Middle Education in the Middle Kingdom: The Chinese Junior High School in Modern Taiwan

171 Pages·1997·0.749 MB·English

by  Douglas C. Smith

Middle Education
in the Middle Kingdom

Middle Education
in the Middle Kingdom
T C J H S
HE HINESE UNIOR IGH CHOOL
M T
IN ODERN AIWAN
Douglas C. Smith
Foreword by Neil S. Bucklew
Westport, Connecticut
London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, Douglas C.
Middle education in the Middle Kingdom : the Chinese junior high
school in modern Taiwan / Douglas C. Smith ; foreword by Neil S.
Bucklew.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0–275–95641–5 (alk. paper)
1. Junior high schools—Taiwan. 2. Education, Secondary—Taiwan.
I. Title.
LA1137.S656 1997
373.51′ 249—dc20 96–24463
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 1997 by Douglas C. Smith
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 96–24463
ISBN: 0–275–95641–5
First published in 1997
Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To
Michael Douglas Clayton Smith
who represents well the notion that
East is East, and West is West, and at times
the twain shall meet.

Contents
Foreword by Neil S. Bucklew ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Part I
Theoretical Dimensions: The Chinese Junior High
School in Modern Taiwan 1
Part II
Operational Framework: The Chinese Junior High
School in Modern Taiwan 63
Conclusion 141
Bibliography 143
Index 151

Foreword
The title of this book understates its breadth of contribution. It
meets a high standard for a case study approach to a topic of
international importance.
Dr. Smith has presented the case of Junior High education in
modern Taiwan in a thorough and clear manner. The reader is
introduced to this aspect of the education system through compre-
hensive information as well as an entertaining sketch describing an
imaginary student, Mei-li Chen, and her family.
An underlying value of this book is based on its contribution to
the comparative discussion of public education in China, Korea,
Japan, Taiwan, and the United States. Much of the literature and
public understanding of this issue in the United States is based on
a surface understanding of a complex topic. This book represents
the type of substantive, field-based review that promises an im-
proved basis for discussion and decision making.
Dr. Smith is to be commended for the thoroughness of his work,
which introduces readers to the history of public education in
x Foreword
Taiwan, with a particularly strong section on post-1968 educational
policy development. Although the author is clearly impressed with
numerous elements of the Taiwan junior high school experience,
he also provides an effective summary of concerns.
In summary, through his book, Dr. Smith has made a valuable
contribution to an important topic—the education of our young
people. I commend him and recommend this work to your attention.
Neil S. Bucklew
President
West Virginia University