Policy formation of higher education in Taiwan

Therefore, policy entrepreneur may be a potential solution for alternative autonomy for universities since autonomy on operational affairs can’t facilitate universities to deal with the stagnation of higher education in East Asia. As World Bank (2013) points out five

disconnects of higher education system in East Asia nowadays, those disconnects are tough issues which universities should have innovative policy rather than adjusted operational autonomy to reconcile those disconnects, inclusive of (1) disconnect between higher education and employers (2) disconnect between higher education and companies (3) disconnect between higher education and research institutions (4) disconnect among higher education institutions themselves and the gap between higher education institutions and training providers (5) disconnect between higher education institutions and secondary

education. Thus, policy entrepreneurs who can introduce, interpret, and implement innovative ideas into public sector practice may be equipped with capability to propose innovative solutions for this dilemma.

Table 8 University autonomy in OECD, WB, EUA

OECD WB EUA

Owning buildings and equipment Borrowing funds

Spending budgets to achieve their objects

Deciding level of tuition fee Procedural autonomy

Organizational autonomy Financial autonomy Employing and dismissing academic staff

Setting salaries Staffing autonomy

Setting academic structure or course content

Deciding the size of student enrolment

Substancial

autonomy Academic autonomy Source: Adapted from (Berdahl, 1990; EUA, 2009; OECD, 2003; Raza, 2009)

2.6.0 Policy formation of higher education in Taiwan

This section presents policy formation in Taiwan via the theoretic development of policy process.

1. Stage of rational-comprehensive model

In 1970, rational-comprehensive model prevailed as a theory of policy process. “At the heart of this model reside a series of rigorous procedures that decision makers employ to calculate the cost and benefits of considering certain problems and pursuing alternative solutions” (MacRae & Wilde, 1979; McLendon, 2003; Simon, 1957).

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While major measurements in Taiwan from 1971 to 1985 are reviewed, the University Law, the Private School Law, the Junior College Law and the Teacher’s College Law were revised under the rationale of the central plan from authorities (Department of Higher Education, 2008). The roadmap from Taiwan’s government has great emphasis on the economic shift and development strategies of this country. Rational-comprehensive model explains well how the Ministry of Education in Taiwan formulated their policies from 1971 to 1985 since the central government in Taiwan focused on law revision to provide legal basis for all forms of education during that period of time.

2. Stage of incremental model and advocacy coalition

Lindblom (1959) characterize incremental model as a policy process as a long series of political, and only semi-analytical, steps with no clear beginning and ending (Cobb &

Elder, 1983; Lane, 1983). Under the constraints of time and information, policy makers often fail to reach rational-comprehensive model. They prefer to solve problem gradually but in time. In order to keep stability of politics, most policy changes become gradual fix.

Meanwhile, focusing on the participants in policy formation, Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith (1993, 1999) conceptualized that policy process is chiefly characterized by coalitions of policy actors. These coalitions, stable over time and sharing common belief systems, consist of elected officials, governmental agency staff, interest group leaders, media representatives, and researchers (McLendon, 2003).

In terms of higher education development, Taiwan stepped into expansion of economy and democracy from 1985 to 2000. Flourishing economy, social liberalization and democratization facilitated universities to seek their autonomy in 1990 (Department of Higher Education, 2008). University Law was revised again, but the revision no more relied on the rationale alone of central government. The appeal from stakeholders of was integrated; universities’ participation was made substantial by the articles emphasizing academic freedom and administration by academics. That stage exactly stands at the overlapping zone between incremental model and advocacy coalition framework.

3. Stage of multiple streams framework

In 1995, Kingdon (1995) offers a dynamic set of policy processes in his “multiple streams framework”. Unlike previous concepts of policy process, he propels that policymaking contains dynamic movements from problem, solution/policy and politics

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streams. The theory contends that these streams operate in a parallel manner, rather than a serial or sequential pattern. This framework presents the premise that a government is an organized anarchy with fluid participation, problematic preferences, and unclear technology (Kingdon, 1995; Zahariadis, 2007).

To Taiwan, there’ve been more interaction and diversification emerging in higher education policies since 2000. The major map planner for higher education, Higher Education Committee, consisted of faculties from universities and external experts. To higher education institutions, they have freedom to conduct intra-institutional and inter-institutional integration. In 2004, the Ministry of Education proposed

“Development Plan for World Class Universities and Research Center in Excellence”

and “Plan to Encourage Teaching Excellence in Universities”. Those projects provide competitive grant for recruiting excellent research or teaching development proposals from universities (Department of Higher Education, 2008). The hidden value from those programs represents a more dynamic and interactive policy process for higher education agenda. The policy process of higher education in Taiwan has become a dynamic system.

As figure 5 illustrates, from 1970 to the present, the pattern of policy formation keeps changing and the alteration corresponds to the theoretical development of policy process.

Thus, following the development of relevant theories, this study adopts “multiple streams framework” as the tool of analysis.

Figure 5 Policy formation of higher education in Taiwan Source: Author

Stage of rational-comprehensive model

1971-1985

Stage of incremental model and advocacy

coalition 1995-2000

Stage of multiple streams framework

2000-2015

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