A Study of the Implementation of a Computer Literacy Program in Taiwan
Liang, Heng-Cheng
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/69218
Description
Title
A Study of the Implementation of a Computer Literacy Program in Taiwan
Author(s)
Liang, Heng-Cheng
Issue Date
1988
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Troike, Rudolph C.
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Technology of
Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Abstract
This study was primarily concerned with the issues involved in implementing a computer literacy program in high schools (including general high schools, business schools, and technical schools) in Taiwan. The conceptual framework used in this study represented a synthesis of four perspectives identified in the literature regarding the nature of the implementation process, namely: mutual adaptation, backward mapping, penetration, and evolution. Guided by this conceptual framework, the study was undertaken to identify the issues occurring in the case of a top-down approach to educational policy implementation, such as found in Taiwan, and to compare these with the issues previously found in the bottom-up implementation of curricular innovations in the United States. Methods employed in this study were: a preliminary field visit to representative schools, a mail questionnaire survey of 662 computer teachers throughout the country, and interviews with students in four selected schools. Data analysis procedures included factor analysis, discriminant analysis, and a qualitative synthesis of teachers' comments and student interviews. Quantitative and qualitative data were then compared.
The results of the study indicated that there were six major implementation issues associated with the introduction of the program. These were: teacher training, management and maintenance, program objective, hardware resources, acquisition planning, and student access. Among these six issues, it was found that teacher training, and management and maintenance were two crucial issues in all schools, and that program objective was the most distinctive issue in accounting for the differences between the general high school and the vocational schools. The study also found that the computer literacy program, both for purposes of teacher training and the student learning in school, was treated as an isolated subject or "computer science," rather than as an integrated program of computer studies. Most implementation issues identified in the present study seemed to be closely related to this approach. To overcome the existing problems in the process of the implementation of microcomputer use in the schools in Taiwan, the study concludes that software development for instructional purposes is an urgent necessity to this program.
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