Yuanher Robin Hwang,

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School Choice Under the Pursuit of Vertical
Distinctiveness in A Chinese Culture

• Yuanher Robin Hwang,
• Assistant Professor
• MingDao University Graduate Institute of Teaching
  Arts, Taiwan

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I. Preface
Taiwan ? difficult to establish non-mainstream
ideal-driven schools (IS) for alternative forms
of education (free, democratic (FD) education,
Montessori education,Waldorfeducation, etc. ) Why
? ?the rigid system ?the general public ?
parents ? activists (in establishing such
non-mainstream schools)
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Cultural differencein choosing schools among
parents

• ? Popular in West, Europe and North America
• the researcher take IS as windows to see what
  the mainstream culture is
• (cross-cultural adopted a qualitative paradigm
  of empirical studies)
• -- in the aspect of parental school choice in the
  social context of Taiwan .

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The specific items of difference between Taiwan
and the West what the Taiwanese mind might be ?
? How parents choose or not-choose FDIS for
their children ?
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FDIS in Taiwan
?From the West -not indigenous to the Taiwanese
soil . ?Struggle to drive the national spirit
away. ?Strive to gain back the territory of
civil society for educational freedom . ?After
about 20 years effort ?secondary citizenship
Out-system and Experimental legal status.
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Problem of IS in Taiwan

• No regular tax-subsidies ? became forced-to-be
  expensive noble schools.

Why most parents did not enroll their kids in
IS? Why the general public, law makers and
officials formed a deep structure of societal
conspiracy to IS, deserves a study?
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II. Research Question and Method

• The study focused on why parents choose or not
  choose to send their children to FDIS.
• Some questions to be explored .
• Employ a quantitative approach.
• This study surveyed 57 parents for the past two
  years effort .
• 48 parents who sent their kids to FDIS , a
  semi-structural interviewing guide was used .

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?Two such out-system projects ?

• Taipei City Self-initiated Learning project a
  school-within-school project
• The Holistic Secondary School project
• Parents transferred children in and out of
  Taipei City Self-initiated Learning project were
  also traced and interviewed
• (included as part of the 48 subjects).

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III. Result of Analysis -1

• Phase One
• Most people have quite positive toning about the
  perception of FDIS
• only 8 of them would send their
  children to FDIS
• (or by ratio, one out of seven)
• 24 of them said no to FDIS
• Another 24 indicated an un-decisive mode (with
  one unknown).

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? Positive images of these parents whose kids
were not in the FDIS
1) Students are happier, feeling freer. 2)
Schools (FDIS) are more humane, emphasizing
flexibility, diversity and self-initiated
independent learning.
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? Negative images of these parents whose kids
were not in the FDIS
1) Policy problem Too expensive. 2)Difficult to
return back to mainstream schools in the upper
level future adaptation after graduation .
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An important finding of this study
A very conflicting phenomenon
Most parents have a lot of praises on FDIS, but
they mostly do not want their children to attend
FDIS. ? Way-too-high tuition. ? The culturally
defensive disadvantage in vertical competitive
for distinctiveness of the FDIS, that turns most
parents away from enrollment.
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Monetary matter would then be easier to be solved
than the rooted cultural concerns .
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Socially constructed collective goals
The real difficulty
Vertical distinctiveness involves a cumulated
performance while horizontal distinctiveness
involves certain single subject areas or talents.
Individually constructed goals
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The result showed

• Parents 'concerns centered on the vertical
  distinctiveness or competitive advantage-enter
  good upper level schools/colleges .
• Childrens personal needs or traits are not as
  concerned.

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III. Result of Analysis-2

• B. Phase Two
• ?Parents of the two projects were interviewed
• 1.the Taipei City Self-initiated Learning project
• 2.the Holistic Secondary School project

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Parents who chose FDIS
1. Childrens individualistic needs ?personal
developmental necessity. ?adaptation problems in
traditional schools. ? traditional schools were
too rigid.
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Parents who chose FDIS
?Emphasized the ability process Stress
on horizontal distinctiveness (1)Interpersonal
skills (2)Self-awareness of potential
capabilities (3)Motivation of learning (4)Being
independent in daily-living skills and in
thinking (5)Finding students own learning
direction/interests (6)Organizing capability
(7)Sharpness in observation to environments,
etc.
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The following traits of traditional schools and
their parents

• 1).Worry about how to enter a good school.
• 2).The whole traditional system is an industry
  for educational competition.
• 3).worry about adaptation of FDIS graduates.
• 4).Traditional schooling is all about testing and
  scores.
• 5).FDIS are viewed as too heretical to
  traditional parents.
• 6). Parents would rather choose a safe way for
  their kids .
• 7). Tuition is not the main concern for most
  people it is the conceptual factor for not
  choosing FDIS for their kids.

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? Some amusing results ?

• Some of those who sent kids to FDIS about 50 of
  them, their own early educational experience were
  mostly unhappy, yet smooth.
• Graduates of FDIS they not only perform well on
  social adaptation, interpersonal skills, or
  fitting into the society, they out-perform
  graduates of traditional schools.

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IV. Summary
This study took FDIS as a pivotal point ?To
analyze the main educational culture. ?To
contrast the traditional beliefs with alternative
educational beliefs.
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• FDIS (which from /influenced by the
  post-enlightenment western culture )
• The cultural mainstream in education in Taiwan
  knowledge-based vertical distinctiveness .
• Pursuit of cumulative total achievement testing
  result sacrifice of the full development of
  individual abilities.

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