Teaching Practices in Taiwan's Education for Young Children: Complexity and Ambiguity of Developmentally Appropriate Practices and/or Developmentally Inappropriate Practices

Abstract

This study aims to examine the implementation and application of the revised guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice in the care and education of young children in Taiwan. Child-centered philosophy was introduced to Taiwan 30 years ago, but numerous research studies report that Taiwanese early childhood teachers often encounter tensions between unstructured teaching styles and traditional culture values, such as the hierarchical social structure and emphasis on academic achievement. In order to examine the complexity of teaching practices, four Taiwanese early childhood education teachers from different backgrounds were interviewed, and their teaching practices were systematically described and sorted according to the guidelines for developmentally appropriate and inappropriate practices. The results showed that teaching practices were more of a continuous than a dichotomous process. Some of the classroom practices of Taiwanese early childhood education teachers contained both developmentally appropriate and inappropriate practices, whereas other teachers' performances, which are not described in the developmentally appropriate practice guidelines but can be commonly seen in Taiwanese classrooms, were not easy to identify as either developmentally appropriate or inappropriate. The author proposes a need to explore the essences of culturally appropriate practices for Taiwanese children.

Taiwanese Preschool and Elementary Teachers Beliefs about Discipline, Students, and Teaching Practices

“…Cultural values shape the objectives of education and inform beliefs about what is important to teach children and how to teach children to be successful in society [18]. Shifts in cultural beliefs and education reforms made in recent years in Taiwan, however, suggest that teachers may develop differing beliefs based on their attempts to come to terms with both traditional and contemporary Taiwanese values.…”

“…Entrance into high school and college is highly competitive in Taiwan, and parents begin training their children for entrance exams at a very early age [6]. Thus, preschools often emphasize academic instruction [18] and elementary education is rigorous. In addition, a contemporary Taiwanese belief is that one of the main goals of education is to teach social mores.…”

“…These teachers may adjust their approaches to elicit more child engagement, thereby leading to fewer child behavior problems. On the other hand, children need to learn social skills and self-regulation to function as part of the larger society, and Taiwanese culture views the role of school to teach children social rules and manners [18]. Thus, teachers may emphasize children's own control over their behavior and step aside so children are able to learn this skill themselves.…”

“…Thus, teachers may emphasize children's own control over their behavior and step aside so children are able to learn this skill themselves. This child-driven approach aligns more with western philosophies such as Developmentally Appropriate Practice [34] that are increasingly influential in Taiwan [18], than with traditional Taiwanese beliefs.…”

“…Teachers' expectations of the studentteacher relationship may to contribute to the quality of the interpersonal relations between teachers and children, which may in turn contribute to children's behavior and achievement in the classroom [35]. Prior research in Taiwan found that some teachers believed they should establish their authority and respect in the classroom to teach their students most effectively, while other teachers believed it was important to care for and be close to their students, like a friend or family member [18,36]. These two categories, although not mutually exclusive, may indicate the tension between traditional Taiwanese culture, which emphasizes respect for authority, and the influence of child-centered Western educational philosophies.…”