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In this study, we use village-level data to examine the impact of geographic proximity on inequality in higher education. We define higher education oases as the area collectively constructed by all the universities within a 15-km travel distance radius from research-intensive universities. Based on the coarsened exact matching method, we identified villages with comparable socioeconomic statistics that differed only in terms of their proximity to highly concentrated higher education resources, thus mimicking a treatment and a control group. Evidence based on this quasi-experimental design shows that villages located in higher education oases have a significantly higher percentage of residents aged 25-34 who have earned a master's degree or above compared to those not located in higher education oases. However, there is no significant difference in the percentage of residents aged 20-24 with a bachelor's degree or above between the two groups of villages. This study sheds light on the impact of the geography of opportunity on inequality in higher education in Taiwan.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among homework time, homework frequency, and learning achievements of Taiwanese students. Applying a 2-level hierarchical linear modeling on the TIMSS 2007 and 2011 data, our findings were as follows: (1) Within the context of TIMSS 2007 and 2011 students, the frequency of mathematics homework positively predicted mathematics learning achievements; (2) Within the context of TIMSS 2007 students, the amount of time spent doing mathematics homework positively predicted mathematics learning achievements. (3) Among TIMSS 2011 students, homework time in mathematics of 1 to 15 minutes, 16 to 30 minutes, 31 to 60 minutes, and 61 to 90 minutes all could positively predict mathematics learning achievements of Taiwanese 8th-grade students, except for homework time more than 90 minutes. It revealed that in relation to mathematics homework time, too much homework might be as bad as not enough.

Researchers have suggested that transformational leadership is an important aspect of effective schools; however, whether the effects vary across related studies and the robustness of the overall effect size remain unclear. A meta-analysis technique was used to synthesize the results of 28 independent studies and to investigate the overall relationship between transformational school leadership and three measures of school outcomes. The study found that, in terms of the mean effect sizes, transformational school leadership does have positive effects on teacher job satisfaction, school effectiveness perceived by teachers, and student achievement. (Contains 7 tables.)

In response to the international trend of educational decentralization in recent decades, many elementary and junior high schools in Taiwan had adopted sub-budgets of the "subordinate unit budgets" in the Local Education Development Fund for years so as to develop school-based budgeting. Furthermore, with the decline in birth rates and the need of enrollment, the establishment of specialist schools has been encouraged nationwide in Taiwan since 2007. These specialist schools took advantage of specific geographical and cultural features to develop their localized educational features so that their educational competitiveness and qualities could be enhanced. The major purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships among school-based budgeting, innovative management, and school effectiveness in Taiwan's specialist schools. This paper adopts a questionnaire and employs structural equation modeling for the purpose of analysis. Innovation is a determining point whether schools can make progress or not. The results of the study show that innovative management conduces to direct enhancement of school effectiveness. Moreover, innovative management will be carried out more smoothly when school-based budgeting is performed positively. However, it was surprising to find that school-based budgeting cannot enhance the school effectiveness directly. Instead, it can promote the improvement of school effectiveness indirectly through innovative management.