Chia-Nian Lee
Taiwan Experimental Education Center, National Chengchi University
Tung-Liao Cheng
Department of Education, National Chengchi University
In the 1980s, many among Taiwanese public was trying to pursue a goal of pluralistic educational practice rather than continue with the mainstream education system. Parents, scholars, and teachers who were dissatisfied with the mainstream education system founded alternatives schools that lacked manpower and resources but were nonetheless successful. According to the data, female founders played important roles in the early history of these alternative schools. This is quite unique when compared to the traditionally male-dominated educational administration field and even with the early history of alternative schools in Europe and America. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the roles of female founders in the history of alternative schools in Taiwan and the meanings within. This study implemented an open-interview method to document the life of Li Ya-Qing, founder of the Seeding Experimental Elementary School. Results show that, besides the external environmental factors, Li’s role as “mother/parent” was a major defining factor that drove her to start the first experimental “parent-founded” in Taiwan.
Keywords: alternative school, experimental school, female founder, Li Ya-Qing, seedling experimental school