Eighty-four percent of respondents said that educators should harbor the “correct national identity” to be allowed to teach, a poll released yesterday by the Professor Huang Kun-huei Education Foundation showed.
The survey showed that 58.6 percent of respondents supported the Ministry of Education’s efforts to include topics related to national identity in elementary and high-school curricula, foundation chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) told a news conference in Taipei.
The poll showed 91.1 percent agreed that educators’ freedom of speech in the classroom is superseded by their responsibility to their students, Huang said.
Photo: Fang pin-chao, Taipei Times
Asked about a ministry ban on universities and colleges from interacting with institutions tied to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army or United Front Work Department, 56.6 percent of respondents were in favor of the policy, he said.
Foundation poll committee convener Kuo Sheng-yu (郭生玉) said a breakdown by region showed that 90 percent of respondents from the Yulin-Chiayi-Tainan region agreed that teachers should identify with Taiwan, topping all other major geographic areas in the nation.
The curriculum changes were supported by 62.3 percent of men, 66.2 of those in the Taipei-New Taipei City-Keelung region and 70.6 percent of those in the 20-to-34 age bracket, Kuo said.
The purpose of education is to cultivate modern people with an understanding of national identity and international perspectives, former deputy minister of examinations Lee Lung-sheng (李隆盛) said, citing the Fundamental Education Act (基本教育法).
Boosting national identity is necessary to promote Taiwanese solidarity and decrease the risk of an invasion, Lee said.
The survey results show that public opinion is in line with the legal responsibilities educators have, Lee said.
Most Taiwanese do not believe that freedom of speech entitles teachers to put themselves above national security or share their subjective political views with students, he added.
The poll showed that 87.6 percent of respondents agreed that the government should hasten efforts to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) education strategy.
It showed that 73.4 percent agreed with the ministry’s decision to stop demanding that elementary and high-schools teach subjects in English, excluding English-language classes.
The policies to improve AI and English-language education was well-intended, but education officials should be realistic about what teachers could achieve with the resources they have, Lee said.
The survey, which sought responses from Taiwanese aged 22 or older, was conducted from May 20 to 22 via landline.
It garnered 1,070 valid responses and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
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