| Teacher education has been practiced for hundreds of years in Chinese society. Both sides of the Taiwan Strait, Mainland China and Taiwan, have shared a common history in the past. And yet, because of the different social environments at both sides, each has had its own path of development, and thus presents a different appearance.At the end of the 20th century, both Mainland China and Taiwan had undergone tremendous social transformation, and are facing global competitions among nations in the 21st century. They are employing all resources to promote the level of teacher education to enhance the quality and quantity of education in general. Hence, many discussions on the reform of teacher education were launched in succession and some of them already became official policies which, in turn, to guide the reform of teacher education.Today, the key to teacher education reform does not fall on the technique changes only, In fact, a new paradigm of teacher education in depth will influence the development profoundly, and we should not ignore it. Based on the awareness of the above mentioned, this research uses comparative study to probe into this subject. I hope, by comparison, to learn some strengths from each other and seek proper developments.This cross-straits comparative study focuses on teacher education paradigm. To keep the result of this research more objective and feasible, various methods such as comparative study, investigative research and case study are applied, so as to combine the significant strengths of both the quality research and the quantity research. This research tries not only, from the theoretical aspect, to investigate the patterns, inter-relations, changes and reconstruction of the teacher education paradigm, but also, from the practical aspect, to explore the realities and ideals of teacher education reform at both sides of the Taiwan Strait. After drawing from the local as well as international experiences, there are five patterns of teacher education paradigms to be discussed in this research: "competence-based paradigm", "practical/pragmatical paradigm", "investigative/ inquiring paradigm", "reflective/critical paradigm", and "social reconstructionist paradigm. To prevent the bias of this research, I also applied a multiple approach.After four years of research, the conclusion points out that openness and excellence are the common goals of teacher education reform for both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but they are being practiced by different strategies. Mainland China and Taiwan are quite different in ordinances, curriculums, teachings, teacher internship and in-service education. Furthermore, from this research we can see that the teacher education paradigms at both sides of the Taiwan Strait are changing, and each has a gap between the ideal and the reality which need to be filled up.Finally, drawing from the result of this research, I would like to make some suggestions regarding the improvement of the teacher education paradigm at both sides of the Taiwan Strait.First, in the aspect of theoretical development: 1) Adopt a multiple teacher education paradigm approach to extend the horizon of research. 2) Focus on "research/inquiry paradigm", and keep on creating and developing. 3) Emphasize on the application of different paradigms according to the different stages of teacher profession development. 4) Choose different paradigms according to different schools' needs and teacher's duties.Second, in the aspect of policy formation: 1) Pinpoint the position of teacher education. 2) Establish a perfect teacher certification system. 3) Upgrade teachers' educational level and quality. 4) Expand the channels and ways of in-service education. 4) Carry out the schoolteacher ranking system.Third, in the aspect of academic practice: 1) Exert the advantages of education in teacher colleges. 2) Value the curriculums of teacher professional courses. 3) Develop each school's special features of cultivation.4) Enrich the models of teaching. 5) Value the hidden curriculum.
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