Purpose

In recent years, there have been severe teacher shortages in rural areas. Teach For Taiwan (TFT), a non-profit organization modeled after the renowned Teach For America, aims to address this issue by recruiting and training college graduates to serve as temporary teachers in rural schools. The current study aims to evaluate the efficacy of TFT intervention in rural areas and to address several key questions regarding rural education.

Design/methodology/approach

Collaborating with TFT, this project combines survey research and experimental design, and focuses on a total of 35 rural elementary schools, including both TFT partner schools and nearby non-partner schools, to evaluate the impact of TFT interventions in rural areas. The survey was conducted in two phases: the first wave at the start of the C4 teachers’ tenure (September 2017) and the second wave at the end of their mission (June 2019).

Findings/results

The research findings are as follows: (1) Children who experienced two full years of instruction from TFT teachers showed a significant positive impact on their "self-efficacy.", compared to other children, but no significant differences in "interest in learning," "learning motivation," and "self-concept". (2) The growth in "teaching efficacy" in partner schools was significantly higher than that in non-partner schools during the second wave. This was attributed to the mechanism of "teacher professional development". (3) Comparing between the two survey waves, changing teachers in the second year had a significant negative impact on various aspects of children’s education, indicating the importance of teacher stability. (4) The presence of a "teaching certificate" may have a positive impact on students' self-concept, but it does not have a significant effect on the other three dimensions. There were generally no significant differences between pre-service and in-service teachers regarding the aforementioned dimensions. Teacher seniority had a negative effect on certain aspects of students' learning growth. Senior teachers were less able to enhance children's interest in learning and had a detrimental effect on children's "self-concept."

Originality/value

This research provides a comprehensive evaluation of the organization's effectiveness using rigorous research methods and sheds light on some issues related to rural education. It serves as an example for future policy evaluations.