Post-colonialism perspectives on educational competition

Abstract

Educational competition has always been the puzzle issue of educational researches. In this article, I analyze several aspects of educational competition within the perspective of post-colonialism discourse. In the political aspect, Taiwanese education is linked with political power, to present the post-colonial spirit by continuing dynastic change. In the economic aspect, education is considered as an effective investment to increase economic prosperity and development. However, a successful post-colonial revolution could not ensure that education and the economy would therefore develop in tandem. In the cultural aspect, racial/cultural differences are easily regarded as the result of educational achievement differences. Schooling praxis could also enlarge the educational advantage gap between the majority and minority. In the spatial aspect, education is a colonized space, no matter whether in curriculum knowledge or in pedagogical praxis. However, beside the binary opposition's perspective, there also exists a third space. These spaces are in competition with each other. In the conclusion to this article, the development and application of post-colonialism discourse in education and research topics of educational competition will be clearly stated. Inspirations and reflections on educational research from the post-colonialism discourse perspective related to Taiwan will also be presented.