Effects of Article No. 450: Trends in Physical Education in Colleges and Universities in Taiwan From 1999 to 2018
Author: Chen-Te Hsu (Department of Recreation & Sport Management, Shu-Te University), Wu-Hsiung Chen (Department of Recreation & Sport Management, Shu-Te University), Tzu-Chun Weng (Department of Human Resource Development, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology), Mei-Hui Guo (Center for Physical Education, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages), Yu-Wei Lin (Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University)
Vol.&No.：Vol. 68, No. 2
Date：June 2023
Pages：103-135
DOI：https://doi.org/10.6209/JORIES.202306_68(2).0004
Abstract：
Research Motivation and Objective
Article 158 of the Constitution and the J.Y. Interpretation No. 450 (1998) of the University Act interpreted various freedom of teaching and university self-government principles. The Constitution and University Act allow universities to independently decide whether to offer physical education (PE) courses. PE courses must be offered in accordance with relevant laws. A decline in birth rates, university enrollment, university autonomy, and zero-credit courses have led to a reduction in compulsory PE courses. Martins et al. (2020) investigated PE in 54 countries and found that older students are less likely to engage in regular physical activity than younger students, highlighting the importance of maintaining exercise through the implementation of school-based PE courses. The present study examined the current situation and trends in the numbers of PE teachers in colleges in Taiwan following the introduction of Article No. 450. Additionally, laws, regulations, and systems were analyzed and relevant data was compiled to gain insights into trends in college-based PE courses.
Literature Review
The United States was the first country to include PE courses as a graduation requirement in higher education. In 1861, Amherst College began to require students to take PE courses during each year of enrollment, and several universities began to offer PE courses (Cardinal et al., 2012). By the late 1920s and early 1930s, approximately 97% of colleges and universities had PE as a requirement for graduation, and by the 1960s, 84% to 87% of schools included PE as a required course (Lumpkin & Jenkins, 1993). However, over the past three decades, in U.S. higher education, the percentage of schools that require completion of PE as a graduation requirement has declined (Hensley, 2000), and the percentage was as low as 39.55% in 2010 (Cardinal et al., 2012).
Since 1991, the Japanese government has granted universities the flexibility to determine whether the completion of PE courses is a requirement for graduation. Since then, up to 32% of universities have made PE courses elective, leading to a general decline in the physical fitness and social skills of Japanese students. Consequently, the Japanese government adjusted its policies. By the end of 2019, the proportion of colleges in which PE courses were elective had decreased from 32% (61.2% of private schools) to 27.5% (32.7% of private schools; National University Sports Federation, 2021). The policy change by the Japanese governmental appears to have had a noticeable effect.
The number of PE teachers is correlated with the energy available for research and teaching in the field.
Research Methods
This study analyzed the trends in the numbers of PE teachers in higher education in Taiwan. The study also examined the implementation of relevant policy measures. With a secondary data analysis approach, data on teachers and academic expertise were obtained from the List of Physical Education Teachers in College and Universities from 1999 to 2018. Trends and human resource structures at colleges over the past 20 years were analyzed. In accordance with the professional classification announced by the Taiwanese government, industry expertise is assigned a code by the National Science and Technology Council, whereas technical expertise is assigned a code by the Sports Administration of the Ministry of Education. The 20-year data set comprising 40,612 person-times was analyzed to gain insights into various factors, such as the number of teachers, their gender, their rank, and schools attended. To enhance the credibility of this study, we calculated coding reliability by using a percentage consistency formula. We then sorted the data and calculated percentages before preparing an online cross-analysis table (http://dataofsport.net/humanresource-taiwan/).
A limitation of this study is that only statistics on full-time teachers with PE expertise were collected; thus, the trend of human resources for part-time teachers could not be analyzed. Furthermore, the academic specialty of PE teachers is independently uploaded by each school and is not integrated with the school’s PE curriculum. Consequently, whether the content of these teachers’ teaching reflects their expertise cannot be determined.
Findings
This study found that: (1) Article No. 450 resulted in the number of college teachers increasing within the past few years, although the proportion of teachers who were PE teachers decreased each year; (2) the percentage of female PE teachers increased from 25.18% to 28.68%; (3) the number of PE teachers increased, but the number of teachers in technology and vocational education in public or private schools decreased; (4) because of the lack of clear standards for teachers in common disciplines, PE teachers have transitioned from teaching PE to teaching recreation and kinematics and have moved to independent institutes; (5) among the subjects offered, PE Course and Teaching was the most popular, followed by Sports Administration and Management and Sports Physiology. The number of sports-related literature, history, and philosophy subjects was low; (6) over the past two decades, among the areas in which teachers have technical expertise, the greatest increase was observed for physical fitness, whereas gradual decreases were observed for track and field, volleyball, and tennis. PE courses play a vital role in the development of higher education institutions, particularly as a subject that leads the formation of healthy habits among students.
Discussion and Suggestions
Substantial variation among the schools was present owing to each university having autonomy, ranging from the change of compulsory PE courses to the establishment of sports administration organizations and funding for sports. By indirectly comparing the trend in PE human resources with the reduction in compulsory PE classes, zero-credit courses, and downsizing through attrition, the results indicate that several universities fail to recognize the value sports. This study investigated the trends in PE human resources and discussed the process of reforming the personnel system. The introduction of Article No. 450 appears to have been a significant event in terms of highlighting the importance of PE courses. According to our analysis, over the past 20 years, PE teachers at private schools and technical colleges have been affected by several negative factors, such as overall educational reform, a decreasing number of students, a reduction in the number of PE courses, and an increase in the severity of private school operations.
This study proposed several solutions for addressing the aforementioned challenges in college PE. First, the professional image of college PE must be enhanced. Approximately 40% of PE courses (38.39%, 7,855 of 20,463) have titles that fail to represent the professional nature of PE teachers and the features of each individual college. Therefore, we propose that PE course titles be changed to better connect to the professional nature of PE teachers. Second, referring to Japanese experience, guiding sport morale according to government policies is necessary. Since 2018, the Sports Administration of the Ministry of Education has granted performance-based subsidies for colleges and universities with three objectives: (1) to increase the number of compulsory PE courses, cultivate sports knowledge among students, and develop lifelong exercise habits; (2) to manage multiple sports activities and improve fitness among students; and (3) to provide students with sufficient space and adequate equipment and to activate a campus sports atmosphere. These objectives are designed to promote PE in college on the basis of public health and to improve public health through college education. Teaching PE in college is the most effective way to encourage the development of a healthy lifestyle and appropriate exercise habits among college students (Brock et al., 2020; Lounsbery & McKenzie, 2020). Therefore, we recommend that colleges should integrate human resources with PE to enhance knowledge among PE teachers, emphasize the professional nature of college PE, and create unique value in college PE courses.
Keywords：List of Physical Education Teachers in Colleges and Universities, low-birth-rate, secondary analysis