Education reform through westernization in Taiwan: a case of transferring the constructivist-based mathematics curriculum from the United States

ABSTRACT

Westernization has been broadly utilized by the Taiwanese government as a strategy to achieve modernization. Since the 1990s, Taiwan has undergone various educational reforms advocating the modernization of education. Among these, the constructivist-based mathematics curriculum transferred from the US substantially altered primary education practices. Ultimately, this reform failed. This article examines the causes of this failure. Drawing on six interviews with policy-makers and stakeholders, three causes are identified. The study demonstrates the importance of philosophy, rationale, and policy context and concludes by showing how these challenges can be addressed. Implications for policy transfer and research are further discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Policy transfer
• westernization
• modernization
• constructivist-based mathematics
• curriculum reform

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yi-Hua Lai

Yi-Hua Lai is assistant professor of the Department of Political Science, Soochow University (Taiwan). Her research interests lie in public policy design and analysis, especially in education and public health domains.