Going to secondary schools is one of the most trying periods in a Taiwanese student’s life. The reason is though Taiwan has a free nine-year compulsory edu-cation, students need to sit for qualifying examinations for admission to senior high schools or vocational high schools, and universities or colleges if they want to continue to the tertiary level. That is the source of the examination pressure within each school.
Unlike many Western counterparts who attend school from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M., Taiwanese secondary students have a much longer school day from 7:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. depending on different schools. In most junior high schools, prior to the first period of the class, there is always a period of time for campus cleaning up, and morning-self-study in the homeroom, followed by a morning assembly which altogether lasts from 45 minutes to one hour. Campus cleaning up and morning assemblies are not mandatory for all. Students rotate every other week depending on what year of study the students are in. Senior students busy preparing for the Basic Competency Test are relieved from most of the campus cleaning and assembly duties. The school assembly takes place where students gather—in the assembly hall or the school field (by rotation among different classes) for civic education. Flag-raising ceremonies, principal’s talks for daily rules and other routine assignments will be announced at that time. With respect to the morning homeroom self-study time, this period of time allows students to engage in self-reviewing lessons or take quizzes that are required by their teachers.
In junior high schools, each class lasts 45 minutes. There is a lunch break followed by napping time. Students may choose to remain seated and read or study during that time. The philosophy behind this naptime is not only a social tradition in Taiwan but also to refresh students’ mind during hot weather. In the afternoon, most schools start from 1:20 till 4:10 P.M. The so-called main-subject courses such as Chinese literature, science, English, and mathematics are arranged usually in the morning session. Then, classes such as civic education, history, geography, integrated activities, music, health and physical education are offered in the later hours of the day. It is believed that the main subjects require clearer minds for better concentration and more effective learning.
Another tidy-up period for the class and the final campus cleaning time lasts about 25 minutes during the afternoon session. Afterwards classes start at 3:25 again till 4:10 P.M. by which time most schools close except for some classes. For example, the senior-year students will remain in the homeroom for extra tutori-als in subject areas of English, mathematics, Chinese, science, and so on. Then the seventh period ends around 4:10 P.M. Many schools ask students to attend an extra period for supplemental instruction or quizzes. Students need to pay for this extra hour of instruction. Students can receive extra lecturing for their main subject areas that will, hopefully, enhance their academic performance.
Praise for the students is less common and good behavior is expected from them by the Taiwanese parents (Hwang, 2004). When asked, “What is the most important factor in determining a child’s performance in the school?,” parents in Taiwan usually respond “effort” rather than “innate ability” whereas American parents mostly cite the latter (Stevenson, 1996, cited in Smith, 1997). It is also the home environment that supports Taiwanese children for academic perfor-mance rather than extra curricular activities. In modern Taiwanese society, many young parents are also keen on cultural activities. In addition to their school tasks, many of the students also take language and music classes after school.
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Nevertheless, at higher levels of schooling the students are less likely to continue these lessons because of examination pressure.
In the era of education reform after 1994, many parents have become uneasy because of unfamiliarity with many new education initiatives. Consequently, parents pay for extra classes in cram schools or tutoring lessons for their children even after the abolition of junior high school and university entrance examinations.
Ironically, the slogan that education reform will relieve children from carrying overloaded school bags has not prevented more and more textbooks and home-work for students.
Smith (1997) described the competitive setting of the modern Taiwanese secondary schools as “Academic Darwinism” which implies that only the most able and capable students will move on to higher levels of schooling. In Taiwan, secondary education emphasizes individual competitiveness which requires students to compete aggressively to survive to the next education level.
Researchers like Harold W. Stevenson and his colleagues (the Stevenson group) often mentioned that the academic performances of American children are below their counterparts at the same age level in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan (Stevenson, 1996, cited in Smith, 1997). Unlike many American public schools which are very much concerned with students’ security, Taiwanese put extra bur-den on school teachers and stubur-dents for academic achievement. According to the Stevenson group, American schools are less effective in classroom management and instruction than those in Taiwan. The average school day is much longer in Taiwan, around 200 days versus Americans’ 180 calendar days. School time is also much better used in Taiwan schools. Taiwanese students use a lot more of their school day in academically oriented activities. In addition, discipline prob-lems are not as serious as American schools. In addition, parents play a crucial role in children’s attitude toward schooling. Taiwanese mothers are much more likely to be involved in their children’s school activities and PTA (parent-teacher association).
The following class schedule is from a southern Taiwanese public junior high school that opens from 7:10 A.M. till 6 P.M. Monday through Friday (see Table 15.4).
In the school, although most classes start at 8:10 A.M., students are required to arrive on campus by 7:30 A.M. During each morning, students spend 10 minutes on campus cleaning. Between 7:20 A.M. and 7:50 A.M. students usually stay in their homeroom for self-study in their seats. Teachers need not be present at this time but most are. Between 7:50 A.M. and 8:10 A.M., school assembly takes place in the school field or hall.
After the morning assembly, all classes begin at 8:10 A.M., and go on till 8:55A.M. Then second period starts from 9:10 A.M. and goes on till 9:55 A.M., the third period lasts from 10:10 A.M. to 10:45 A.M. and then the fourth period from 11:05 A.M. to 11:45 A.M. Lunch time lasts from 11:50 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. After that, students are required to take a nap from 12:30 P.M. to 1:10 P.M.. Some student groups engage in other activities such as daily alert or campus patrolling.
The afternoon section, which starts from 1:20 P.M., lasts all the way till 4 P.M.
Table 15.4 Class Schedule Yen-Ping Year 7 Class 1 Schedule PeriodClass periodMonTueWedThuFri 7:10–7:20Clean campus 7:20–7:50Morning homeroom 7:50∼8:10Morning meeting 18:10–8:55ChineseScienceEnglishGeographyChinese 29:10–9:55ChineseChineseScienceChineseArt Performance 310:10–10:55ScienceEnglishMathematicsEnglishMathematics 411:05–11:50MathematicsHealth and P.E.Integrated andMathematicsArt Activities 11:50–12:30Lunch break 12:30∼13:10Nap time 513:20–14:05SchoolCivicsChineseHistoryEnglish meetingreadingconversation 614:15–15:00ClassIntegratedMusicEnglishScience meetingandcomposition activities 15:00–15:25Clean campus 715:25–16:10ClubsIntegratedHealth andEnglishHealth and andP.E.compositionP.E. activities 816:20–17:05EnglishMathematicsChineseScienceEnglish reading Source:Yen Ping Junior high school, 2003, para 5.
Cram School
Most junior high students leave school after 5 P.M. Some of them go home for dinner and others continue their study at “cram schools.” These cram schools are examination-oriented private institutes which focus on drills and practices. Some students also choose English conversation lessons or science laboratory experi-ment classes. Parents have to pay approximately NT$2,640 (US$80) per subject per month. If one student takes three subjects at the cram school, the fees may run up to NT$7,920 (US$240) per month. This is a great burden for an average family in Taiwan.
A 15-year-old girl, Amy (see the attached photo on page 40), who just graduated from junior high school, mentioned in an interview that she used to fill in numerous examination practice sheets although these were not necessarily relevant to their daily learning. Amy accepted this reality as a natural course of learning at her secondary school.
On the other hand, there is not much homework at Amy’s former school.
Instead, the daily examinations replace homework. It is more likely that most students in her school are asked to prepare for the quizzes on the next day than do their homework.
Every new entrant to junior high school is required to take an IQ test and mathematics ability assessment. These test results serve as a foundation for normal distribution of class grouping. In the past decades, the MOE has been enforcing restrictions on ability-grouping in secondary schools in order to eliminate any discrimination against different ability groups. Presently all junior secondary schools need to comply with this policy. However, the reality is that some schools continue to engage in ability-grouping practices. For example, teachers of the subject areas may divide students into different ability groups for instruction and learning. It depends very much on individual teacher autonomy in the classroom. If a teacher is not competent enough, this streaming will result in unequal resource allocation among different ability-groups. Most teachers will teach a class in successive years from year 7 to year 9. Teachers from compulsory levels enjoy tax-free salary and social respect.
Amy’s former school is located in downtown Taipei. Amy considered herself lucky enough not to spend too much time playing video games or watching TV due to her busy daily school schedule. She wears glasses like most of her class-mates. She started developing myopia around grade 5. She does not enjoy leisure reading. She prefers chatting with her classmates on campus, playing around with friends from whom she gains recognition and inspiration for learning. Her father also provides her with pocket money though she is not keen to spend money except for lunch, bus fare, and so on. She mentioned once: “I don’t need much money to spend because I’m always at school or in the cram school and my parents will provide anything I need. So I don’t really spend money on my own.”
Even her mobile phone and the internet fee are paid by her parents. She is quite obedient to her parents. She has a mobile phone for the sake of communication with her parents, especially her father. Her life is very simple, mostly surrounded
by school, classmates, parents, brothers, and sisters. Unlike her classmates who spend a lot of time on MSN chat with friends, Amy only checks her e-mail once in a while and completes her homework with the help of Internet searches. In her mind, her best friends are those who can study hard and get high grades, and also know how to have a good time.
When asked “What if you were a junior high student again?” Amy replied,
“I would adjust my learning habits and make the best use of my time rather than idling.” Amy is determined to specialize in tourism or hotel management and this is partly a result of her mediocre grades in the Basic Competency Test. Amy laughed when being asked about her future plans. She said, “I’m very fond of playing. So the best way for me is to earn a living in the future by joining the recreation business, such as working as a staff in the hotel, in the airline company or in a restaurant.”
Regarding her daily schedule, she usually goes to bed around 11 P.M. and gets up around 6:30 A.M. She plays video games once in a while for relaxation as well as watches TV. In so doing, she does not have special interests except for killing time or joining her family activities. Amy seldom engages herself in sporting activities (typical to most Taiwanese students) although she takes two physical education classes (equals 90 minutes per week) for playing basketball, ping-pong, and other sporting activities on campus.
Survey Results on Secondary Student, Parent and School
According to the “Taiwan Education Panel Survey (TEPS),” junior high students spend more time with their parents every day than do senior high or college students. In addition, junior high students spend more time with their mothers than fathers. Nearly 58 percent reported spending four hours per day with their mother compared with 36 percent with their father. Compared with the groups which spend less than one hour with their parents, the more time they spend with parents, the better parent-child relationships they have (TEPS, 2005a).
Another TEPS indicates that 84.4 percent of junior high school students regard schools as a happy place, especially when the classroom climate is positive, and teachers are dedicated to teaching. In other studies, peer groups also have an influential impact on secondary students’ socialization. There is a positive relationship between peer atmosphere and their positive feelings about the school. According to the TEPS, the more a student studies with his or her classmates, the more fulfilled the student feels (TEPS, 2005b).
If the teacher has an encouraging and positive attitude toward students, and assigns students more learning tasks or homework, the student will feel more positive toward teachers. If teachers are indifferent, students will regard schools as an unhappy place. After all, students are concerned about their learning atmos-phere in the school. The more learning activities in the school, the more satisfied the students will experience. Campus security is another source of students’ hap-piness in the school. A supportive and secure campus environment will provide students with a better place to study in Taiwan (TEPS, 2005b).
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The experience of Amy does not necessarily represent the rest of secondary student population in Taiwan. However, it indicates how school practices, and competition within conventional Taiwanese schools reflect reform dilemmas.