The extension of an early childhood teacher education program in Taiwan: A case study of educational change

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to describe and analyze the process of change of the first 4-year early childhood teacher education program in Taiwan. An attempt was made to examine the school culture of Taipei Municipal Teachers College where the target program is housed in order to see what influences precipitated the extension of the target program.; Informant interview, informal observation, and document analysis were the major tools adopted for gathering data. Triangulation was employed as a research strategy to minimize bias and increase the veracity of the findings. There were 29 students, 22 faculty and staff members, and 8 administrators interviewed within an 8-week period. The observation settings included classroom and dormitory activities, administrative, departmental, and student association meetings, and student assemblies. The documents came from four sources: the target program, the target college, the Bureau of Education of Taipei City, and the Ministry of Education, Taiwan, Republic of China.; It was concluded that: (1) the extension of the first 4-year early childhood teacher education program in Taiwan was the result of three interactive factors, namely, the manifest transformation of an emerging field of early childhood education, the theory and practice of the change process, and the unique characteristics of Chinese culture; (2) both school culture and Chinese culture played an important role in shaping the implementation of the extension; (3) the lack of fully developed strategies and instruments for change was a critical factor which had an impact on both the initiation and implementation process; (4) significant changes in educational functions and relations have to be forged in the context of overall social, economic, and political relationships that characterize the policy; and (5) in order to minimize tension and conflict, program participants needed to be involved in the process of planning and decision making and share a common sense of the meaning of change.