The emergence and policy (mis)alignment of Teach For Taiwan

Thomas, M. A. M. and Xu, R.-H. (2023) The emergence and policy (mis)alignment of Teach For Taiwan. Journal of Education Policy, 38(4), pp. 686-709. (doi: 10.1080/02680939.2022.2095036)

Abstract

Teach For All (TFAll) is global network of programs based on Teach For America. Since 2007, TFAll has spread to more than 60 countries and had a considerable impact on educational policy across educational jurisdictions. Scant research, however, has examined ‘shadow’ programs based on this model but unaffiliated with TFAll, such as Teach For Taiwan (TFT). This paper engages in a critical policy analysis of TFT and examines both its emergence and (mis)alignment with educational policy. Our analysis first highlights the inspiration and support TFT has drawn from TFAll and its affiliate programs, despite its unofficial status. The paper then examines how TFT is aligned strategically with recent policy shifts toward deregulation in Taiwanese education. We also find that TFT is misaligned with key educational structures, including the national salary scale for teachers and teacher education system, resulting in a new category of transient teachers who are uniquely positioned in the teaching roles they assume but largely unable to continue teaching beyond TFT. We argue that more attention within education policy studies should focus on the impacts of (un)official TFAll programs – particularly given their disproportionate power and positioning to effect global educational change – and their (mis)alignments with national systems.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Thomas, Dr Matthew
• Authors: Thomas, M. A. M., and Xu, R.-H.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Journal Name: Journal of Education Policy
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• ISSN: 0268-0939
• ISSN (Online): 1464-5106
• Published Online: 11 July 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Author(s)
• First Published: First published in Journal of Education Policy 38(4): 686-709
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License