An Analysis of the History of Taiwanese Character and Moral Education (1949-2014) and Its Implications for the 12-Year Basic Education

The purpose of this paper was to analyze the history of character and moral education (CME) during the past 65 years in Taiwan to form a complete image of CME and provide suggestions for the formulation and implementation of the 12-Year Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines. Concretely, the researchers reviewed the documents and literature of CME and divided the history from 1949 to 2014 into three phases - the Martial Law Phase, the Post-Martial Law Phase, and the 9-Year Curriculum Phase. During the Martial Law Phase, although CME was taught as a stand-alone subject, it played a role in transmitting political ideology. During the Post-Martial Law Phase, the goal was to implement a student-centered curriculum, but the period was too short to achieve total transformation. During the 9-Year Curriculum Phase, CME was omitted from the Curriculum Guidelines and replaced by the ‘Character and Moral Education Improving Project’ proclaimed by the Ministry of Education. As a result, CME was passively infused into the curriculum during this phase. Finally, the researchers proposed several suggestions as follows: The centrality of CME should be emphasized in the National Curriculum Guidelines to correspond to the public’s expectations and current international trends. Concrete contents of CME should be actively incorporated into the Curriculum Guidelines of each learning area in order to ensure effective integration and applicable transformation. Also, CME should be fully implemented in the 12-Year Basic Education Plan and include values of social justice and multiple developmental strategies.