Background of the Study

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

In the beginning of 21 century, Taiwan eventually joined World Trade Organization in 2002 and became a member of it after 12 years’ endeavor. The landmark symbolizes that Taiwan has a closer relationship with other countries. It influenced significantly not only in economy, politics, but also in education, because of four open policies that foreign schools can station their branches to the

post-secondary/vocational high school level in Taiwan, can offer cross countries distance teaching service, can set up short-term cram schools, and can offer study abroad service (Shiu，2001).

Background of the Study

The goal to be educational exporting country

Accompany with WTO, many developed countries, such as Australia, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States export their education to Taiwan (Yang，2002). The advantage is that due to interference, the competition of domestic educational industry will enhance quality of education.

Higher education, introduce of foreign academic system will accelerate the internationalization and globalization of colleges and universities. However, the drawback is to make many of our TVE schools operate more difficultly, because they have problem of lacking of students originally, but now they even have to compete with foreign schools (Department of Technologic and Vocational Education，2003).

The most important spirit of WTO is setting an equal competitive environment

(Meng，2000). Therefore, since foreign schools can set their branches around the

world, we can also work hard to change our position from “education importing

country” to “education exporting country”, because it is the best way to resolve the impact(Yang, 2002). Many domestic enterprises transfer their factories to Mainland China and Southeast Asia, so exporting our education to there and offering

educational opportunities to children of Taiwanese businessmen or locals is a feasible way.

One of the major educational policies-international cooperation

From 1997 to 1999, Ministry of Education (MOE) initiated many international cooperation projects and activities to accelerate the plans of cooperation with foreign schools. In 2000, MOE assisted domestic schools of technological and vocational education to cooperate with foreign schools indeed. MOE not only revised “Guideline of Application for Grant of Vocational Education and International

Cooperation/Exchange Project”, but also enacted ”The Applied Memorandum for subsidy of International Cooperation in Colleges and Universities of Technology”

and ”The Applied Memorandum for Subsidy of Enrollment of Foreign Students in Technological Colleges and Universities” in 2004 to be the criteria of international cooperation. MOE prepared to group “International Cooperation Consulting

Committee of Vocational Education” to be the basis of international cooperation and

established the exclusive website, “Information Center for International Cooperation

and Exchange” to integrate related information of MOE and every school. From 2002,

MOE offered scholarship to appeal excellent Southeast Asia students to study in

Taiwan, and revised the laws to allow domestic TVE schools to set up classes and

enrolled new students in Southeast Asia countries. The action confirmed not only our

education exporting product, but also the market. However, these activities all need

support from relevant policies or relaxation from restriction.

Six reasons to choose Vietnam

Six reasons are divided into six fields- politics, economy, military affairs,

society, education, and culture (Yang, 2003).

1. In politics, the politics in Vietnam is stable and their policy toward Taiwan is friendly.

2. In economy, Taiwan is the largest investment country in Vietnam and investing in Vietnam can disperse the risk to invest in Mainland China.

3. In military affairs, Vietnam is the main military country in the south of Mainland China.

4. In society, the rate of Vietnamese brides grows most quickly.

5. In education, Vietnam wants to introduce Taiwanese technological and vocational education model to help transfer its industry.

6. In culture, the similarity between Taiwan and Vietnam in life and culture facilitates the integration.

Although Vietnam does not establish the official diplomatic relationship with Taiwan, Taiwan economic development is learned as the example. In addition, technological and vocational education that contributes greatly to economic development is even the foundation for development of Vietnam.

Choosing technological and vocational education as product

Among our educational system, technological and vocational education is the most suitable one to export to other countries, because the system is comprehensive.

In terms of the vertical view, we have a sequence of advancing channel from the vocational high schools to phD. In the horizontal view, no matter vocational high schools or University & Institute of technology offer over one hundred subjects.

The advantage to invest in Vietnam is for the cheap labors, but operators always

perplex that high-level managers are hard to be obtained and the quality of the labors is not good. Establishing RD teams for small and medium enterprises in overseas is quite difficult, because of the differentiation of race/culture and their low localized ability in Vietnam. In order to resolve the dilemma, Taiwanese small and medium enterprises in Vietnam should cooperate with technologic university in Taiwan which used to cultivate high-level RD talents by undertaking industry and education

partnership. Taiwan-Vietnam international cooperation of technological and vocational education can satisfy the demand of cultivation of talents for Taiwanese companies in Vietnam. The target is to undertake all sorts of skill practical training and cultivate professional specialists and firm the investment foundation further.

Statement of the Problem

Taiwan is going to transform the position of the educational importing country to the educational exporting country after joining WTO. However, international cooperation confronts with problems in several aspects, like cross-culture problem, and policy problem. In cross-culture aspect, foreign students always have language, life adaptation, and literacy differentiation problems (Lee，1999). In policy aspect, there are some problems shown as follows according to meeting records of

“Consulting Committee of international cooperation of technological and vocational education in MOE” (1999).

1. Insufficient funding

2. Problem of verification & recognition of Vietnam educational qualifications 3. Obstacle of related regulations and laws

4. Inadequate support from superior administration

According to Chen (2003), the post-WTO-entry strategies rank in decreasing

importance:

1. Governmental policies

2. Application strategies of expenditures 3. Application strategies of life mechanisms 4. Application strategies of teaching and student

recruitment

5. Strategies of faculty qualifications

Thus it can be known that the first strategy to respond to WTO in higher education is to seek for support from governmental policy.

Policies are required to support the education exporting strategy. As promoting international cooperation, restriction of regulations is met sometimes, and it needs MOE and related departments to discuss to loose it. In addition, when TVE schools undertake international cooperation, it needs support from enactment. For example, MOE may need to revise or loose the policy to allow Taiwan vocational schools to set up their branches and enroll students in Vietnam. Otherwise, “Southeast Asia

vocational education exporting plan” is not only helpful for Taiwanese businessmen in Vietnam, but also good to domestic TVE, so guidance of policies is also needed.

These problems in Taiwan-Vietnam international cooperation of technological and vocational education on the policy side is waiting to be solved immediately.

Purpose of the Study

Accordingly, the main purpose of this study is to explore critical issues and seek for solutions in Taiwan-Vietnam international cooperation of technological and vocational education. In order to fulfill the purpose, the following major questions are addressed in this study.

1. What are the critical issues that are currently impacting on Taiwan-Vietnam

international cooperation of technological and vocational education?

2. What are the appropriate solutions that can solve Taiwan-Vietnam international cooperation of technological and vocational education present problems?

3. What is implication of this study? Can it feed back to the educational policy?

In order to answer these questions, the detailed purposes of the study are shown as follows.

1. Explore the categories of critical issues 2. Analyze the items in different categories

3. Analyze the relative importance of items in different categories 4. Explore the solutions after finding the top five critical issues

Significance of the Study

It is hoped that this study can explore most of the critical issues that

Taiwan-Vietnam international cooperation of technological and vocational education program has confronted by obtaining a consensus of opinion from a group of

respondents and find the solutions by interviewing with Taiwanese and Vietnamese educational policy makers. At a macro view, there are night significances of the study.

1. Vocational education schools in Taiwan have confronted with the problem of lacking students, because of the marketization of higher education.

2. Accompanying with joining WTO, vocational education in Taiwan faces the impact from foreign schools.

3. Education in Taiwan is attempting to transform the position from education importing country to education exporting country.

4. To respond to governmental toward south policy, vocational education in Taiwan goes forward to Vietnam.

5. Taiwan-Vietnam international cooperation of technological and vocational

education is one of the major educational policies.

6. Southeast Asia is an educational market, because Chinese teachers and schools can be offered for Taiwanese businessmen’s children there.

7. Technological and vocational education system in Taiwan is comprehensive, so exporting it to developing countries which need workforce immediately is feasible.

8. Due to similarity of race, geography, and language, Southeast Asia vocational education circle can be established, and taking Taiwan as the center.

9. Cooperating with foreign countries enhances reputation of Taiwan.

Delimitations and Llimitations

The study takes “Issues and Solutions in Taiwan-Vietnam International

Cooperation of Technological and Vocational Education” as the research subject. The study is delimited to an analysis of Taiwan-Vietnam international cooperation of technological and vocational education on policy side. Depending on responsive levels, therefore, it should be representative of the demographic characteristics of those institutions and stakeholders of the policy as they existed at the time of the survey.

With reference to the boundary of issues in Taiwan-Vietnam international cooperation of technological and vocational education program, this study focuses on the categories of funding, problem of verification & recognition of Vietnam

educational qualifications, related regulations & laws, and administration support related to the policy aspect.

The following limitations to the study were identified by the investigator:

1. The domestic related studies are inadequate, so it is difficult to collect information to complete entire review of literature.

2. With regard to the evaluation process of “Taiwan-Vietnam International

Cooperation of Technological and Vocational Education”, the study takes the evaluation of the policy stakeholders as the study way. However, due to limitation of research manpower, financial resource, and time, it is probably hard to

understand all stakeholders’ important demand, concern and questions in their heart. The data collection will not be entire.

3. Due to the limitation of the researcher’s personal ability, it is hard to gather every stakeholder in the same place to discuss and negotiate with the research topic.

Therefore, the researcher cannot know the immediate respondent result after the stakeholders’ communication.

4. If the opinion representatives or the key interviewees refuse to accept questionnaires or interviews under the invitation of the researcher, it will be certainly an unpredictable loss to the study and will also miss the critical and important research findings.

Definition of Terms 1. Policy

This is a course of action developed to guide administrators under given conditions in decision making (Logue, 1999).

2. Technological and vocational education

In terms of the target persons, the students in technological and vocational schools

are youngsters and adults. In terms of the teaching direction, technological and

vocational education offers students essential ability, knowledge, and skill to adapt

to the demand of the job in the real world. In terms of the educational extent, the

present situation of technological and vocational education in Taiwan includes

vocational high school, junior college, Institute of technology, and University of

technology (Tzeng, 2003).

3. Delphi technique

A research methodology developed by Dalkey, Helmer, and Associates (cited in Dalkey & Helmer, 1962). The Delphi begins with an open-ended questionnaire that is given to a panel of selected experts to solicit specific information about a subject or content area. In subsequent rounds of the procedure, participants rate the relative importance of individual items and also make changes to the phrasing or substance of the items. Through a series of rounds (typically three) the process is designed to yield consensus (Custer, Scarcella & Stewart, 1999).

4. Modified Delphi technique

Delbecq, Van de Ven, and Gustafson (1975) revised the traditional Delphi

technique. The modified Delphi technique is similar to the full Delphi in terms of procedure (i.e., a series of rounds with selected experts) and intent (i.e., to predict future events and to arrive at consensus). The major modification consists of beginning the process with a set of carefully selected items. These pre-selected items may be drawn from various sources including related competency profiles, synthesized reviews of the literature, and interviews with selected content experts.

The primary advantages of this modification to the Delphi is that it (a) typically

improves the initial round response rate, and (b) provides a solid grounding in

previously developed work (Custer, Scarcella & Stewart, 1999).