Paper short abstract:

The development of indigenous education in Taiwan has been historically linked to the social circumstances of both Taiwan and the wider world. This paper involves how to put into practice the educational goal of ‘becoming an Atayal’.

Paper long abstract:

The formation and development of indigenous education in Taiwan has been historically linked to the social circumstances of both Taiwan and the wider world. The lifting of martial law in 1989 and the ensuing educational reform which emerged in the 1990s ushered in a new era of multicultural development within Taiwan, most notably development related to the needs of indigenous people for educational autonomy and cultural sustainability. According to Article 27 of the 2021 revised Education Act for Indigenous People in Taiwan, all public schools should now take into account the multicultural approach by incorporating indigenous history and culture into their curriculum.

Although Taiwanese indigenous education has thus become more diverse and autonomous in both form and content within the context of cultural politics and ethnic mainstreaming, a number of issues started to emerge around the 1990s and local indigenous schools in a number of counties across the country are still in the process of constructing their indigenous knowledge systems. The question of how to put into practice the educational goal of ‘becoming an Atayal’, as well as how to implement, appropriate, negotiate and practise indigenous knowledge, still remains unknown. In addition, as responsibility for indigenous education policies transfers from central authorities to local government, the ways in which local governments interpret, react to and designate appropriate and feasible educational programmes has become crucial. This paper involves a two-year ethnography, with the first year collecting Atayal ethnographic materials and the second incorporating them into school curriculum and practice.