Influences of Government and Market Mechanisms on the Development of Teacher Education Institutions in Taiwan

This article first performed a brief review on the history of teacher education in Taiwan to understand the transition of teacher education policies and the evolution of teacher education institutions. Then it interpreted the development of teacher education in relevant and nonrelevant contexts. Finally, this article investigated the influences of government and market mechanisms on teacher education institutions.Through document review, this article presented that following the introduction of the amended Teacher Education Act in 1994, teacher education institutions operated under a diverse, reserve, open, and relaxed market-based system, and prosperity was consistent with market supply and demand. In addition, market-based logic was advantageous during this time, and government control of teacher education institutions was relaxed or nonexistent. However, control of teacher education returned to the government following amendment of the Teacher Education Act in 2002. Therefore, market mechanisms never substantially influenced the teacher education system in Taiwan.