Class management in Taiwan’s Active Aging Learning Centers: demonstration of the relationship, interaction, and harmony in ethnic Chinese societies

ABSTRACT

Active Aging Learning Centers (AALCs) are scattered across various townships and districts in Taiwan and attract students with diverse backgrounds. Therefore, cultivating positive learning environments at AALCs is crucial. Influenced by Confucianism, ethnic Chinese societies emphasize interpersonal relationships, and traditional Confucian principles and norms inform class management strategies in such societies. This study explored the management of classes offered at AALCs in Taiwan. A total of 24 teachers (8 men and 16 women with an average age of 52.75 years [range: 28–71 years]) were interviewed. The interview data were analyzed using the constant comparative method, and the following results were obtained. (1) The interviewees managed their classes by presenting themselves as professionals, actively learning about and giving attention to their students, establishing class norms, and tracking their students’ learning progress and adjusting their teaching methods accordingly. (2) The aforementioned methods enabled the interviewees to cultivate positive learning environments in which they and their students encouraged each other, learned together, and bonded emotionally, which promoted class cohesion. These findings suggest that class management at AALCs in Taiwan is based on the traditional Chinese conceptualizations of relationships, interactions, and interpersonal harmony and may serve as a reference for training AALC teachers in class management and promoting positive interpersonal interactions in and outside the classroom.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology under Grant number 107-2410-H-153-020.