The Chinese National Government launched the Curriculum Standards for Kindergartens in 1929. After the government relocated to Taiwan, it served as the basis for kindergarten curriculum from the 1950s to the 2000s. In 2012, the Curriculum Standards for Kindergartens was replaced with the Temporary Curriculum Guidelines for Preschool Activities, which was later revised and became the “Curriculum Guidelines for Preschool Activities” on December 2016. It will take effect in August 2017 and become the curriculum guidelines for preschools in Taiwan.
　　Following examination of the revised Curriculum Standards for Kindergartens and development of the Curriculum Guidelines of Preschool Activities as well as many relevant issues from China and Japan, two perspectives were summarized. One is titled “Multiplicity and Unification: Reflections on the Changes of Taiwan’s Preschool Curriculum over the Past 70 Years”. The other is entitled “The Influence of Social and Cultural Change on Preschool Education Curriculum”.

　　Using collaborative action research, this study investigated the pedagogical practices in early childhood aesthetic curriculum of pre-service childcare workers. The author worked with three pre-service childcare workers as they applied visual arts, music, and drama into aesthetic curriculum in a mixed-age preschool class. Data was collected through such methods as classroom observation, worksheets, teachers’ reflection notes, teacher feedback, etc. Findings are shown as follows. (1) The aesthetic pedagogical practices employed included providing an aesthetic environment in accordance with the thematic curriculum and encouraging children to explore it, supplying a variety of arts materials as children were guided to perform and create art, and raising aesthetic questions and encouraging children to respond to and appreciate arts. (2) The pre-service childcare workers had to solve issues related to guiding children to respond and appreciate. They improved the situation using discussions with and suggestions by the research team. (3) The pre-service childcare workers’ aesthetic teaching skills developed professionally. This was especially true in terms of aesthetic curriculum design and teaching practice. Recommendations for aesthetic curricula and instruction for children, teacher education programs in early childhood education and care, and future research are discussed. It is expected that this research will be helpful to personnel in early childhood education and care.

　　With the improvement of cross-strait relations after the lifting of martial law, how Taiwan’s elementary and junior high school curriculum, especially the part related to civics, deals with the great changes in time and the social environment deserves more attention. In this sense, this article employed oral history and document analysis to investigate the changes that took place in civics curriculum and textbooks since the lifting of martial law. This study interviewed nine key persons who participated in the editing and review of civics textbooks. Their views and experience in textbook editing and review as well as the reference to relevant documents, including textbooks, curriculum standards, related books, and journals, are used to interpret the theory of knowledge and the curriculum perspective at that period of time. Major findings are shown below. The civics textbooks (1) deconstructed the authority of curriculum standards, (2) focused on the life experiences of students, and (3) placed more importance on the professionalism of education. Two insights have been gained from the study: (1) The civics textbooks are conditioned by gradually moving away from a top-down acceptance, but there is still room for improvement to reach a complete constructivism. (2) The civics textbooks tend to be based on both subject-centered and student-centered curriculum structures, and feature the purpose of social adaptation.

　　This study is a critical feminist analysis on the discourse of nation and its gendered power relations in history textbooks used in secondary schools in Taiwan. A sample selection of six textbooks used by students in grades 7 through 9 was examined. A study of the texts on world history, Chinese history, and Taiwanese history showed that the primary focus of history textbooks is the discourse of nation founding that extends into the discourses of campaign, heroic narratives, territory, and civilization. Intertwined with illustrations and written texts, history is represented as a history of nation founding, of war, of border dividing, and the rise and fall of civilizations. Male-centered desires were hidden behind the five discourses of nation, disclosing patriarchal identity, militaristic male violence, the cult-hero worship, and masculine space. Overall, the discourses of nation founding, territory, and civilization were misappropriated for the rationalization of violence, yet democracy and freedom were seen as the sweet rewards of male violence. This so-called “history” in the textbooks makes notes of triumphs rather than defeats, fame rather than pain, strengthens the fighting heart rather than pity. Such writing makes the goal of non-violence promoted by peace education difficult to achieve.