Adapting Teach For America to Taiwan: A Case Study of Social Entrepreneurship in a Rural Educational Setting

This study investigates how the model of Teach For America (TFA) is localized to fit the educational and social context of rural Taiwan. Founded in 1989 using a social entrepreneurship framework, TFA recruits freshly minted college graduates as teachers for underserved communities. This case study of a rural school draws on classroom observations and semi-structured interviews undertaken with Teach For Taiwan (TFT) staff, TFT teachers, and TFT affiliated local school teachers and administrators during the 2019-2020 academic year. The findings are as follows: (1) TFT adjusted to the local context to survive and thrive; (2) the social entrepreneurship model in TFT was flexible and innovative; (3) TFT teachers were passionate and quick learners, albeit with limited experiences; (4) TFT’s five-week teacher training and the following professional development workshops and reunions were helpful, but it was substantially not enough; (5) “Teaching as Leadership” guideline of TFA worked differently in U.S. and Taiwan social contexts; and (6) the life and career trajectory after the TFT teachers’ two-year service term needs more follow-up research. This study offers recommendations on how to improve TFT teachers’ skills by offering more rigorous teacher training practice and mentorship programs, on how to provide more career benefits and career opportunities to attract diverse talents to join the TFT teacher and staff team, and on how to ensure clear communication and mutual transparency when it comes to the interaction with school administration and governmental officials. In sum, TFT helps facilitate the short-term teacher pipeline in rural Taiwan and bring living water and enthusiasm to the local schools and communities, but the issues of TFT teachers with limited experiences and the long-term sustainability are still the major concerns for future research and policy reformation.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Shen, Yu Chuan

Contributors dc:contributor

• Herrera, Linda
• Pak, Yoon
• Witt, Allison
• Martin, Jeffrey

• Teach For America
• Teach For Taiwan
• Social Entrepreneurship
• Rural Education

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Yu Chuan Shen

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/117672

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F117672