A Study of Japanese Colonial Education Policies in Taiwan – the Case of Language Textbooks for Elementary School.

• Main Authors: Hung-Wen Chen, 陳虹文
• Other Authors: Chia-Tung Wang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/63778628458398496526

碩士 === 國立中山大學 === 教育研究所 === 89 === The major purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between Japanese colonial policies and colonial education, and its impact upon the contents of public elementary school and the language textbooks. Through a variety of analyses, the study intended to discuss the issues relating to the formation and implementation of Japanese colonial educational policies in Taiwan, and to prove the colonial elites to reproduce specific Japanese cultural values, political orientations on the minds of Taiwan’s children in public elementary school. This study, based upon the result of review of related literature and documents and the analyses of the contents of public school’s language textbooks, traced several controversies in the formation and implementation of Japanese colonial educational policies during the occupation period. To deepen the researchers’ understanding of the process, some in-depth interviews of educated people aged over 70 were also conducted. The final conclusions were reached through the combination of these three steps of explorations and some suggestions have been achieved. The conclusions of this study were as follows: Ⅰ. The implementation of colonial policies is based on the extent of how the colonial education was practiced. The goals and intentions of colonial elites could also be found in the colonial education policies. Ⅱ. The colonial education policies changed along with the needs of social situations in Taiwan and in Japanese, and perspectives of the key colonial elites. Ⅲ. The key components which the language textbooks were trying to brain wash Taiwan’s children were teaching Japanese language, moral education, knowledge and skills in life, the spirit of Japanese culture, and the development of healthy bodies in students. Ⅳ. The contents of language textbooks changed along with the changes of colonial education policies. The perspectives of colonial elites could also be found in the changing of shifts of emphases in the contents of the language textbooks. Ⅴ. The formation and implementation of colonial educational policies in Taiwan are based on Japan’s colonial policies, and the control of contents and their ideology in language textbooks were the major approaches. Two suggestions for further study were provided by the researcher as follows： Ⅰ. Suggestion for related studies Based upon the conclusions of the study, interested researchers can deepen their understanding of the topic by analyzing textbooks of other subjects, extending the study’s span to include elementary schools in 1941-1945, and conducting more oral history interviews. Ⅱ. Suggestion for comparative studies The conclusions of this study could be the starting points for the researchers to conduct a comparative study the contents of school textbooks in Japan, Taiwan, Manchu and Korea during the colonial period.