Toward the end of 2006 the Taipei City Government Department of Education announced its stance of “one-guideline-one-version policy for Taipei City, Taipei County, and Keelung” and joint sponsorship of basic skills achievement tests for junior high school students. The issue has become a source of contention between the one-guideline-one-version group in one camp versus the one-guideline-multiple-versions group in the other.
　　By way of analysis of Taiwan’s social and historical developments and the political environments of educational reforms in the last ten-plus years, this paper has attempted to analyze the bone of this textbook policy contention. It was found that the so-called one-version vs. multiple-versions textbook policy is best analyzed from a political perspective. The Democratic Progressive Party (DDP) and the Kuomingtang Party (KMT) have vied intensively for control of constituent votes, especially in regard to education and curriculum policy. Specifically, the rivalry between the two political parties lies in “Chinese-ized education” versus “Taiwan subjectivity-oriented education.” In essence, the contention manifests a fierce struggle for power between the two political parties. This paper has served to analyze the intricate complexities entailed in this textbook version contention. It has also explicated the implications of the contention for curriculum policy making.

　　The policy of one-guideline-multiple-versions is built on the principle of deregulation, the baseline of educational reform in Taiwan over the past decade, but it has been criticized since its implementation. However, the problems resulted from the implementation of the policy more than the policy itself. Under the Grades 1-9 Curriculum Guidelines, curriculum articulation and entrance exams are thought to be the main problems of the textbook policy. To solve these problems, Taipei county and Taipei city governments plan to implement a ‘one-version’ policy.
　　There are plenty of arguments from different camps about textbook policy, but unless out-dated concepts about textbooks are revised, the debate will be pointless. This article first analyzes the positive and negative opinions of the one-guideline-multiple-versions policy, and points out some fallacies in ‘one-version’ policy, then argues for the reconceptualization of textbooks — textbooks could be various forms of school books, the textbook is not only the text for reading, and the textbook doesn’t have to be a traditional well-organized student book.
　　How could one textbook guide students to know the fast-changing world or enhance the development of the student mind? Only when the concept of ‘textbook’ is revised, will the meaningless dispute about one or multiple versions end, and alternative textbooks developed.

　　It has been over ten years since the textbook policy allowed private companies to publish textbooks (grades 1-9) in Taiwan. This study collected and reviewed newspaper reports on price-related issues of textbooks (grades 1-9) over the past ten years. By interviewing relevant persons on textbook development, price valuation and negotiation, this study also analyzed the consequences of price-related issues. Several conclusions and suggestions are proposed.

　　This paper aimed to develop technological problem solving activities from a functional model. After discussing technological problem solving activities in junior high school technology textbooks, the main findings were: (1)A linear model of technological problem solving often served as the basis for those activities; (2)Less use of scaffolding was made to support student learning; (3)Less creative thinking skills were taught; (4)The importance of redesign was not emphasized; (5)The class discussion focused little on experiences and processes of technological problem solving. Based on textbook analysis and literature reviews, a functional model of technological problem solving was proposed. Then an exemplar of technological problem solving activities was designed accordingly.

　　This paper aimed to develop technological problem solving activities from a functional model. After discussing technological problem solving activities in junior high school technology textbooks, the main findings were: (1)A linear model of technological problem solving often served as the basis for those activities; (2)Less use of scaffolding was made to support student learning; (3)Less creative thinking skills were taught; (4)The importance of redesign was not emphasized; (5)The class discussion focused little on experiences and processes of technological problem solving. Based on textbook analysis and literature reviews, a functional model of technological problem solving was proposed. Then an exemplar of technological problem solving activities was designed accordingly.