Asia Pacific Education Review (2021) 22:53–66

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-020-09663-9

Transformation from traditional schools to alternative schools:

curriculum leadership of the principals of Taiwanese aborigines
Chuan‑Chung Hsieh1 · Huan‑Kan Tseng1 · Robin Jung‑Cheng Chen2

Received: 20 December 2019 / Revised: 1 December 2020 / Accepted: 3 December 2020 / Published online: 12 January 2021
© Education Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea 2021

Abstract
Loosened by the laws and regulations, Taiwan’s alternative educational policy has allowed public schools to conduct school-
wide curriculum transformation experiments, which is a possible opportunity for Taiwanese aborigines who have been
subjected to long-term oppression and assimilation to separate from the mainstream ideological educational framework. In
this change process, the school principal-led curriculum transformation has become an important way to seek a new edu-
cational model. This paper qualitatively investigates two alternative schools for Taiwanese aborigines that have undergone
successful transformation and collects the views of the principals, directors, team leaders, and teachers (eight persons in
total) in two schools on the school principal-led curriculum transformation. Through summarizing and analyzing relevant
data, this paper proposes that the principals of Taiwanese aboriginal schools effectively change the teachers’ beliefs, cur-
riculum structure, and school culture through the systematic practices of “belief change” and “structural innovation,” and
establish a curriculum paradigm different from mainstream education, which realizes a certain knowledge transfer effect.
The transformative curriculum leadership process can be summarized into the conflict awakening and positioning stage, the
experimental and interactive development stage, and the revision and transformation stage. This study intents to provide a
reference for Taiwan’s educational reform and encourage the principals of other alternative schools to picture the connota-
tion and value of transformative curriculum leadership and establish more new curriculum models of alternative education.

Keywords Alternative education · Taiwanese aborigines · Theory of communicative action · Experimental education ·
Transformative curriculum leadership

Introduction operations, organizational patterns, equipment facilities,

With many countries continually adapting their educational
system to social needs, the expectations for schools and their
principals are constantly changing. To serve more diverse
student requirements, for example, the decision-making
autonomy of schools has been increased through decentrali-
zation (Pont et al. 2008). In Taiwan, the newest initiative, the
Enforcement Act for School-Based Experiment Education
(2014b), encourages a certain percentage of public schools
to conduct nation-wide educational experiments, based on
specific educational concepts, to improve administrative
* Robin Jung‑Cheng Chen
robinch168@hotmail.com
1
Department of Education and Learning Technology,
National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
2
Department of Education, National Chengchi University,
Taipei, Taiwan
course teaching, student enrollment, learning achievement
assessment, student affairs, and counseling. This innovative
approach may change the entire culture of Taiwanese school-
ing. In this regard, some aboriginal schools are trying to
restructure the curriculum within the national educational
structure, creating an opportunity to institute their cultural
and educational beliefs.
Since the Dutch colonization in 1624, Taiwanese abo-
rigines have been ruled by different regimes, including
Chinese Empire, Spain, Japan and Republic of China, but
the continuous oppression and assimilation policies have
marginalized these indigenous people (Presidential Office
Building, Taiwan 2016). Through the operation of the
“knowledge discourse” production and reproduction mech-
anism, the rulers constructed a set of truth-based regimes
that controlled the subjects involved and established their
regime foundation (Foucault 1980). This hegemony has
resulted in an identity crisis and severe loss of culture

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54
and language among the aborigines. In recent years, the
implementation of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law has
not garnered much attention from government authorities,
so long-held stereotypes and discrimination of the Taiwan
society against the aborigines persist (Presidential Office
Building, Taiwan 2016). In this historical context, the leg-
islative implementation of alternative education in Taiwan
at the end of 2014 gave the aboriginal schools the power to
construct their knowledge discourse, providing a possible
opportunity for aboriginal education to break away from
the mainstream ideological educational framework. As a
result, the number of alternative schools for Taiwanese
aborigines in 2018 soared to 19 and has continued to rise
(Ministry of Education 2019). The transfer of the power/
knowledge pedigree has now focused attention on the pro-
motion and development status of alternative education for
Taiwanese aborigines.
From the perspective of value theory, the most impor-
tant task for alternative schools lies in their “experimental”
responsibility to develop, evaluate, and disseminate new
educational models, thus demonstrating the value of diver-
sified education (Dunn 1997; Stacey 1995). In implementing
such a structural change, the curriculum is a key instrument,
with curriculum leadership becoming an important avenue
for principals to develop new educational models. The cur-
riculum structure in Taiwan’s schools is often considered
from the perspective of mainstream culture, while ignoring
the subculture and potential needs of disadvantaged students
(Chen 2017a, b). Since the 1990s, through the discourse on
colonialism and the influence of multiculturalism, Taiwan’s
marginalization of aboriginal education has shifted from
textbooks centered on the Han ideology (the Educational
Reform Review Committee of the Executive Yuan 1995, p.
58) to the recent call by the aborigines for increased text-
book content on aborigines in the 12-year National Basic
Educational Curriculum Outline. By criticizing and sub-
verting the historical interpretation of Han ideology (Chang
2017), many scholars have been persuaded that the curricu-
lum design and practice of the aboriginal schools should go
beyond the national curriculum outline to establish an ideal
curriculum (Chen 2017a, b; Kim 2015).
However, to truly implement such a curriculum, the alter-
native schools for Taiwanese aborigines must overcome sev-
eral challenges. First, the educational authorities and schools
are often ensnared in the ideology of instrumental rationality
and performance thinking. To obtain experimental results
immediately, they choose a curriculum that can produce
educational outcomes in a short timeframe, while abandon-
ing the time-consuming and labor-intensive curriculum. As
a result, they are gradually drifting away from the concept
of experimental education (Liu 2018), hence showing that
curriculum transformation remains uninformed by student-
centered philosophical thinking.
13
C.-C. Hsieh et al.
Second, the alternative schools for Taiwanese aborigines
are weaker in terms of curriculum, pedagogy, and teacher
capabilities. The school curriculum emphasizes the bicul-
tural identity of “general curriculum” and “national curricu-
lum.” However, the design of the bicultural curriculum is
complex and burdensome. School teachers generally accept
the teacher training of Han culture. Although they have the
knowledge required by curriculum development, they lack
knowledge of tribal culture. Also, the tribal teachers who
can undertake national education have scarce experience in
curriculum planning and teaching activity design, which cre-
ates doubts about their teaching expertise. Consequently, the
educational system lacks the required concentration of abo-
rigines for reform (Chen 2017a, b). Moreover, these teachers
have long been part of the admission-based education and
management and have become accustomed to the traditional
habitus, such as oral teaching methods, exam-led teaching,
and educational rules centered on discipline and order. To
change this habitus is the greatest challenge facing alterna-
tive education (Hsu 2017).
The arguments outlined above are usually uncontested
but, in being taken for granted, form the so-called ideology
that proscribes public skepticism and constitutes the “social
reality” of the ordinary people (Huang 2007, pp. 198–199;
McCarthy 1978). Faced with these dilemmas, curriculum
leaders must challenge and change traditional school prac-
tices, adopt new leadership methods, empower teachers with
higher autonomy, and embrace different values (Shields
2009a). This is the concept of “curriculum leadership” that
this paper focuses on. As a dynamic concept, such leader-
ship advocates a learning style that fundamentally challenges
mainstream educational tenets. Henderson and Hawthorne
(2000, p. 15) called it “transformative curriculum leader-
ship.” The term “transformative” refers to the fundamental
changes, which means opposing deep-rooted beliefs and
social structures. In this process, principals must be aware of
the biased ideology of the curriculum leadership dilemma.
The theory of communicative action proposed by Jurgen
Habermas is invoked as a device to deconstruct the ideology
in the deep structure through the rationality of communica-
tion. This develops the discussion in an ideal communica-
tion situation (Habermas 1981/1984), providing a reference
perspective for reflection and criticism of the aboriginal
schools. This is very significant for transformative curricu-
lum leadership, especially given the history of oppressed
aborigines and the Taiwanese school scenes implied in an
ideological perspective.
This study investigates the principal curriculum leader-
ship of two aboriginal schools that have successfully pro-
moted the new educational model. Based on Habermas’s
theory of communicative action, this study invokes the
theoretical framework of transformative leadership (Hen-
derson and Gornik 2007; Henderson and Hawthorne 2000)
Transformation from traditional schools to alternative schools: curriculum leadership of…
and, from the philosophical and administrative perspectives,
analyzes how principals can create an ideal communication
situation through transformative curriculum leadership at
different stages, thus changing teachers’ national awareness,
curriculum structure, and school culture, hence achieving
the goal of systemic school changes. The findings from
the transformative curriculum leadership of the alterna-
tive schools for Taiwanese aborigines will help alternative
educational practitioners understand the concept of trans-
formative curriculum leadership and provide a reference
framework for policy revisions and principal curriculum
leadership practices.
Analytical framework
Theory of communicative action proposed
by Jurgen Habermas
The framework of modern society is based on an institu-
tional system formed by the spontaneous construction
of instrumental rationality (Habermas 1979). Habermas
believes that this system is imbued with ideology generated
by distorted communication, affecting the use of language
in daily life, and potentially hindering communicators and
rational thinking. Therefore, very little rational dialogue is
generated (Taylor 2019). He proposes a “theory of commu-
nicative action” based on the development of communica-
tive rationality. Aiming to re-establish human communica-
tion skills, it achieves the goal of autonomy and liberation
through enlightenment, reflection, and critical methods, thus
realizing the ultimate ideal of “rational society” (Habermas
1981/1984). In this process, if the communication process is
to proceed unhindered, Habermas believes that four validity
claims must be fulfilled: (1) the comprehensibility claim,
which means that the pragmatic meaning of interpersonal
relationship and the meaning of the propositional content
must be understood; (2) the truth claim, which means that
the truth as stated in the language and through action can
be recognized; (3) the rightness claim, which means that
the performance of standard language and action is recog-
nized as effective and correct; and (4) the truthfulness claim,
which means that the sincerity of the participating subject is
not in doubt (Lin 2019).
If the above claims are questioned, they must resort to
the rational discursive discourse (McCarthy 1978). Haber-
mas believes that the ideal dialogue situation is required to
realize the rational discursive discourse, which covers four
aspects (Lin 2019): (1) All the potential participants have
equal opportunities to use the communication language and
action to keep the dialogue open; (2) the dialogue partici-
pants must have equal opportunities to interpret, advocate,
suggest, prove, question, refute, and justify; (3) the dialogue
55
participants have equal opportunities to use expressive lan-
guage and action to express their attitude, feelings, and
hopes; (4) the dialogue participants have equal opportunities
to use statutory language and action, such as orders, permits,
prohibitions, and commitments.
Habermas’s theory of communicative action proves that
the goal of liberation is rooted in human communicative
action (Huang 2007). In the face of ideological bias, this
defaults to four validity claims in language and action and
constructs an ideal dialogue situation consisting of mutual
support, tolerance, questioning, and argument through non-
dominated communicative rationality so that human beings
can be freed from false ideology and establish a free and
rational social environment.
Concept of transformative curriculum leadership
proposed by James G. Henderson
The legal expansion that allows public schools to shift from
traditional education to alternative education has brought
new thinking and action modes to principal leadership. The
traditional management paradigm is designed for a stable,
linear, and predictable structured environment. This para-
digm, which has been extant in school administration and
leadership for a long time, is unfitted for a non-linear and
dynamic situation (Henderson and Hawthorne 2000). The
thinking orientation of the paradigm, while conforming to
the systematic curriculum perspective of the popular educa-
tional system, ignores the experience and process in which
teachers and students jointly construct and seek meaning
(Greene 1971). In fact, in this joint construction process,
teachers can feel recognized and respected, which builds
a strong sense of loyalty to schools and mitigates the chal-
lenges they face (Singh 2012; De Villiers and Pretorius
2011). Mafora (2013) further emphasizes that transformative
leaders must change the inequalities and marginalization in
schools, and create a more just and democratic school atmos-
phere, which is the primary concern of the transformative
curriculum leadership.
The idea of the transformative curriculum leadership
was first proposed by James G. Henderson and Richard D.
Hawthorne in 1995, derived from the Elaboration Theory
of Instruction proposed by Maxine Greene (Henderson and
Hawthorne 2000). Guided by the concept of progressive
education proposed by Dewey (Dewey 1938/1963), trans-
formative curriculum leadership is centered on the students
and constructs alternative perspectives on subject, self,
and social learning (Henderson and Hawthorne 2000). In
a leadership process involving a wide range of structural
and dynamic relationships between leaders and organiza-
tional members (Penceliah 2011; Quinn 2007), transforma-
tive leaders must be recognized as the controller (Snauwaert
1993) but transform internal beliefs derived from awareness,
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56
vision, and empowerment into motivation for change (Preece
2003), provide people with structural space to effectively
perform their tasks, and serve and support the organization’s
members rather than enhance their own power and status
(Shields 2009a). However, as this change requires great
effort, Henderson (1992) and Henderson and Hawthorne
(2000) begin from the philosophical and administrative per-
spectives in proposing the transformative curriculum leader-
ship theory to assist the transformative leaders in encourag-
ing their members to pursue an expanding educational career
with more exciting and elaborated roles:
(1) Philosophical perspective: focus on belief change.
Transformative curriculum leadership is democratic
and emphasizes that curriculum leaders are democratic
leaders who value the participation of school members
and embrace democracy. Second, transformative cur-
riculum leadership focuses on reflection and advocates
that teachers should keep conducting reflective explora-
tion, including ideologies related to race, gender, class,
oppression, differential treatment, negligence, and other
personal and social liberation concepts.
(2) Administrative perspective: focus on structural innova-
tion. Educational leaders must identify the problems of
traditional paradigms and their solutions and re-create
new cultures through encouragement, support, and
community awareness structures, including teaching
methods, curriculum design and planning, curriculum
evaluation, and school culture, thus recovering the
meaning, value, and fun in teachers’ working experi-
ence and students’ educational experience.
Fig. 1  Analytical framework of
this study
13
C.-C. Hsieh et al.
The foregoing shows that the two practical systems con-
structed from the concept of transformative curriculum lead-
ership are “belief change” and “structural innovation,” which
can be used as the theoretical framework of this study. The
“belief change” system emphasizes leadership action on the
democratic and reflective fronts, while the “structural inno-
vation” system emphasizes leadership action in the reform
of administrative operations, curriculum teaching, school
culture, and other aspects. In summary, the analytical frame-
work of this study is shown in Fig. 1.
Research design and implementation
This study explores how the principals of alternative
schools for Taiwanese aborigines can change curriculum
paradigms through transformative curriculum leadership,
which involves underlying issues such as school culture and
ethos. In-depth interviews were the main methodology used
for data collection to glean insights into the experience and
attitudes held by interviewees on curriculum leadership.
The researchers also observed the campus environment and
teacher-student interactions. The relevant written materials
were also reviewed, including the experimental educational
application plans, school curriculum plans, curriculum
development committees and executive meeting records,
and review materials for teaching excellence awards. This
study does not aim to find universally applicable rules, but
to gain new insights through data analysis and produce a
deeper and interpretative understanding of the school scene
(Fouche and De Vos 2005).
Transformation from traditional schools to alternative schools: curriculum leadership of…
The study conducted nonrandom sampling and collected
data for two public alternative schools for the aborigines.
Before the alternative education was legislated in Taiwan,
School A had explored and developed a new national educa-
tional curriculum for many years and obtained parental rec-
ognition by transforming to an alternative school. In School
B, the alternative educational model was affirmed by the
leadership of the Ministry of Education and teaching excel-
lence awards for instituting a variety of national educational
courses and undertaking a new teaching approach. In both
schools, over 90% of the student population is aboriginal and
over 60% of the teaching staff. Teachers have participated in
the alternative educational curriculum multiple times. The
interviewees included the principals, directors, team leaders,
and teachers of the two schools, totaling eight individuals.
The interview period lasted from August 2018 to February
2019, and each interview took about 60 min.
The interview outline was prepared based on relevant
research and literature, then reviewed by related experts for
further suggestions. The interview content was slightly dif-
ferent, depending on the subjects. The main content included
the following open questions:
(1) How do the schools form the current educational phi-
losophy?
(2) How do the principals of the aboriginal schools get the
recognition of teachers, parents, and tribes in terms of
the belief change?
(3) How do the principals of the aboriginal schools decon-
struct and change the curriculum development struc-
ture?
(4) How do the principals of the aboriginal schools conduct
dialogue and change in terms of the improvement of
teacher qualities?
(5) How do the principals of the aboriginal schools remove
the educational habitus in terms of teacher teaching?
(6) What changes do you think have occurred in the culture
and atmosphere of the schools and the tribes?
In the data analysis stage, the interview content was
first written into a verbatim draft, and then coded (such
as Table 1) and decoded. The coding principle is school
code + interview date + subject code. Decoding is a
Table 1  Description of data Source Data category
coding (in the case of School A)
School A Interview data
Observation data
57
technique and process for transforming data into concepts
(Strauss and Corbin 1990/1997), including concept review
and category development. In the concept review, the
researcher coded similar data into the same concept and then
reviewed all the concepts repeatedly until no new concept
could be iterated. Then, in the category development stage,
the same or similar concepts were summarized and inte-
grated into a period or a category. Such analysis was based
on iteration (Cohen et al. 2011), with the text of qualitative
research undergoing an interpretation process to express its
meaning (Denzin 1994). Finally, all the data were integrated
and interchanged with the literature to identify and describe
the concepts, categories, processes, and themes relevant to
the purpose of the study.
Research results and discussion
The data analysis showed that the transformative curriculum
leadership of the principals of the alternative schools for Tai-
wanese aborigines was manifested in two practical systems
of “belief change” and “structural innovation.” Based on
the process, this study categorized these systems into three
stages: (1) conflict awakening and positioning, (2) experi-
mental and interactive development, and (3) revision and
transformation. These were discussed separately.
Conflict awakening and positioning stage
This study uses words such as “destruction,” “deconstruc-
tion,” and “reconstruction” (Shields 2009b; Barrett 2012)
to explain this stage, including the recognition that some-
thing is awry, understanding the contextual factors that do
not focus on the choice of leadership path, the fundamental
transformation and creation of beliefs and values, taking
action, and other leadership decisions (Apps 1994).
Belief change
Perceive crisis and demands, perceive conflicts and cri‑
ses, and explore the unfavorable factors affecting national
development The principals must take into consideration
the environmental factors that affect the development of the
Coding mode Remark
A20180820P Interview records of the principal of School A
A20180927P Interview records of the principal of School A
A20180820T1 Interview records of the director of School A
A20180820T2 Interview records of the team leader of School A
A20180820T3 Interview records of the teacher of School A
A20180820V Observation records of School A
13
58
schools (Lee and Chiu 2017). Principal A was aware of the
loss of culture and, in response, tried to achieve commu-
nity consensus by renaming the school: “The former prin-
cipal wanted to restore the name of the school to the name
of our tribe after communicating with the parents during
the school transformation” (A20180820T2). Principal B
similarly focused on the conflict between indigenous culture
and mainstream society. For a long time, he has promoted
indigenous culture through multiple channels and lobbied
for people to become knowledgeable about their ancestral
culture (B2017 Principal Excellence Leadership Award
Report). The director also said: “The principal was very
attached to our native culture. For example, many of the cer-
emonies in our tribe were lost, but he slowly restored these
ceremonies” (B20180828T1).
In the interviews, the two principals expressed a strong
sense of national rejuvenation and were also aware of the
negative factors affecting the schools’ transformation and
development (A20180820V, B20180828V). They estab-
lished a vision for the future development of the schools,
which was one important leadership action leading to the
transformation of the aboriginal schools to alternative
schools.
Why are we here? Dialogue and reflection, the awaken‑
ing of the national awareness of the enlightening teach‑
ers However, to attain true liberation, the oppressed
must be willing to rethink their way of life and constantly
examine their role within oppression (Freire 1970, p. 60).
Therefore, Principal B constantly reminded teachers of the
crisis of indigenous cultural loss: “I often focused on the
teachers’ core intentions and the native crisis in meetings
or privately” (B20181012P). “The principal has been tell-
ing us: [If you do not do it today, there will really be no
nationality for us tomorrow!] For someone like me, who has
been studying outside since childhood, the impact is really
huge! If this culture disappears, I will be truly sorry for our
ancestors” (B20180828T2). The interest in teacher libera-
tion is rooted in communicative actions (Huang 2007, p.
135). The principal reminded the teachers at the beginning
of the transformation of the central issue—“Why do we
teach?” (Goodyear and Allchin 1998)—thus helping teach-
ers identify the issues related to native crises in the context
of oppressive culture, resulting in deeper awareness, awak-
ening, and action.
Structural innovation
Positioning the future of the school‑establish a clear national
educational concept and create its educational value Fos-
tering the vision and direction of the school is an important
function of a principal (Li et al. 2016). In leading the alter-
native school for Taiwanese aborigines, the principal needs
13
C.-C. Hsieh et al.
to first clarify his or her goal (A20180820P) and know the
development direction of the school: “The key is the princi-
pal. When the principal is very clear about the philosophical
view or the ancestral spirit of the ethnic group, the develop-
ment direction will be very clear” (B20180828P). Principal
B further believed that it was necessary to constantly rein-
force the educational value of the vision: “We have to insti-
tute a different educational approach, one that will change
the educational model of the aborigines in Taiwan or the
world. I see something very sacred in this, and I think this is
very important” (B20180828P). The principal, through hon-
esty, insisted on constantly influencing the organization’s
members to embrace similar ideas and values, which is
another important function of a principal (Sun et al. 2014).
The principals of both schools emphasized the need for
a clear native education philosophy and created a sense of
meaning in their institutions by developing a shared vision
(Leithwood et al. 2006). However, the principals experienced
some difficulty in conveying the concept of native education
to the teachers and the tribal parents (B20180828P). Get-
ting people to understand novel concept and to change their
mindset cannot be achieved in one attempt. Instead, success
is contingent on the principals’ professional persistence and
continuous dialogue to enhance mutual understanding.
Build consensus on national education through commu‑
nication and understanding Both schools emphasized
the importance of fostering teachers’ native education and
teaching beliefs. Thus, dialogue with teachers was an impor-
tant part of the process (Midwest Comprehensive Center
[MWCC] 2018). However, it was challenging to deal with
opposing viewpoints during the dialogue. Principal B said:
“There are still disagreements up to now. I will ask a col-
league or director who is more familiar with the individuals
to communicate with them, pull them up with the strength
of the group. If something drastic happens, I will ask them
to chat and help them solve difficulties” (B20180828P).
Principals must proactively pay attention to the different
perspectives and situations of the organizations’ members
(Sun, et al. 2014), so sincere tolerance and care were the
“supportive conditions” for the advancement of the schools
(Huffman and Hipp 2003). Providing individual guidance
was also crucial. The principals adopted appropriate strat-
egies for clarification and persuasion (Habermas 1979) to
directly enhance the professional conduct of specific teach-
ers May and Supovitz 2011).
It was also essential for the schools to communicate with
the parents (MWCC 2018). The identity and support of the
tribal parents were crucial (A20180927P, B20180828P).
School B sought parental approval through dialogue and
action: “The principal and the director conducted household
visits in every community from the 2013 school year. At
that time, some parents did not agree. Parents only wanted
Transformation from traditional schools to alternative schools: curriculum leadership of…
their children to study and get into a good school. There-
fore, when it comes to experimental education, they think
that their children are white mice and they are closed to the
new ideas” (B20180828T1). In response to such doubts, the
principal described one strategy used: “We invite parents
to go up the mountain together, hunting, picking wild veg-
etables, staying overnight, and taking class together. These
journeys will make parents feel confident about the schools”
(B20180828T3).
These responses show that the leadership of the two
principals embodied the importance of communication and
understanding. They achieved presupposed comprehensibil-
ity claims and consensus through speech action (Habermas
1979), which builds consensus, helps teachers, parents, and
tribes understand the working environment and constructs a
sense of identity (Gurr and Day 2014). All this wins support
from stakeholders.
Experimental and interactive development stage
The study found that true transformation was driven by the
intrinsic attitudes of the school stakeholders. Schools were
transformed into a connected, collaborative, and inclusive
system to achieve a commitment to democracy and actuate
personal values (Jill 2007). This was facilitated by compre-
hensive and flexible school leadership and interaction, which
integrated the unique qualities of the community into the
transformation process (Bell and Pirtle 2012).
Belief change
Democratic participation‑focus on democratic pub‑
lic dialogue and increase the sense of subordination
through actual participation The school is a domain for
public dialogue and communication between teachers, gov-
ernment, parents, and other educational stakeholders (Min-
istry of Education 2014a, p. 31). The road to democratic
dialogue is difficult and school members should continue
exploring ways to create a productive path and ethical life-
style (Dewey 1939/1989, pp. 100–101). This view was
reflected in how curriculum development was undertaken in
the two schools: “In each cultural course, we all get together
for a discussion. We will not let the course go to an organi-
zation. We discuss the school curriculum with everyone”
(A20180820T1). “We all discuss the matter together when
we compile the course. Members with more ability will help
those with lower ability. If you cannot compile the course,
we will use our module to teach you, and then you can
think about it. We grow together” (B20180828T1). Schools
enhanced teachers’ control and subordination of the cur-
riculum through dialogue and cooperation, with the teach-
ers bearing responsibility for the development process and
59
outcomes, which in turn enhanced their commitment to the
school (Moreeng and Tshelane 2014).
Also, the two schools involved the tribes in the curricu-
lum reform exercise: “We often share. Education is not only
our responsibility, and parents have to get involved. Tribes
and tribal elders have to get involved” (B20180828P). This
was the effect of “Invitation” and “Mirroring” (Schaefer and
Voors 1996). Subsequently, parents began to bring children
to do slate house models, make Christmas items, grow
peanuts, attend Mother’s Day, and participate in celebra-
tions and other activities (B20180828T2, A20180820T3),
expressing identity through action. The transformative cur-
riculum leaders of the two schools believed in the necessity
of establishing a professional community through public
dialogue and cooperation and revamped the traditional top-
down management approach (Henderson and Hawthorne
2000, p. 188). This communicative action course contributed
to the development of attitudes of self-reflective knowledge
(Habermas 1996), promoted spontaneous participation of
organizational members in public affairs (Bohman 1996),
and established a respectful, trusting, inclusive, and caring
work environment and lifestyle.
Reflection on educational habitus‑get rid of educational
habitus and help teachers practice the concept of national
education Public school teachers have long played the role
of transmitting mainstream values and, in adhering to this
standard role, did not apply critical thinking to the curricu-
lum content. They often inadvertently inserted traditional
educational “habitus” into the classroom (Hsu 2017; Aro-
nowitz and Giroux 1993). The school principals motivated
the teachers to reflect on past curricula and teaching prac-
tices and promoted curriculum and pedagogical awareness
to inculcate personal meaning that was implemented in
teaching practice. (Zhen 2000): “As long as teachers do not
change their mindset, even in an experimental school, they
will still use the usual textbooks. Our teachers are now very
conscious about checking whether the textbooks they get
are suitable for students” (A20180820T2). “Teachers can-
not rely on textbooks from the booksellers. They need to
change their mindset and restore teachers’ dignity. We can
design the materials and courses that children really need.
This is what teachers are good at. If teachers must rely on
booksellers, anyone can replace teachers” (A20180820T2,
B20180828T3). The reflection of the teachers on the habitus
of traditional education helped to nurture students’ interest
in learning and to implement the educational concepts.
Structural innovation
Administrative system attitude‑intensify internal and exter‑
nal advocacy and provide administrative support Alterna-
tive schools for Taiwanese aborigines are often located in
13
60
rural areas, making it difficult to promote native education.
Principal A personally participated in curriculum prepara-
tion and created the ability indicators for the social curricu-
lum at all grades, corresponding to the 13 themes of native
education: “In this way, the teachers can stop worrying. We
have been operating for 1 year. The teachers have changed a
lot. They are no longer afraid and no longer feel concerned
about the absence of social lessons” (A20180820P). The
principal led by example and worked with teachers, a strat-
egy that can establish friendly relations (Wang et al. 2016),
hence implementing the “rightness” and “truthfulness”
claims of communication. The school administration also
provided support: “The school established the database for
human resources and teaching a long time ago, so the instruc-
tors can now concentrate on designing lessons, which is the
main support from the administration” (A20180820T2).
These responses show that intensive internal and external
administrative advocacy and support from the principals can
motivate teachers and bolster their efforts to overcome teach-
ers’ widespread fears and concerns about the changes in abo-
riginal policies proposed by Ma Rhea (2013), hence solving
the lack of manpower in the rural schools pointed out by
Tseng (2018). The government’s support in increasing staff
was also very important. Both schools received additional
teacher and funding subsidies from the ANC, local govern-
ment, and alternative educational curriculum collaboration
centers (A20180820T1, B20180828T1).
Curriculum development mechanism‑emphasize the curric‑
ulum legality and construct the national culture curriculum
development mechanism “Curriculum reform” is a com-
plex socio-political process that requires a set of “curricu-
lum experiment” mechanisms to establish the rationality
and legitimacy of the decision-making process (Cornbleth
2000; Symcox 2002). From the analysis of the curriculum
development materials of the two schools (A107-1 curricu-
lum development committee meeting records, A2016 ~ 2018
school curriculum plans, and experimental educational
application plans of both schools), it was discovered that
the curriculum development committee was the legal body
responsible for curriculum adaptation or change. Curricu-
lum development must be based on sound rules. Otherwise,
if there is disagreement, the work will be futile (A107-1
Curriculum development committee meeting records,
A20180820T2): “We need to establish a curriculum devel-
opment module through the legal resource of the curriculum
development committee, which is the most important entity
for oversight in the school experiments. New teachers can
quickly integrate into the teaching of the schools according
to this module” (A20180820P). A curriculum development
committee is an important legal instrument for curriculum
development and practice. The schools attach great impor-
tance to the legal role of this committee. Based on com-
13
C.-C. Hsieh et al.
municative rationality, teachers shape the common norms
through joint participation in the debate (Habermas 1979),
establish the curriculum model transcending the national
curriculum and centering on the indigenous cultural knowl-
edge system, and retain a sense of responsibility for the con-
tinuous review and revision of the curriculum.
Culturally responsive curriculum design‑theme course inte‑
grating tribal culture and life experiences to enhance learn‑
ing confidence The “culturally responsive curriculum”
is a curriculum development and instructional design that
focuses on student learning and integrates the resources of
the schools and the communities to create a multicultural
learning environment (Hsiung and Tsai 2009). After ana-
lyzing the resources of surrounding communities, School A
developed a theme-based curriculum that integrated tribal
culture and student life experience as an alternative pedagog-
ical resource over general textbooks. This was a more cultur-
ally responsive curriculum model: “The Mandarin language
curriculum includes the theme of national culture, includ-
ing diet, farming, and other themes; the English curriculum
deals with national literature, songs, clothing, and culture.
They are integrated and tightly linked” (A20180820P). “My
student has learned a lot now. He can make slate houses and
grow moon peaches and rice. He wears rain boots to experi-
mental farms and participates in various activities such as
archery. He has more experience than his peers. So, this
curriculum enriches his life experience and makes him con-
fident” (A20180820T3). School B has also systematically
developed 25 related themes in a culturally sensitive para-
digm, which not only allowed students to learn about native
culture but also increased their self-confidence through
participation in tribal activities: “I really see the changes in
the children. He accepts our system and gives lectures on
our native culture in Australia and the United States. I have
never seen that confidence in him before” (B20180828P),
which echoed the emphasis of OECD on the development of
student practice and cross-domain integration qualities the
“life situation” (OECD 2018, p. 5).
Hemmings (1994) believed that, to successfully respond
to cultural differences, student culture must be used as the
bridge for learning. The native curriculum of the two schools
was closely integrated with the real-world context, helping
students understand modern knowledge through tribal cul-
ture. As a result, students displayed more learning confi-
dence and greater effectiveness (Richards et al. 2010), which
made learning more meaningful.
Professional development of coaching teachers‑implement
culturally responsive professional development of teachers
and improve teaching effectiveness On-the-job training is a
key factor in helping teachers to enhance their efficacy (Bel-
libas and Liu 2017). Although the teachers in the Taiwanese
Transformation from traditional schools to alternative schools: curriculum leadership of…
aboriginal schools are competent in their teaching skills,
they lacked tribal cultural knowledge. The two schools
supported their teachers through the coaching model of
experts and scholars, helping teachers understand and grow
(MWCC 2018), and so improved the effectiveness of teach-
ers’ culturally responsive teaching.
Such a coaching model can help to develop diversi-
fied teaching strategies for teachers. Teachers of School A
applied the concepts of social sciences to the actual situa-
tion of the tribes: “The tribal culture, system, and marriage
system, etc., that children see are all related to the politics,
society, and justice in social sciences. So teachers can first
teach the tribal culture, and then the concept of the entire
social system, which needs transformation” (A20180820P).
Teachers of School B also used the teaching method of dem-
onstration observation: “I directly show the fish vines on
the spot to the students, and explain the function of the fish
vines” (B20180828T2). The craftwork of teachers and stu-
dents, such as national costumes, slate house models, and
peach weavings displayed in school corridors and class-
rooms, demonstrated the fruits of teachers’ diversified teach-
ing strategies (A20180820T3, A20180820V).
The professional development of teachers has become a
part of the self-renewal in school reform (Lieberman et al.
2007). Adopting the coaching model to assist the teachers’
professional development, including critique transformation,
demonstration observation, hands-on practice, and other
teaching strategies, the teachers in the two schools displayed
enhanced competence in Culturally Responsive Teaching,
which will in turn benefit the students.
Revision and transformation stage
During this period, it was important for the principals to
keep motivating stakeholders (MWCC 2018), thus revising
the organizational operation, and leading the members to
move toward a systematic transformation through the sup-
port and cooperation of beliefs and structures.
Belief change
Awakening of national awareness‑keep developing teach‑
ers’ awakening of national awareness and stabilize the cor‑
nerstone of school transformation The promotion of
aboriginal education depends on fostering teachers’ con-
sciousness. It is critical for teachers to become empowered
(Kirby 1991). Principal B often shared such ideas with the
teachers: “Why do you want to be a teacher? You must
remember the original intention and mission a teacher. I do
not want to just go to and from work on time like a civil
servant. We are responsible for our own education, this is
very important” (B20180828P).
61
Teachers of School A said: “I have been a teacher for
23 years. From the 3 years’ experience in experimental edu-
cation, I discovered that I am a real teacher! These children
are really like the people we want, people who have national
souls. This is what we should do” (A20180820T3). The per-
formance of students made him determined to support exper-
imental education. The willingness of teachers to participate
actively was the key to the success of school educational
reform (Freire 1973; Giroux 1988). Only by continuing to
develop teachers’ awakening of national awareness can the
principals cultivate more critical and anti-colonial teach-
ers (Sanford et al. 2012) and stabilize the foundations of
systematic changes in the alternative schools for Taiwanese
aborigines.
Cultural community‑create a new school culture
through internal and external interaction The principal is
a driving force for creating a new school culture and the
key figure in helping students develop through joint coop-
eration between school and community (Gurr et al. 2005).
Teachers of School B emphasized: “The principal and the
teachers must work together, regardless of ethnicity, to
create an atmosphere and consensus of joint efforts. The
school atmosphere is very important” (B20180828T3). This
learning organization-based school culture contributed to
the close relationship between different orientations (Ful-
lan 1991). For example, when teachers taught the fishing
courses, they opened their classrooms for other teachers and
coordinated the records: “In fact, everyone observes each
other and becomes better. Over time, we will break the tra-
ditional teaching thinking, strategies, and ways and then cre-
ate a new culture” (B20180828T2). Teachers can cover the
gaps in teaching through such a community development
approach (MWCC 2018), creating a school atmosphere of
joint effort.
Second, the principals of the two schools introduced
external stakeholders such as tribal elders and cultural
experts to assist the teachers in the school, which helped
avoid misrepresentation and created a better learning cur-
riculum for students (Kim 2015): “The tribal elders will
come to the school to assist us in preparing lessons, dis-
cussing, and interacting. The ethnic language teachers
and cultural teachers will come in together and review the
language or cultural content. If there is a mistake or some
contents need to be added or deleted, we can immediately
correct it” (A20180820T3, B20180828T2). This can also
promote a closer relationship between family generations:
“After we invite the tribal elders, they tell the children, and
then the children will tell their parents. These cultural things
will always work at home and become the medium of cul-
ture and affection between generations” (A20180820T2,
B20180828P).
13
62
These data show that teacher–community cooperation can
be promoted through collaborative teaching. The coopera-
tion between the two schools and the tribal elders in cur-
riculum design created a more meaningful integration of
aboriginal knowledge (Aikenhead and Elliott 2010; Kim
and Dionne 2014). These teaching achievements fermented,
flowed, and re-linked the culture and feelings of generations
in the aboriginal families. Through these internal and exter-
nal interactions, a cultural community was formed and a new
school culture was created.
Structural innovation
Institutionalized adjustment of curriculum model—revise
the curriculum development mechanism and establish
a sustainable national educational curriculum model The
school transformation model must be continually revised,
including the vision and the action steps, to realize the
ultimate systematic transformation of the school (MWCC
2018). The principals of the two schools shared similar
views and subjected the curriculum plans to ongoing revi-
sions. They hoped to make the main curriculum more indig-
enous and establish a sustainable native curriculum devel-
opment model: “In our class, we prepared the brief teaching
materials at the beginning. In the first year of the class,
teachers must take detailed records, then we discuss, revise,
and form a teaching plan. In the second year, we take the
teaching plan out and revise it again to make the teaching
content more solid. In this way, once the principal leaves
the school, or the tribal elders leave, everyone can continue
to operate because we are all integrated into the institution”
(B20180828P). According to this module, new teachers can
become aware of the direction of the school curriculum and
integrate it smoothly with their teaching (A20180927P).
The curriculum development of both schools ensured that
teachers had sufficient time and professional autonomy to
design and implement the curriculum. Through the legal
authority of the curriculum development committee, the
culturally responsive method was integrated with the cur-
riculum, teaching, and tribal resources, which was then
implemented and revised year by year to build a sustainable
native educational curriculum development model.
Sharing and mutual benefits‑promote personal realiza‑
tion and tribal partnership through performance market‑
ing and sharing Successful principals were often good at
bringing schools into the community and sharing students’
learning outcomes (Gurr and Day 2014) to demonstrate
the success of the school leadership. Through the curricu-
lum changes, the teachers of the two schools noted that the
students greeted the elders using the common ethnic lan-
guage and expressing concern about the tribe. The teachers
also found that these students were different from children
13
C.-C. Hsieh et al.
who went to the urban areas to study and returned to their
home for holidays (A20180820T2, B20180828T1). These
changes affected the growth of children and also echoed the
“self-discipline” and “interaction” concepts emphasized by
the OECD (OECD 2005).
Principal B often enhanced teachers’ sense of respon-
sibility and accomplishment through discussion-participa-
tion and achievement-sharing (B20180828P). Similarly,
parents of School A have noted changes in their children’s
attitudes. Despite their doubts at the beginning, they
gradually accepted the alternative educational curriculum
(A20180820T3). School B invited parents to participate in
courses on meat curing, overnight camping, hunting, and
picking wild vegetables, to alleviate their concerns about
the experimental curriculum. This practical interaction
helped win parental support for the school (B20180828P,
B20180828T3). The principals provided equal and open
opportunities for participation, inspiring teachers and par-
ents to effectively become part of the transformative cur-
riculum leadership strategy (Wang et al. 2016).
All this shows that both schools upheld the concept of
performance sharing, which led to environmental benefits
and growth. They not only promoted the self-realization of
teachers and students, but also encouraged parents to value
and participate in school activities and become educational
partners.
Discussion
In summary, through data analysis and the understanding
and reflection of the various narratives, the research process
was clarified (Shay 2016). The principal curriculum leader-
ship established a practical framework for the alternative
schools for Taiwanese aborigines with the two systems of
“belief change” and “structural innovation” and then gradu-
ally formed the research scheme shown in Fig. 2.
Specifically, the conflict awakening and positioning stage
is the initial stage of school transformation, in which the
principals can perceive the school and indigenous crisis,
establish a clear national educational concept, and keep
strengthening school vision and value creation through the
“fifth level leadership” emphasized by Collins (2001), thus
ultimately building a consensus. It is important to promote
reflection and support through dialogue in this process. After
all, schools with regional support are more likely to make
innovative changes and succeed (Epstein et al. 2011).
During the experimental and interactive development
stages, the beliefs of teachers must be changed through
democratic public dialogue and reflection on educational
habitus. Administrative support should be provided to con-
struct the curriculum development mechanism through the
authority of the curriculum development committee. At the
Transformation from traditional schools to alternative schools: curriculum leadership of… 63

Fig. 2  Practical system of the transformative curriculum leadership by the principals of the alternative schools for Taiwanese aborigines

same time, considering that there should be a more dynamic
relationship between school culture and students’ mother
culture (Edwards and Kuhlman 2007; Gay 2010), schools
should adopt a culturally responsive textbook design, theme
curriculum, and teaching, along with coaching-based pro-
fessional teacher development, while providing meaningful
teaching content through cooperative and tolerant leadership
interaction (Gay 2010).
The final stage is revision and transformation. The
principals should keep developing teachers’ awareness of
indigenous culture and be committed to promulgating the
goals and common beliefs of the new school culture so

13
64
that teachers are willing to follow the leadership even if
they face challenges (Jacobson et al. 2005). The principals
should direct teachers in revision of the curriculum develop-
ment mechanism, establishing an institutionalized national
educational curriculum model, and promoting and sharing
school performance to achieve the goal of systematic school
changes.
In Fig. 2, the aboriginal school is transformed into an
alternative school. The curriculum leadership process of the
principal includes the conflict awakening and positioning
stage, the experimental and interactive development stage,
and the revision and transformation stage. The three stages
are complete and sequential. After the leadership of the
previous stage is completed in practice, the next stage will
manifest. In this repeated cycle, the paradigm is updated
and the leadership actions of each stage are also linked and
interactive. In the two practical systems of belief change and
structural innovation, the school should generally implement
the four validity claims of Habermas, while democratic,
reflective, tolerant, and cooperative leadership also becomes
an important driving force for curriculum development in
the ideal dialogue situation.
Conclusion and suggestions
This study describes the curriculum paradigm shift pro-
cess and leadership actions of the principals of alternative
schools for Taiwanese aborigines through the transformative
curriculum leadership. The results show that the principals
of aboriginal schools incurred changes within the organi-
zational members in terms of the two practical systems of
belief change and structural innovation in different periods
by creating an ideal dialogue context, while establishing the
knowledge system of their own ethnic groups. The schools
have achieved a certain transfer of knowledge and concrete
implementation of educational subjects. This kind of new
educational model provides a resource for the problem-solv-
ing framework when the government examines the complex
issues caused by colonialism and ideology, as well as valu-
able information regarding the establishment of the educa-
tional topics of oppressed aborigines and overall educational
reform in Taiwan.
More importantly, through this research process, a practi-
cal system suitable for the curriculum transformation of the
alternative schools for Taiwanese aborigines is developed
as a reference framework for investigating the progress and
effectiveness of current alternative schools. The principals
of the alternative schools, or other alternative schools for
Taiwanese aborigines, can gain a deeper understanding of
the leadership implications of the transformative curriculum.
They can also grasp the integrity and sequence of the various
stages—conflict awakening and positioning, experimental
13
C.-C. Hsieh et al.
and interactive development, and revision and transforma-
tion. Also, they can understand the connotation and value of
these stages for transforming leadership as the key driving
force for belief change and structural innovation to better
respond to the transformation challenge. Simultaneously, in
this development process, the reconstruction of Habermas’s
communicative rationality is gradually emerging in alterna-
tive schools. The principals of alternative schools should
also grasp this opportunity and construct a democratic,
reflective, tolerant, and cooperative dialogue field to develop
more novel models of an alternative educational curriculum.
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