Shaping of Teacher Professionalism in Taiwan: A Critical Review of Policies from Evaluating to Supporting Teacher Professional Development

Since 1990, the global political economy has undergone a dramatic change. National education policies and reforms are immersed in empowerment, efficiency, the market, competition, accountability, performance management, parental choices, and knowledge-based economy. Teaching profession has been influenced by this progression. Teachers’ professional development and quality assurance is seen as the core impact for the achievement of schooling, and has become the central focus of educational reform and the making of educational policies. Therefore, evaluating the professional development of teachers is an inevitable global trend. This paper aims to examine the development of school teachers’ professional evaluation/support systems in Taiwan, by means of document analysis, historical research, and theoretical analysis. First of all, this paper analyzes the different perspectives of teacher professionalism. Secondly, this paper critically examines the policies changed from evaluation of teachers’ professional development to support their professional growth in Taiwan. Finally, according to the discussion of teacher professionalism and the new system of teacher professional support, this paper analyzes this professionalism’s strengths and shortness, with a view to improve the practices of teachers’ support system in Taiwan.