Research projects on science education funded by the national science council in Taiwan from 1982 to 2012: A historical review

The National Science Council (NSC) in Taiwan supports research in science education and is a major funding agency for such research. The major themes and trends of science education research projects funded by the Department of Science Education (DSE) of the NSC from 1982 to 2012 are reviewed in this chapter. This review includes official documents from the NSC, such as Calls for Proposals and Annual Reports, which include information about the goals of science education research, research strategies implemented, number of projects funded annually, and the distribution of the funded research projects across the evolving scheme for categorizing research in science education. Special emphasized research topics that occurred from time to time are also highlighted. NSC research projects are granted financial support based on a well-developed evaluation system. Specific features of the evaluation system, their impact on the research community, and additional measures to promote science education research are also described in this chapter. Certain objective data are used to illustrate the outcomes and achievements of the NSC-funded projects. Since the principal investigators are the direct and key participants involved in the DSE funding process, a questionnaire was developed to better understand their experiences and viewpoints regarding the impact of the DSE-funded research projects. The implications from this review and the survey results are discussed in terms of improving the funding process and policies, and informing future directions in science education research.