The Prospects for the Implementation of School-Based Financial Management in Taiwan

Abstract

The current approach to solving educational problems in Taiwan is to adopt policies employed in Western countries. However, given the very different cultural and educational environment of Asia, not all policies effective in Western countries are necessarily applicable to schools in Taiwan. Therefore, an examination of the feasibility and applicability of these policies is essential. This study examines whether the school-based financial (SBF) management that is effective in Western countries is applicable to schools in Taiwan. Focus group interviews composed of government officials, scholars, principals, department directors, and teachers were conducted, and a questionnaire survey was administered to 1000 school personnel. The results indicate that the SBF model that is effective in the West is also applicable to schools in Taiwan, and that the Taiwanese government should adopt SBF, while adapting it to suit the local environment.

The Relationships Among School-Based Budgeting, Innovative Management, and School Effectiveness: A Study on Specialist Schools in Taiwan

“…School-based budgeting meets the unique needs of students and schools and permits each school to develop programs and curricula that address its particular concerns and problems. Based on the past studies (Ho 2010;Line 2005;Yang 2008), this paper also identifies four aspects of school-based management: meeting the real needs of schools, enhancing the flexibility of budget use, strengthening the efficiency of budget expenditures, and ensuring the quality of budget execution.…”

Revisiting the School-Based Management Recent Studies

“…In the school-based management, responsibility for, and decision making over, school operation is transferred to principals, teachers, parents, community, and sometimes students (The World Bank, 2007). Schoolbased management as an educational management which provides more authority to the schools for allocating and managing the available resources by involving the collaboration and support of various parties towards the quality education (Ho, 2010); (Karmila & Wijaya, 2020). SBM is the concept which comes up with autonomy to determine the school policy to enhance the performance quality of the school, with immediate cooperation among various stakeholders such as school, community, and government (Mawanda et al, 2018).…”

“…Budgeting is the most important task area followed by staffing, curriculum and instruction, goals, and organizational structures (Kiragu et al, 2013). Besides, School-based Finance (SBF) plays a crucial segment in SBM (Ho, 2010). Developing the curriculum and staff allocation largely relate to the budget control (Moradi et al, 2012).…”

“…It is crucial to clearly and explicitly describe the roles and responsibilities for each member against conflicts between them. Furthermore, the trainings and practical knowledge in such areas as problem solving, decision-making, financial management and group dynamics are required for all participants, including school staffs, teachers, and community members (Ho, 2010). The council members must be able to collaborate in the planning and budget matters.…”

School Principals' Unethical Marketing Practices in Taiwan

“…Taiwan is no exception. For some years, the government has been actively promoting the marketization of education, and schools are given significant latitude regarding the strategies they employ (Ho, 2010b). At the same time, however, individual schools are expected to take responsibility for the outcome of their marketing efforts, and poor results can result in schools being closed or merged with other schools (Huang & Ho, 2012).…”