New book chapter on exploring indigenous practices and experimental education policy in Taiwan
Published: 9 July 2026
Colleagues Sarah Anderson, Yulia Nesterova, and PGR student Chen-Hui Lui have published a new book chapter titled Decolonising Taiwan’s multiculturalism: exploring the practices of indigenous cultural heritage under the experimental education policy. In Decoding Multicultural Education in Asia: Prospects and Challenges for School Development.
Colleagues Sarah Anderson and Yulia Nesterova, and PGR student Chen-Hui Lui have published a new book chapter titled Decolonising Taiwan’s multiculturalism: exploring the practices of indigenous cultural heritage under the experimental education policy. In Decoding Multicultural Education in Asia: Prospects and Challenges for School Development.
Taiwan has embraced multiculturalism to address the inequities and injustices faced by its diverse population, including recognised Indigenous peoples, resulting from colonialism and nationalism from 1624 to the late 1980s. An array of policies and laws now support multicultural reform, including the 2014 Enforcement Act for Non-school-based Experimental Education, which enables the development of Indigenous-led schools that move beyond Han-centric education to prioritise Indigenous languages, knowledge, and cultures. These schools are set to reduce rural-urban disparities that perpetuate Indigenous poverty and underdevelopment and to transmit Indigenous heritage. However, these tasks remain challenged by the prevailing mainstream norms and standards. This chapter analyses three Indigenous experimental schools in Taiwan to determine how they contribute to the decolonisation of multiculturalism in the country. Our findings from this qualitative content analysis reveal that despite attempts at decolonising schools to contribute to the decolonisation of multiculturalism, the dominant structures and colonial legacies persist and prevent foundational changes. Whilst this chapter presents the complexities of enacting decolonial multicultural reforms, building an Indigenous educational system may be a more thorough approach to enact decolonisation.
Liu, Cheng-Hui , Nesterova, Yulia and Anderson, Sarah K. (2026) Decolonising Taiwan’s multiculturalism: exploring the practices of indigenous cultural heritage under the experimental education policy. In: Decoding Multicultural Education in Asia: Prospects and Challenges for School Development. Series: Curriculum and School Development in Asia. Springer: Singapore, pp. 65-84. ISBN 9789819543472 (doi: 10.1007/978-981-95-4348-9_5)
First published: 9 July 2026
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