臺灣高等教育擴張中國家角色之分析

Abstract

本文旨在探討臺灣高等教育擴張中國家所扮演的角色，教育擴張是二十世紀的重要教育現象，經濟學者與社會學者都曾提出理論或模型，試圖對教育擴張的現象提出解釋，不過這些解釋基本上都忽略了國家對這些影響因素可能發揮的調節、轉換、甚至干預的能力，要瞭解教育擴張，乃至其他教育現象，不能夠忽略對國家角色的分析。本文利用國家中心論（the state-centered theory）的觀點，分析臺灣高等教育擴張中國家的利益、國家的強度（經濟力與政治控制能力），以及國家與其他社會機構互動的關係如何影響到臺灣高等教育自1951到1996年之間數量上的發展，所用的方法包括文件分析、文獻分析與訪談。本研考的發現指出臺灣政府對高等教育的規範有很長的一段時間是基於對政權穩定性與合法性的考量，國家本身的經濟與政治力量也影響到其控制高等教育成長的能力以及高等教育發展的型式；再者，國家與政治團體互動的關係，政策菁英及其脈絡、科層政治等國家面向的因素對臺灣高等教育的擴張也產生影響。本文最後強調，教育擴張的分析、甚至其他教育現象的分析，不能忽略國家的角色分析，瞭解國家對經濟與社會力量所產生的調節、漠視、干預、甚至重新定義的能力。

This paper analyzes the role the state played in the process of higher educational expansion in Taiwan from 1951-1996. Educational expansion is a major educational phenomenon in the twentieth century. Various economic and social theories have provided explanations on such dramatic educational movement. However, the author argues that these explanations are not complete without considering the role the state played in educational expansion. According to the framework developed by the state-centered theory, the state is capable of mediating, transforming, or even intervening with the influences of social forces. The state's capability of regulating the expansion of higher education is conditioned by its interests, its strength (economic and political), and its interaction with other social forces. Policy elites and their context as well as bureaucratic politics also affect the policy choices available to policy makers. Document reviews, literature reviews, and interviews were used to analyze the role the state played in Taiwan's higher educational expansion. The finding confirms that the state did play a critical role in influencing the patterns of growth of higher education in Taiwan. For a rather long period of time, the state regulated the pattern of growth of higher education due to the concerns about political stability and legitimacy. The state's financial conditions and its political strength also affected the pattern of growth of higher education. The interaction between the state and social forces was also an important factor influencing the development of higher education. Finally, policy elite and their context as well as the interaction within and among organizations shape the development of higher education, too. This paper concludes with a suggestion that educational policy analysis should pay serious attention to the role the state plays in shaping available policy choices.