80 年代伊始,大學管理及發展不斷受到「市場化」,浪潮的衝擊。各國政府在面對財政緊絀,而社會需求又不斷增加的情況下,採取了不同對應策略,比如推行「下放權力」政策,藉此動員地方政府及至非國家團體參與教育事業發展。此外,各地政府更推出不同「節源增效」措施,甚至運用流行於市場營運的信念、原則和做法來管理及營運公共事業和公營部門,目標是要令公共服務變得更能適應市場需要。其實,以上談及的「市場化」作法,不單流行於歐美,也遍及澳洲、東亞及至中國大陸。為了不斷加強自身在全球經濟一種化格局下的競爭性,不同國家/政府都在高等教育領域推出各種各樣的改革,甚至引用市場原則和手法來管理及營運高等教育。本文試圖比較香港及臺灣兩地近年高等教育的發展,並對兩地高等教育市場化的背景,具體發展概況、理治模式的轉變及其影響進行分析。
Recent comparative education policy studies reveal that even though there seems to be similar trends in higher education reforms in East Asian societies, the recently initiated higher education reforms have had diverse agendas. Thus, the considerable convergence of policy rhetoric and general policy objectives may not satisfactorily explain the complicated process of changes and the- dynamic interactions between global-regional-local forces that shape education policy-making in individual countries. The present articles reflect the impact of global marketization forces on higher education policy, with particular reference to how the higher education sector in Hong Kong and Taiwan has transformed itself under the global tide of marketization and decentralization. There are many changes in common between higher education in Hong Kong and Taiwan and elsewhere, which suggests that higher education in these two places has been influenced by the similar trends of globalization. However, before we jump to this conclusion, it is impartant to bear in mind an alternative hypothesis that local factors are crucial and determining factors for changes. The core of this article is to examine in what ways and what strategies the governments of Hong Kong and Taiwan have adopted to reform its higher education systems in response to the changing socio-economic-political context and regional-global environments, with a particular focus on provision, regulation and financing.