Taiwanese History and Facts

I chose to study this topic because my mother grew up in Taiwan. She experienced the comparatively hard rigors of early Taiwanese childhood life, and moved to America in her teens for a source of better education. My father grew up in the United States and had a very different experience of learning. With these combined backgrounds of both parents, I decided to research and understand the two countries and their education styles with the focus on Middle School. By comparing and studying the two countries at almost opposite sides of the world from each other, I examined the differences and similarities of the two different countries in their education systems.

Taiwan, Republic of China, is a small island off the coast of China. The main language spoken is Mandarin, and the local dialect is Taiwanese. The provision of the basic education in Taiwan and United States is remarkably equal. In Taiwan, all citizens are guaranteed an equal opportunity to receive education. All children are required to attend six years of elementary school and three years of middle school. The public schools are funded by the government with no costs to the families (1-9 grades). The government is required to monitor all public and private institutions to meet national standards. Students who decide to continue their education must take a high school entrance exam which will determine which high schools they can attend. This creates a more competitive environment for students in Taiwan as compared to the United States. The Taiwanese Ministry of Education (MOE) creates national education guideline standards for the country, and then each school district may adapt their own curriculum to these requirements. In the United States, the main language spoken is English, and education is generally compulsory from first through twelfth grade, and the public schools (K-12) are funded by the government. This doesn’t exclude the option that United States students can learn from home schools or private schools. Students generally attend their neighborhood schools all the way through high school without having to take high school entrance exams like in Taiwan. The educational standards and standardized testing decisions are usually made by state governments to meet the national standard requirements.

One major difference between schools in Taiwan and the United States is that all students are required to wear uniforms at school and there are restrictions on hair styles. A possible reason for the uniforms is that people should not display their economic advantages or disadvantages at school. Prior to 1987, hair restrictions were national in Taiwan. Hair was not to be longer than earlobes for girls, and a crew cut for boys in Taiwan, no dyes or perms. If a student’s hair didn’t meet the standards, the student’s teacher could send for the student’s hair to be cut right away. In 1987, there was a change in the law that required students to keep their hair short. Since then, students have been allowed to wear their hair in any length, but the hair must be “simple and easy to be kept.” (Taipei times). Also, their hair can not be dyed or permed. Teachers and parents felt that the children would go “wild” if there were no regulations. Most schools continue to maintain their own strict rules on hair. On the other hand, in the U.S., public schools do not have the authority to regulate students’ hairstyles, students have total freedom on being able to fix their hair however they want. This means that they can dye it, perm it, and cut it in any way without being confronted by the administration. Although there are no uniform requirements in the public schools, many specific rules are implemented on dress codes which are strongly enforced on the public schools.