in-game purchases, and 9% playing online simulated gambling games. The multiple regression results showed that adolescents who are exposed to higher levels of gaming marketing, influenced by advertising effects, involved in in-game purchases, and have lower levels of active parental mediation were more likely to experience problem gaming. Adolescents who have increased exposure to gambling game marketing, are influenced by advertising effects, are involved in in-game purchases, and who are experiencing problem gaming were more likely to engage in online simulated gambling game playing and token purchasing. Involvement in in-game purchases, problem gaming, and playing online simulated gambling games were associated with higher levels of psychological distress and poor sleep quality. In conclusion, the results of this study link adolescents' exposure to marketing with their involvement in in-game purchases, problem gaming, and engaging in online simulated gambling.

Key facets of effective career development for students with intellectual disabilities: insights from a Taiwanese high school case study

Objectives In the process of transition services, the active participation of teachers and parents is an important key to the successful employment and independent living of students with intellectual disabilities after leaving school. Methods This study adopted a case study method, taking a high school in Taiwan that has a good transition service as an example. The research participants included four special education teachers and four parents. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, archival documents and research diaries. Results The results showed that parents’ active participation in transition activities, employment-oriented vocational curriculum planning, building parent-teacher partnerships, understanding students’ strengths and abilities, and support from social resources were the key factors for the successful post-school transition. Conclusions This study also showed that early participation in transition planning, joint participation in transition planning by parents and their children and the development of independent living skills were the transition service needs for students with intellectual disabilities.

Teachers as ‘Powerless Elites’: Emotions and Transformative Learning

This research uses narrative analysis to examine the emotional experiences of five schoolteachers, teaching in five different schools in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. The analysis shows the paradoxical perceptions about the (ir)replaceability of the teaching profession in the digital era. Findings include i. the strong mixed feelings experienced by teachers regarding the future of education that is embedded with digitalisation; ii. Meaning-making in teaching lies on the emotional engagement of teachers and quality teacher-student-relationship; iii. intense self-doubts on the roles of teachers in a virtual classroom were experienced in the beginning of the pandemic, but it has transformed into a refined roles upon critical self-reflection. This research investigates the emotionality of teachers in the virtual classroom, transformative learning has been the key to teachers’ refined roles despite society’s increasing reliance on artificial intelligence.

Curriculum leadership in a rural indigenous high school in Taiwan implementing the 108 Curriculum Guidelines

AbstractThe 108 Curriculum Guidelines (108CG) were implemented in high schools in Taiwan in 2019 and have increased the flexibility of curriculum offerings. Schools must now offer diverse curricula, flexible options and self‐directed learning courses based on students' needs and teachers' expertise. This study explores how rural high schools in Taiwan promote curriculum leadership following the implementation of the 108CG. Using a case school in southern Taiwan as the study site, it examines the current implementation of the 108CG in rural high schools, the processes and strategies that school members employ in applying curriculum leadership and the challenges they encounter. Six participants from the case school were interviewed, from August 2021 to May 2022. We also conducted observations and document analyses. The results show that the principal and mid‐level leaders' collaborative efforts are integral to advancing the 108CG. However, the school faces challenges in implementing the 108CG due to its environmental context. The principal's major challenge stems from the differing curriculum interpretations by tribal chiefs and families in the community. Mid‐level leaders also grapple with students' passive learning attitudes and the need for preparedness among teachers for curriculum reform. Although the 108CG have been in operation for more than 4 years, rural high schools continue to face challenges in implementing them. Introducing collaborative lesson planning and using checklists during curriculum review meetings could help track curriculum progress.

Diagnosing the Organizational Climate of Junior High Schools in Taiwan

The study aims to prioritize critical climate components for school improvement. A psychometrically validated instrument named the Chinese “Organizational Climate Diagnostic Instrument for Junior High Schools” (OCDI-JH) was used to diagnose climate factors through expert judgments and fuzzy DEMATEL-based ANP. Results of the study identified the six factors clustered under the two dimensions of ‘Safety' (D1) or ‘Academic emphasis' (D2) should be given particular attention for school effectiveness. The established climate diagnosis appraisal computed by fuzzy DEMATEL-based ANP can be extended to other school regions for systematically developing school climate based on contextually specific needs and concerns. Future research studies are expected to provide incremental and value-added contributions to the competitive advantages of Taiwan's junior high school education.

EFL reading strategies used by high school students with different English proficiency

This study examines EFL students' reading strategy use and explores the differences between the factors affecting the use of the reading strategies by high and low proficiency EFL learners. The participants consisted of students from a high school in Taiwan. Their reading strategy usage and the influencing factors were assessed using the Survey of Reading Strategy (SORS), think-aloud protocols, and semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal no significant disparities in problem-solving strategies and supporting reading strategies between high and low proficiency learners. However, no table differences were observed in the employment of global reading strategies. In addition, learners' vocabulary size and syntactic knowledge emerged as influential factors in the utilization of reading strategies. The results also indicate that high proficiency learners employ top-down reading strategies, while low proficiency learners rely on bottom-up reading strategies to approach their reading tasks. Detailed results of the reading strategies used by the two groups of students and factors affecting the strategy results are shown and discussed, followed by pedagogical implications. At the end, suggestions for the future research will be presented.

A Comparison of Character Education in Primary and Junior Secondary Schools in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China

Character education have been implemented in schools worldwide from twenty centuries, considering the growing social-moral problems that beset modern societies. The fact of moral decline and negative behavior of youth require character education to provide programs of eliminating such behavior that emerge in social, political, and economic contexts. It was proved that students who received character education and moral values in schools had better test scores and had lower incidents of vandalism, absenteeism, and dishonesty on tests. An interpretive approach has been used in this study and focused on the difference of character education among Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China, seeking how the character education implements in schools and its communication with other subjects on the support of policies, how the teachers make of this curriculum, and whether the program of character education takes the impact on children’s character building.

Training Needs of In-Service Bilingual Teachers: A study of Taiwan

The present study is aimed to investigate in-service bilingual teachers’ perceptions of training needs in the competences and knowledge required to implement bilingual curricula in Taiwan. To this end, this study used mixed methods consisting of questionnaires and individual interviews to collect data from the intended cohort, that is, in-service teachers involved in bilingual curricula at elementary and junior high schools in Taiwan. In this study, data collection comprised questionnaire data from 76 respondents and transcripts of 15 interviews. Descriptive statistics and Grounded Theory method were employed to analyze the research data. The study revealed the differences in training needs of Taiwanese in-service bilingual teachers with regard to the school levels, teacher types, language proficiency levels, and bilingual teaching experiences. From the findings, several suggestions are made for professional development for in-service bilingual teachers in Taiwan. It is suggested that Taiwan’s Ministry of Education consider the factors of teacher types and school levels when developing in-service training courses. Additionally, training on the English language needs to be re-evaluated in the professional development courses for bilingual teachers in Taiwan, in particular for English language teachers. Through this study, the author wishes to shed light on training needs of bilingual teachers in Taiwan, and accordingly, to propose suggestions on bilingual teacher training.

Study on Principals Using Transformative Leadership to Promote School Collaborative Culture: A Qualitative Study of Primary School in Taiwan

Study on Principals Using Transformative Leadership to Promote School Collaborative Culture: A Qualitative Study of Primary School in Taiwan

Neural substrates of L2-L1 transfer effects on phonological awareness in young Chinese-English bilingual children

The growing trend of bilingual education between Chinese and English has contributed to a rise in the number of early bilingual children, who were exposed to L2 prior to formal language instruction of L1. The L2-L1 transfer effect in an L1-dominant environment has been well established. However, the threshold of L2 proficiency at which such transfer manifests remains unclear. This study investigated the behavioral and neural processes involved when manipulating phonemes in an auditory phonological task to uncover the transfer effect in young bilingual children. Sixty-two first graders from elementary schools in Taiwan were recruited in this study (29 Chinese monolinguals, 33 Chinese-English bilinguals). The brain activity was measured using fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy). Bilingual children showed right lateralization to process Chinese and left lateralization to process English, which supports more on the accommodation effect within the framework of the assimilation-accommodation hypothesis. Also, compared to monolinguals, bilingual children showed more bilateral frontal activation in Chinese, potentially reflecting a mixed influence from L2-L1 transfer effects and increased cognitive load of bilingual exposure. These results elucidate the developmental adjustments in the neural substrates associated with early bilingual exposure in phonological processing, offering valuable insights into the bilingual learning process.

RESEARCH ON BILINGUAL EDUCATION IN TAIWAN’S HIGH SCHOOLS

This study aims to explore the current status of bilingual education implementation in high schools in Taiwan. This study formulated interview topics based on different aspects of bilingual education and interviewed six relevant personnel through the literature analysis and qualitative in high schools. It included principals, teachers and students in order to understand the impact of bilingualism on the influencing factors and implementation difficulties. The conclusions drawn are as follows: First. Bilingual education policies and supporting measures will affect the progress and implementation effectiveness of bilingual education. second. It is helpful for schools to set clear bilingual education goals. third. There are differences in the effectiveness of bilingual education for students in general high schools and technical high schools. Fourth. The preparation of bilingual teachers and the community are the key to the success of bilingual education. fifth. Creating an immersive learning environment can improve the effectiveness of bilingual teaching. sixth. The urban-rural gap and insufficient resources are major obstacles to promote bilingual education. seventh. If teacher spend too much time on teaching English, it will affect students ‘acquisition of professional subject knowledge. eighth. Bilingual teaching causes burden on teachers and affects their willingness to promote it.