A CRISS-CROSS OF FORCES: THE POWER RELATIONSHIP IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING THE CITIZENSHIP CURRICULUM IN

Abstract

The citizenship curriculum used in Taiwan during the authoritarian period from 1949 to1987 sacrificed the individual for the national interest as a tool for political socialisation. Inthe wake of democratisation since 1987, the curriculum has gradually been stripped of itsnationalist overtones which were designed to foster ‘informed citizens’ to facilitate those inpower. The increased stress on the reflective and critical capabilities of the individualreminds pupils to examine their positions and roles in society instead of mechanisticallyaccepting the existing social structure. This article sheds light on the intricate internalexternalpower relationships and differing views on critical pedagogy among curriculumdesigners. Interviewed curriculum designers hold that pluralistic ideologies should bepresented in the curriculum and then room should be left for students to deliberate or judgefor themselves. As the gatekeepers tasked with deciding which information to include andbeing faced with the intervention of numerous internal and external forces, the CurriculumCommittee sided with the critical theory and aimed to break the unreflective socialreproduction.