Rethinking the Taiwanese preschool vouchers

In this paper, the case of Taiwanese preschool vouchers is highlighted as an example of contemporary educational reforms. The main purpose of this paper is to reconceptualize how a particular new truth and various norms are subtly produced through the deployment of Taiwanese preschool vouchers. The analysis of this paper focuses on how different forms of governing strategies and mentalities are produced not only to regulate the field of early childhood education and care but also to discipline the parents while the parents become self-disciplined. Through the deployment of preschool vouchers in Taiwan, particular norms, such as a market approach to education, are constructed as a new truth. Therefore, throughout this paper, I assert that without problematizing and critiquing such formation of a new truth, we risk supporting a restrictive normative discourse to further marginalize the already excluded and disadvantaged groups of families in the field of education.
本文以台灣的幼兒教育劵為例，其主要目的在於探討與省思教育劵如何巧妙的建構出新的真理與規範來支控我們的認知。本文的目的在於了解教育劵的實施與推行，產生了何種新的規範與標準﹔深入的探討教育劵如何使政府介入並控制幼教領域，並同時經由此教育政策來規範家長，進而使家長接受新的教育理念，進行自我約束。經由幼教劵的發放，教育商品化與市場化已經被建構成為新的真理。因此，筆者提倡，我們若失去以反思的精神，透過批判的角度來評析一個新真理的形成過程，省思實施幼教劵所帶來的效應，我們便是冒著風險去採用一個受到限制、規範的政策，更進一步的將已經被邊緣化的弱勢族群排斥在新的體制外。 Copyright © 2006 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.