The shaping of academic culture in higher education in Taiwan: confucianism, historic legacy, and western influences

Abstract

Academic culture represents a distinct climate within academic institutions, such as universities or research institutes. This article depicts elements of academic culture of higher education in Taiwan. Academic culture in Taiwan is a mix of globalization, internationalization, religion, historic legacy, national policy, and local knowledge. The Chinese influence on Taiwanese higher education can be traced back to Qing and Ming dynasties. A contemporary challenge for higher education policy is to rethink the problems of pursuing world-class status, which requires that local practices of higher education resist and supersede the global movement. Higher education in Taiwan is finding its own versions of academic culture. Ethical concepts of Confucianism such as collectivism, patriotism, harmony of human relationship, and an individual’s responsibility for family and society and the core tenant of “Ren(仁)” influenced the academic culture of higher education in Taiwan, but it was consistently challenged and mixed with international standards and western notions of what was considered to be great universities and excellent scholars. Buddhism, Daoism, local folk religion, and Christianity are the main religions of Taiwan, and they not only integrated with local culture but also mildly influenced universities’ culture by spiritually and economically supporting higher education. The conceptual framework presented in this chapter focuses in on higher education epistemology rooted in Confucianism, as well as the influence of local and regional culture, in addition to international standards of higher education. A redefinition of academic culture of higher education in Taiwan is necessary to describe its mixed, hybrid, fluid, changing, and diverse nature, especially as it addresses modern higher education institutions. This chapter includes implications for the future studies that are needed to explore the academic culture of higher education institutions of Taiwan.