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Three categories of vocational education and training exist in Taiwan: technological and vocational education (TVE), public training (PT), and enterprise training (ET). Together, the TVE programs provided in senior vocational schools, junior colleges, and institutes/universities of technology constitute a complete system that parallels the academic education system. PT is provided through 13 public vocational training institutes that provide approximately 90 programs and 8,600 training slots annually. The institutes are affiliated with various government agencies and supervised by three administrative bodies. The main role of TVE and PT is to develop a diverse technical and managerial work force. Taiwan's Ministry of Education standardizes and promulgates the country's TVE curricula and revises TVE curriculum standards approximately every 10 years. The standards are currently being revised, and several research and development projects to improve the TVE curriculum design process are now under way. The possibility of bilateral exchanges and cooperation between Australia and Taiwan has been explored, and the following possible forms of cooperation/exchange have been proposed: exchange of information about innovations and experience in VET curriculum design and textbook development; joint studies of VET provision; and exchanges of VET teachers/trainers and student teachers/trainers. (English and Chinese versions of the paper are included.) (MN)

According to Taiwan's Teacher Preparation Law, anyone who has met the following requirements must pass certification examinations and internship to become a qualified vocational school teacher: graduation from a normal university or teacher college or other college or university with a major in a program designed to train vocational school teachers. A transcript evaluation approach is also in use. The preservice teacher preparation curriculum has three principal components: general/liberal coursework, technical/specialty coursework, and pedagogical/professional coursework. To help inservice vocational teachers develop their competencies, educational authorities offer many inservice professional training and development opportunities. In recent years, vocational teachers have been encouraged to make industry visits during summer breaks and take skill tests. Some problems confronting technical/technological and vocational education (TVE) teachers and vocational teacher education have been identified. The problem of an overabundance of qualified teachers in public vocational schools but a shortage in private vocational schools must be solved. More rational accreditation or evaluation of teacher preparation programs should be sought to ensure the high vocational teacher quality. TVE teachers must be required to have work experience in their specialization area to reflect industry and business needs effectively. (A Chinese version is attached.) (Contains six references.) (YLB)

In Taiwan, curriculum standards for senior vocational schools and junior colleges are administered and promulgated by the Ministry of Education approximately every 10 years. Curricula for institutes of technology are principally school based. As a result of critiques of the current top-down or administration-based approach system of curriculum standard revision, five technological/technical and vocational education (TVE) curriculum development centers have been established. Senior vocational curriculum standards are under revision to reflect the need to strengthen students' basic academic skills by expanding the provision of basic skills courses; relieve students' study load by lessening the number of required courses; and encourage school-based curriculum development by allowing schools to design a part of their curricula to meet local needs. Current junior college curriculum standards have been in effect since the 1995 school year. The main ways in which relevance of the TVE curriculum and its development can be ensured areas follows: critical exploring or planning processes must be completed before every curriculum standard revision; performance standards should be developed to guide TVE curriculum development; criteria must be set and evaluated conducted to guarantee effective curriculum development; a school-based curriculum should be implemented; and greater involvement of industry and inclusion of work-based learning should be pursued. (A Chinese language version is attached.) (Contains six references.) (YLB)