Compare Educational Experiences in the UK and Taiwan Doris, Wan Ling Kuo Dept. of Comparative Education National Chi-Nan University

Introduction  Aim-Understand what do British and Taiwanese people think of their education.  Research Method-Questionnaire  Key Words- “ Educational Purposes ”, “ School Curriculum ”, “ Teaching Methods ” and “ Satisfaction in Education ”.  Result-Different aged people care about different levels of education;  Different degrees of satisfaction in education in each country.

Educational Purposes  In the UK, at compulsory level  1.provide students with as many opportunities as possible for them to discover the world;  2.teach them to enjoy life;  3.develop the basic abilities of learning;  4.cultivate the sense of art and music;  5.pass exams

Educational Purposes  In “ Higher Education ”,  1.getting a good job in the future,  2.encouraging students to keep learning, think independently and critically.  In Taiwan,  Pass exams  Heavy pressure on students;  Lack the ability to think critically and have less creativity.

School Curriculum (focus on compulsory level)  In the UK, the strong points of the curriculum are  1. the curriculum now is quite nice and flexible;  2.it ’ s changing for the better;  3.it ’ s broad enough for students to develop many kinds of abilities.  The weak points of the curriculum are  1.the broad and basic content of curriculum make it easier;  2.language classes should be started earlier.

School Curriculum (focus on compulsory level)  In Taiwan,  ten major subjects  seven areas  Difference  Different performances in international test  TIMSS

Teaching Methods  In the UK,  discussion and team work  teachers tend to lead students to think, explore and complete tasks by themselves.  In Taiwan,  “ Exam all the time! ”  “ Teachers give, students take. ”

Satisfaction in Education  Most of the British people are satisfied with the compulsory education.  Issues  “ Catchment Area ”, “ Unequal educational choices ”, “ Common qualities of schools ”.

Satisfaction in Education  Few people are satisfied with the education now.  In Taiwan, students enhance their academic ability in cram schools mostly.  Teachers teach.

Conclusion  The four points I ’ ve mentioned above should be considered and discussed carefully by the government and they must do something to improve them.  We have to educate students to be well-developed individuals, for them to be able to compete with people in the wider world.