Educational Reforms in Post-Revolutionary China and Taiwan: A Comparative Study of Contrasting Paradigms.

Despite many differences, both China and Taiwan have given priority to a variety of education reforms since 1949. With a U.S. model and aid, the Taiwanese educational system has largely achieved the 15 percent enrollment threshold identified by Hayhoe as required to support economic expansion. In China, major reforms of the 1970s and 1980s leave China, at 10 percent of that target, short of the threshold. Comparing both nations, this paper adds significant data to Hayhoe's four indicators of quality: (1) role of private institutions (2) gender equality; (3) scientific focus; and (4) prevalence of short-cycle versus 4-year institutions. A fifth indicator, the role of government, is included. In both nations, private schools contribute to stratification and inequalities in higher education. Women confront substantial obstacles in both, though with fewer students and educators in higher education, women seem worse off in China. Both nations focus heavily on science, with Taiwan largely successful, and China risks "technocracy" by neglecting the humanities and social sciences. In Taiwan, short-cycle schools largely promoted equality and industrialization and are now in decline, while in China, short-cycle schools no longer promote greater equality even as they proliferate. Centralization in both implies ideological controls and pressures in education. Although female enrollment is roughly equal, China risks losing gains in equality from the Mao era. In China, reintroduction of standardized entrance exams and the end of guaranteed employment promote nepotism and a decline in rural schools and women's participation. (Contains 14 references.) (TEJ)