Teacher Education
In 1946, Taiwan Provincial Teachers College was designated as a training institution for secondary school teachers. Following the April 6 incident in 1949, Liu Chen, Chair of the Committee for Rectifying Academic Conduct and acting dean of the college, placed greater emphasis on students' life education and moral formation. The former involved flag-raising ceremonies and morning drills, freshman orientation, and daily routines managed by dormitory personnel. The latter fostered nationalism through initiatives such as strengthening education on Chinese language, history, and geography, as well as holding lectures on traditional Chinese culture.
The College held an annual Teacher Education Sports Week every March or April since 1948. Activities comprised on-campus speech contests, film screenings, concerts, school visits, poster presentations, sports galas, and science exhibitions. They were intended to convey the meaning and importance of teacher education and to inspire teacher trainees' dedication to national education.
Official Document of the Rectification Plan by the Committee for Rectifying Academic Conduct of the Taiwan Provincial Teachers College
Brief Record of the Preparations for the Opening Ceremony of the Teacher Education Sports Week (Taiwan Provincial Teachers College Journal, Vol. 2, No. 11, 1948)
"Looking back, the time I spent studying at school was indeed wonderful. Almost all students lived on campus, with the exception of those with a home in Taipei City. They already lived in Taipei, so there was no need to live on campus. Everyone else stayed in the dorms. Those of us who lived on campus had to get up early for the flag raising ceremony, though we often overslept, quite fun as well."
— Liu Kuo-Sung, Class of 1955, Department of Arts
"Students who stayed on campus had to attend the flag raising ceremony every day, while students who commuted had to arrive at school at seven o'clock in uniform for the flag raising ceremony every Monday. Those who commuted found this very tedious and would sometimes oversleep, but he (Liu Chen) was very insistent on this. You had to get here at seven o'clock and you had to wear your uniform, no exception. As it turned out, students got used to it, gradually developed a routine, and actually became more energetic."
— Lin Liang (Tzu Min), Class of 1952, the Chinese specialized training course
Faces of Faculty Members
In its inaugural semester, the Taiwan Provincial Teachers College had 76 faculty members including Dean Lee Chi-Ku, who also served as a professor of history and geography. The majority of the faculty members, 41 in total, graduated from Chinese universities, while the other 24 graduated from universities overseas. In 1947, the number of faculty members increased to 103, including 67 graduates of domestic universities and 36 who had studied abroad. Among those with overseas education, the largest group—29 in total—had studied in Japan. Among them, Chen-Tsai Lien-Chang, Professor in the Department of Chinese and Director of Student Affairs, graduated from Tokyo University of Literature and Science (now University of Tsukuba) in Japan and returned to Taiwan in 1947 to teach at the Taiwan Provincial Teachers College. After Liu Chen succeeded as dean in 1949, he successively invited scholars such as Sha Hsueh-Chuen, Liang Shih-Chiu, Huang Chun-Pi, Kuo Ting-Yi, Liao Chi-Chun, Ma Pai-Shui, Tien Pei-Lin, and Chen Ko-Chung to teach at the College—an impressive faculty lineup.
New Admissions
To meet the demand for secondary school teachers, a four-year specialized program was established and began admitting students in June 1946. In September of the same year, the seven departments as mentioned above were established, along with nine four-year specialized programs and a one-year specialized training course. The nine four-year specialized programs indicate the addition of physical education and music majors beyond the original seven departments, while the one-year specialized training course did not have any majors. The specialized training programs were designed to meet the needs of particular scenarios. Students who graduated from the former Taihoku Higher School or those with equivalent qualifications would be recruited.
According to the admissions standards established by the College's Admissions Committee, prospective students needed to pass a written examination, an oral interview, and a physical examination. For the written exam, a score of 65 or higher was required for admission. In the first semester, the College admitted a total of 484 students, 70% from Taiwan and 30% from other provinces.
"Once I finished the exam, I stopped thinking about it. Well, one morning, while I was still asleep, someone knocked on my window, saying, 'Ah! Chin Ching-Yun! Chin Ching-Yun! You passed the exam! You made it!' Oh! I jumped up. My sister and I hugged each other, spinning around the room in excitement. My sister exclaimed, 'Ah, we finally have an answer for mom and dad!' I felt as though all the unhappiness and gloom of the past two years had been swept away. To put it in a more literary way, 'I felt as happy as a sailor finding land after navigating a battered ship through turbulent waves. Finally, the light of hope shines on my life.'"
— Chin Ching-Yun, who graduated from the Department of Music, Class of 1949, on gaining admittance to the College
Publicly Funded Benefits
Students of Taiwan Provincial Teachers College enjoyed publicly funded benefits such as full tuition waivers, as well as accommodation, uniforms, and books provided by the government.
"At the Teacher's College, everyone lived on campus. Our food, lodging, bed sheets, clothes, and pocket money were all publicly funded ... since we were state-sponsored students, the school provided all our meals. When it was mealtime, everyone would line up with their bowls, wait for the student in charge of supervising the kitchen to mark their meal tickets, and receive their food."
— Chen Ching-Jung, who graduated from the Department of Art, Class of 1952
"My mother wanted me to study at the Department of History of Tunghai University in Taichung. However, I considered our family's financial situation and realized that the expensive tuition of a private university like Tunghai was far beyond what my father's meager military salary could afford. So, I decided to stay in Taipei and study at the state-funded NTNU."
— Yang Yun-Yun, who graduated from the Department of History and Geography, Class of 1959
Internship
Internships are an essential part of teacher trainees' professional training, enabling them to gain experience in classroom instruction and learn practical methods of academic administration.
The 1949 issue of Taiwan Provincial Teachers College Journal included the "Outline of the Internship Program for Graduates of Taiwan Provincial Teachers College". This stated that internships consisted of school visits, observation, teaching practice, and administrative practice. "School visits" refers to visits to schools, academic administrative agencies, and social education institutions to better understand actual teaching and administrative practices. Both "observation" and "administrative practice" were conducted at the Provincial Department of Education and the Affiliated High School of the Teachers College (now the Affiliated Senior High School of NTNU), with the aim of leading teacher trainees to exchange insights ahead of trial teaching. "Teaching practice" involved trial teaching sessions carried out at the affiliated senior high school.
"We didn't have comfortable cars back then. After a long ride on the slow train, we had to walk to the school to observe classes, spending most of the day on our feet. At night, we slept in the classrooms. It might be hard for students today to believe, but I remember when we went to Tainan Teachers College, a dozen or so of us were crammed in a single wooden classroom, with just a few blankets lent to us by the school."
— Huang Jin-Hong, who graduated from the Department of Chinese, Class of 1950, on off-campus teaching observation trips led by Professor Chang Wei-Ying
"I got a thorough understanding of just how rebellious yet endearing the students at the Affiliated Senior High School were during my senior year off-campus teaching practice. I couldn't find any chalk upon entering the classroom, the eraser was hidden on top of the blackboard, the podium was constantly being moved around, and students rushed to ask questions, never hesitating to heckle or interrupt their teachers."
— Huang Yun-Yun, who graduated from the Department of History and Geography, Class of 1959
Graduation and Degree Conferment
Article 6 of the Regulations Governing Teacher Colleges stipulates that teacher trainees must complete four years of coursework, write a graduation thesis, pass the graduation examination, and complete a fifth year of internship to obtain a diploma and be awarded a bachelor's degree. Article 25 of the Academic Regulations of Taiwan Provincial Teachers College stipulates: "From their fourth year onwards, students of provincial teacher colleges must write a graduation thesis under the guidance of their department chair and thesis advisor. Only after their thesis passes review may they graduate." Article 26 stipulates: "Students who have completed the required courses and credits are permitted to take the graduation exam." The graduation exam, in turn, prescribes that "Students must take examinations in three major specialized subjects studied during their previous years of coursework. Those who fail shall not be permitted to graduate."
After graduation, students of Taiwan Provincial Teachers College were required to remain at their assigned internship schools to fulfill their obligated service corresponding to the number of years they received public funding as students. Article 26 of the Regulations Governing Teacher Colleges stipulates: "Graduates of teachers' colleges shall not engage in any position outside the field of education during the prescribed service period. Otherwise, they shall be required to repay all benefits received during their years of study. However, in special circumstances approved by the Ministry of Education, the service period may be postponed."