ERIC Number: EJ1220089
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0159-6306
EISSN: N/A
The Battle Hymn of the Activist Teacher: Taiwanese School Teachers' Resistance to Curriculum Changes
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, v40 n4 p573-586 2019
This article challenges the simplistic and reductive image of Taiwanese schoolteachers, and reveals their actions of resistance during the turmoil of the recent curriculum reform controversy. Despite the fact that teachers are not usually portrayed as progressive and revolutionary agents, in the face of the disputed curriculum revision in 2014, some Taiwanese teachers came forward to oppose its implementation through demonstrations, hunger strikes, and litigation. The wider public's attention to this issue and ensuing student movement can be attributed to these teachers' pioneering activism. By means of interviewing 12 teachers, this article explores activist teachers' political self-efficacy, the creation of their pressure groups, and their apprehension about fighting against the authorities. The recording of this teacher-initiated social movement demonstrates 'teachers as activists', and hopefully will inspire educators not to limit their influence solely to the classroom.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Elementary School Teachers, Secondary School Teachers, Educational Change, Resistance to Change, Activism, National Curriculum, Curriculum Development, Teacher Attitudes, Political Attitudes, Self Efficacy, Teacher Empowerment, Curriculum Implementation
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A