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Enlightenment grounding period

Special education in Taiwan began and led by Western Missionary and Japan colonial government

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Event:
Pastor William Campbell of the English Presbyterian Church establish "Youth for the Blind" which is the first institution in Taiwan to implement Braille education for the blind. However, it was forced to temporarily close in four years because of Japanese occupation in Taiwan. (gjtaiwan, 2017)

Impact:
The institution located in Tainan city. It's the first time the blind in Taiwan was able to learn the Bible, arithmetic, crafts, etc.

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Event:
The fourth Japanese governor in Taiwan suggested to the Japanese government that education for the blind should be resumed again. At the same year, Tainan Cihui Yuan was established in Tainan (southern Taiwan). It was a "Ministry of Education" which focus on educating the blind, the study period is five years for general subjects (self-cultivation, Mandarin, arithmetic, gymnastics, singing) and three years for technical subjects (Japanese massage ). In 1927, Taipei Municipal Qi Cong School was established in northern Taiwan to cultivate the deaf and the blind under Japanese colonial rule.

After the ROC government relocating to Taiwan, the Fengyuan Branch of the Tainan Provincial School for the Blind and Dumb was established in Taichung(central Taiwan). (啞盲學校, 1931)

Impact:
This process officially laid the foundation for the development of special education in Taiwan. In the following years, more and more public and private special education school was founded since then.

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Experiment promotion period

According to our constitution in Taiwan, since 1947, ‘’all citizens shall have equal opportunity to receive an education.’’ All children of school age from 6 to 12 years receive free primary education.

In addition to special education schools, general schools have also begun to pay attention to the needs of special education students and run special education experimental classes in same school.

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Policy:
Nine-year National Education Implementation Regulations was passed. The rule 10 clearly stated: "For physical disability, mental retardation and the gifted and talented children, should be given special education or appropriate school opportunities."

Impact:
In this time, self-contained classrooms were established.  Students with disabilities were educated in separate facilities  in a smaller size than a general education class or a special education school.

Event:
- The first Special Education Association in Taiwan was finally established.
- Taipei City Fuxing Elementary School and Yangming Elementary School took the lead in setting up experimental classes for the gifted and talented education
- Zhongshan Elementary School in Taipei City took the lead in setting up a special education class for visually impaired  students.
- Hemei Renai Experimental School was established for students with physical disabilities.

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Policy:
The first special education regulation "Special Education Implementation Measures" was promulgated.

Impact:
In the next few years, it was a time when special education blossomed everywhere in Taiwan. People starts to take special education as a professional field. University begin to establish training program for current teacher, also have special ecucation department to train future teachers. Special education residential school  or self-contained classrooms was the train at that time. There were 29 schools in Taiwan at that time support special education students learning in resource class or pull-out support from general class in the same school.
Event:
- Taipei Teachers College (now National Taipei University of Education) established a teacher training program for  primary teachers to learn how to work with mental retardation students.
- Taiwan Normal University establised the first special education center.
- Changhua Normal University established the first Department of Special Education
- Xinxing High School established the first hearing impairment self-contained classrooms in Taipei City.
- Tainan City also established the first residential school for children or teenager who had mental retardation.

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Law establishment period

During this period, not only the learning rights and interests of students with disabilities have been guaranteed by the legal system, but also the education system and the flexibility of further education for gifted students have been expanded.

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Event：

Some community residents violently boycotted a care institution for children with intellectual disabilities, which known as ‘’Fengqiao Incident."

Impact:

This incidents led to hundreds of parents went toon to the street looking for more friendly learning community and finally promoted the birth of the special education law.

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Policy:
The Article "The Special Education Act" enacted and regulated the principles of promoting special education and protects the learning rights of special education students. (Ministry of Education, Republic of China, 2022)

Impact:
Students with disabilities and/or giftedness are under protection of law to receive appropriate education, fully develop potential, foster personality, and empower social services.

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The Ministry of Education revised the "The Special Education Act" and  added dysphasia, behavioral disorder, learning disabilities, facial disfigurements and autism to the categories of special education. (Ministry of Education, Republic of China, 1992)

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Event:
"National Conference of Mentally and Physically Disabled. Education" was held and completed Taiwan's first white paper on special education. (特殊教育網, 2022)

Impact:
People with disabilities in Taiwan are ensure full schooling and appropriate development.

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Policy:
"The Special Education Act" are revised again and expanded the categories of students with disabilities to twelve categories, and the categories of gifted students were also expanded to six categories, which are still used today. (Ministry of Education, Republic of China, 1997)

Article 3
Disabilities meant in the Act are referred to as physiological or psychological disorders, assessed and diagnosed by professionals to be in need of special education and related services, and categorized as follows:
A. Intellectual Disabilities.
B. Visual Impairments.
C. Hearing Impairments.
D. Communication Disorders.
E. Physical Impairments.
F. Cerebral Palsy.
G. Health Impairments.
H. Severe Emotional Disorders.
I. Learning Disabilities.
J. Severe/Multiple Impairments.
K. Autism.
L. Developmental Delays.
M. Other Disabilities.

Article 4
The so-called “giftedness/talents” by the Act is referred to individuals with excellent potential or outstanding performance and, after evaluated by professionals, demonstrating needs for special education and related services, categorized as follows:
A. Giftedness/Talents in Intelligence
B. Giftedness/Talents in Scholarship
C. Giftedness/Talents in Arts
D. Giftedness/Talents in Creativity
E. Giftedness/Talents in Leadership
F. Giftedness/Talents in Other Areas

Event:
The first government offical special education administrative was independent from the Department of Social Education. Also, municipalities and counties government have also established special education departments, as well as "special education student appraisal and school counseling committees." (特殊教育網, 2022)

Impact:
The purpose of the law ensure that by 2003, all young children with disability attending school at the age of 3. (Lovett, Haring & Kang, 2016) Also immediately promote Taiwan into the stage of inclusive education.

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The boom period
After 1997, the Ministry of Education first promulgated the "White Paper on Gifted Education" and "Special Education Development Report", and issued the revised "The Special Education Act." In the following year, students' demand has become the biggest goal of the future development of special education.

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Policy:
Taiwan Special Education Act was slightly revised again.
In article 51 ensured that protect special education students education and integration rights.

Impact:
This revised version improve the teaching quality and learning competitiveness. Specific practice helps special education students fully learn and adaptability. (郭又方, 林坤燦 & 曾米嵐, 2016)

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The number of special education students increased rapidly in two decades. According to the annual special education report in 2002, there were 78,594 special education students from K-12 in Taiwan. There were 4,186 preschool special education students, 56,893 primary special education students and 17,425 middle and high school students, including 34,434 gifted primary students and 9,670 gifted high school students. When it comes to 2020, 157,836 special education students in K-12, 13,695 college students.

Even though the inclusive education is widely implement from K-12 in Taiwan, there are some challenges coming out in this decade. Homeroom teachers mostly are lacking experience in an inclusion setting class and feel challenges to work with divse students and creating activities that include everyone. Therefore, pull-out support system with the aide from special education teacher is still needed in current classroom.

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Chang, Cheng-Fen & Wang, Hui-Ting. (2020). The Development of Special Education and Inclusion in Taiwan: An Example From Asia. 10.4018/978-1-7998-1431-3.ch009.

David L. Lovett, Kathryn A. Haring, & Ya-Shu Kang. (2016). Culture and Special Education in Taiwan. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 34, 12–15.

Ministry of Education, Republic of China (Taiwan) . (2019, April 24). The Special Education Act . Laws & Regulations Database of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://law.moj.gov.tw/ENG/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?pcode=H0080027

National Taiwan Normal University. (n.d.). 台灣特殊教育史 History of Special Education in Taiwan. 特殊教育網. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://web.ntnu.edu.tw/~498090023/about.html

郭又方, 林坤燦 & 曾米嵐 (2016)。 臺灣融合教育的實施與展望。 東華特教56期, 56(1)。

臺灣盲人教育之父，甘為霖牧師. 聚珍臺灣(gjtaiwan). (2017, September 8). Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://www.gjtaiwan.com/new/?p=52905

盲啞學校（今啟聰學校Taipei Municipal Qi Cong School). (1931). photograph, Taipei.