Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics - IEA

PART 2: CHINESE TAIPEI
77
As in Korea (see the section on Korea, below), teachers in Chinese Taipei do very well
salary-wise compared to individuals in other occupations, even when bonuses are not
included. The salaries for teachers estimated from the 2004 household survey data were
lower than those in the overall salary schedule, probably reflecting the fact that some
teachers work in private schools. Also, the female teachers appear to have been earning
less than the male teachers.
Teachers with Bachelor’s degrees, who represent just over 90% of teachers, earned
approximately the same as scientists and non-scientists if they were males, and tended
to earn more than scientists and non-scientists if they were female (Figures 17 and 18).
By 2004, female teachers with Bachelor’s degrees had lost some ground to competing
occupations, but the respective salaries were still relatively even. For female teachers
with Master’s degrees, the situation between 1997 and 2004 seemed to become more
favorable, with teachers earning approximately the same in 1997 and somewhat more
in 2004 than workers in competing professions. Male teachers with Master’s degrees
earned less in both years than did males in competing professions. Teachers seemed to
make bigger salary gains than other professionals during the period 1997 to 2004; this
is especially evident in the comparison between teachers and non-scientists (see Figures
17 and 18). Given that teachers probably realize larger bonuses and have much more
vacation time than their counterparts working as scientists or non-scientists, it seems
reasonable to conclude that teachers receive the higher remuneration (salary and nonsalary).
To summarize, mathematics teachers in Chinese Taipei generally earn comparable
(males) or higher (females) median incomes than scientists, but this differential does
not take into account other favorable treatment that teachers receive, most obviously
possibly larger bonuses, more vacation time, and greater job security. If all else were
equal, we could assume that, as in Korea, the Ministry of Education in Chinese Taipei
would experience little difficulty recruiting people of relatively high mathematical
ability into teaching. Indeed, as we discussed above, the overly high number of teachers
graduating from teacher education institutions in recent years led the government to
substantially reduce admissions into teacher education programs.
In part, and again as in Korea, high relative teacher salaries are probably the result of
a relatively equal income distribution in Chinese Taipei. Teacher pay policy has clearly
been favorable, as shown by the large increases in median teacher salaries between 1997
and 2004. However, the fact that teacher salaries are so high relative to scientists’ salaries
suggests that the relatively low variance in incomes reduces the possibility that those
with high mathematics skills can earn much higher salaries than teachers. Although the
variance in non-scientists’ salaries is much higher than the variance in teachers’ salaries,
and although the variance of scientists’ salaries is somewhat higher than that of teachers’
(especially for males), even those male non-scientists holding Bachelor’s degrees and
presenting as one standard deviation above the median salaries in 2004 earned only
$NTK1,000 to $NT1,200 per month (not including the New Year bonus) more than
male teachers. For those male non-scientists with Master’s degrees, presenting as one
standard deviation above the median salary and in the 35 to 44 years of age bracket, the
difference was as high as $NT2,800 per month. However, the difference was no higher
than $NT300 per month for male scientists presenting as one standard deviation above
the median. So, for those with “risk preference,” teaching in Chinese Taipei does have
salary limitations, but these are not nearly as costly as those in other professions.