Transnational knowledge dissemination and recontextualisation : the development of British educational foundation disciplines in Taiwan, 1968-2013

• Main Author: Lin, Ren-Jie
• Published: University College London (University of London) 2014
• Subjects: 370.11; Humanities and Social Sciences
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.601323

The aim of this research is to discuss the issue of transnational knowledge flow, with special reference to the transmission and transfer of studies, doctrines and ideas of British educational foundation disciplines into post-1970s Taiwan. These disciplines are philosophy of education, history of education and sociology of education. The key question is how and why it was that British educational foundation disciplines were introduced into Taiwan largely and widely from the 1970s. By analysing official documents and publications and interviewees’ testimonies, some research findings are explored. First, Taiwan’s National Scholarship Programme for Overseas Study played an important role to improve the knowledge borrowing and employing of British philosophies of education and sociologies of education into post-1970s Taiwan, while it did not have the same influence on the history of education. Second, Taiwan government lasted to support this scholarship for postgraduates to study overseas in educational foundation disciplines from the mid-1970s to the 1980s, while these grantees eventually changed to other educational subjects. After this period, more and more educationalists attained their doctorates on foundation disciplines in the UK since the 1990s, which produced the intensive academic exchange again between British and Taiwanese educationalists. Third, for Taiwanese educational philosophers, British Analytic Philosophy had its significant influence on the development of Taiwan studies of philosophy of education over these past forty years. For Taiwanese educational historians, they always had interests in some issues British educational historians were concerning. For Taiwanese educational sociologists, they attempted to recontextualise British educational sociologists’ theories and perspectives into Taiwanese educational settings, including research and practices. Fourth, on the process of the dissemination and transfer of British educational foundation studies into post-1970s Taiwan, Taiwanese educationalists criticised and reflected on this trend that borrowing and employing Western educational ideas into Taiwanese context is a suitable way or not.