Sheng Yao Cheng

HELPING UGANDA'S STREET CHILDREN An analysis of the Model for Orphan Resettlement and Education (MORE)

With the help of theoretical paradigms of social behavior, we use both qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate a recent government‐initiated program for relocating and resettling orphans and street children in Uganda. We first describe this program, which we have called the Model for Orphan Resettlement and Education (MORE). MORE is an inventive approach in the battle against the problem of orphaned children living on the streets of urban centers in Africa. The government of Uganda has developed this model to effectively educate and re‐socialize children who have been living on the streets of the capital city, Kampala. We then analyze this program, highlighting both the positive and negative aspects, and suggest ways it can be adapted to be more effective and sustainable in meeting the needs of Uganda as well as other sub‐Saharan African countries that face similar problems.

American Indian and Taiwan Aboriginal education: Indigenous identity and career aspirations

This article investigates the interactions between identity and career aspirations among Taiwanese Aborigines and American Indians. While many similarities exist between the two indigenous groups, several differences remain as well. In comparing the identity issue between these two groups, this study shows that American Indians generally live in a more multicultural society than Taiwanese Aborigines. American Indian students do not experience the same degree of stereotype or racial discrimination from their teachers and peers as experienced by Taiwanese Aborigines. However, affirmative action policies are more favorable in Taiwan than they are in the United States. Drawing from a critical standpoint theory, we argue that families, tribes, and communities should play a more prominent role in the education of indigenous peoples.

Mapping Paradigms and Theories in Comparative, International, and Development Education (CIDE) Research

A number of theoretical paradigms provide a networking space for the trio and complementary fields of comparative, international, and development educational (CIDE) research. Critics periodically attribute the fields lack of a sound theoretical base or commitment to one area of scientific research or another as a primary weakness in the field.1 Espoused theoretical paradigms often provide the knowledge debate arena in which academic fields interact and build together. In an alternative perspective from this criticism, we argue that the strength of the CIDE field resides in its ability to combine multiple theoretical perspectives that offer researchers a variety of potentially fruitful metatheoretical analyses. Thus, we do not view this lack of theoretical specification as a weakness; it is the very fabric that enables CIDE educationists to study and represent increasingly complex global and local education systems.

Reflections from the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) and Its Influence On Education Research in Taiwan

Many scholars agree that there should exist a three-fold mission of research, teaching, and service for all higher education faculty members (Altbach, Berdahl, & Gumport, 1994; Astin, 1972; Chen, 2002; Clark, 1973; Hawkins, 2001; Henkel, 2000; Kerr, 1995). Together, these three pillars form a unique identity the work expected of most faculty members worldwide.

Metatheory in Comparative, International, and Development Education

Changes in travel, communication, and technology have continuously brought our world closer together. These changes have escalated in recent centuries and especially in the latter-part of the twentieth century and continue at a rapid pace at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Communicable diseases that were at one time contained within geographic regions are now able to travel at the speed of a single passenger to almost any place on the earth within a 24-hour time period.

Global Review of Indigenous Education: Issues of Identity, Culture, and Language

Introducing a topic as broad and important as indigenous education is difficult to do in a series of volumes, let alone in a single book. The focus of our book and this chapter is to highlight the interconnectedness of indigenous peoples in families, communities, nation states, and worldwide. We begin by defining foundational key terms (indigenous, indigeneity, and indigenous education) to provide readers with the standpoint from which we ground the focus of this book. We also introduce three issues of paramount importance to indigenous education—language, culture, and identity. The chapter also examines indigenous education literature from a global perspective as well as from six major geographic regions. Next, we introduce the 21 additional chapters in this book. Finally, a clarion-like call to action is made to indigenous leaders, policy makers, and educators everywhere to underscore the need that indigenous peoples have for representation, equality, and the ability to preserve their languages, cultures, and identities.

The Changing Role of Education in a Post-September 11, 2001 World: Perspectives from East Africa, Taiwan, and the United States

The aftermath of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001, impacted not only the United States but also the entire world. International economies suffered as the world was forced into a semi-critical economic recession. The foundation stones of democracy were challenged as terrorists targeted not only the United States, but also the symbols of the current capitalist ideology.1 Differences between people, nations, religious beliefs, ethics, and values are at the very heart of this new era in world politics. What role should education play in this international crisis? In this study, we examine the potential role education will play in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, by offering several perspectives from East Africa, Taiwan, and the United States. After providing these three international cases, we juxtapose the information presented and provide our recommendations and conclusions.

The Paradigm Shift on Quality Assurance of Higher Education in Taiwan

In post-war Taiwan, the operation of higher education institutions (HEIs) has gradually transformed from the state-dominated model to the self-operated along with the line of socio-political modernization. This chapter depicts the historical development of higher education in Taiwan which serves as the factor influencing the implementation of quality assurance in higher education including quality accreditation, quality control, and quality audit. It then moves forward to discuss the current higher education policies associated with the quality assurance, particularly the higher education accreditation in the program level since the year of 2006. Furthermore, currently the Ministry of Education (MOE) has started to encourage more and more of the institutional self-evaluation rather than quality accreditation from Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT). Focusing on the theme of quality assurance, the principal investigators adopt McDonaldization and Academic Capitalism as the theoretical concepts to figure out the pro and con of quality assurance in Taiwan’s higher education for figuring out the paradigm shift and seeking some possible niche for the future development.

Beyond the Cultural Turn: Indigenous Identity and Mainstream Identity

Stuart Hall, a prominent scholar of cultural studies, has noted that the discussion of the cultural turn tends to emphasize the importance of the definition of culture. To indigenous people all over the world, facing the globalized new world order means to reflect their own complex whole. Under the severe impacts of both the globalization and the neoliberal movement, indigenous people still struggle to deal with the controversy between their indigenous and mainstream identities. In this article, I first review the current research related to identity issues. Second, I interpret the current findings of indigenous identity. Third, I review the existing literature related to the issues of the life stage of identification in order to discuss the dialectic between tribal and mainstream identities. Finally, I conclude with possible ways to revisit the dual problem beyond the cultural turn.