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From Pressure to Progress- Assessing the Impact of Taiwan's 108 Curriculum on Teen Mental Health
traditional persistence in abstract, elite knowledge towards an emphasis on applied, interdisciplinary
and integrative knowledge. At the elementary level, which is the foundational learning period,
students cultivate life activity, moral character and encouraging self-exploration. At this stage,
students lay the rudiments for future learning abilities and academic pursuits. In terms of self-
initiative, students develop skills such as planning, problem solving and good living habits.
Socially, students practice empathy, learn to cooperate with others and develop critical thinking
skills.

The elementary curriculum differentiates from the traditional curriculum through
development of better fundamental skills, technology-integrated courses, flexible learning classes
and a new option of native cultural courses. In junior high, the curriculum highlights self-
exploration and interpersonal development. The courses allow students to continue to learn core
subjects; cultivate deeper independent thinking and cooperation; explore interests with technology;
and expose them to public issues. During this stage, students will encounter cross-domain courses
that cultivate critical thinking, logical reasoning and integrated application skills. In the meantime,
these students will also be encouraged to start exploring their career interests and discover new
passions for future academic pursuits. The courses differ from traditional courses by adding
technological study opportunities, experiential learning, and cross-functional learning courses (K-12
Education Administration, MOE, n.d).

The high school stage emphasizes holistic development, encompassing academic learning,
physical and mental well-being, career readiness, personal independence, and the refinement of core
competencies and practical skills. In this stage, students start to take electives depending on their
interested future careers while strengthening their strong suits and implementation capabilities for
future workspaces. Moreover, in high school, students are required to complete a learning journey
archive where they regularly record and organize their academic performance, extracurricular
activities and other outstanding acts during their high school period. With the help of their
homeroom teachers, tutors, and course counselors, students receive a comprehensive career
counseling service, preparing them for college applications.

The 108 curriculum significantly differs from traditional educational systems in several
ways. First, the curriculum highlights a diversity of elective courses and ‘inquiry and practice’
courses in high school, allowing students to explore their passions and interests beyond core
curricular subjects while also fostering problem solving skills, critical thinking and application
abilities (NTU, 2023). Second, the curriculum integrates a brand new system called the ‘learning
process archive’ where students are required to record a variety of their learning achievements as
well as record their academic progress. This ‘archive’ not only emphasizes the importance of
extracurricular activities but also encourages students to pursue their own passion outside the
classroom. Thirdly, the curriculum increases alternative learning periods for self-learning and
students’ own enrichment activities. This alternative learning period doesn’t contribute to any part
of students’ academic credentials, purely leaving time for students to explore themselves in this
'free-time’ (Cho, 2021). The new educational system derives from a global trend of all-roundedness
and multifaceted education, with the Taiwan’s Ministry of Education taking inspiration from a
number of countries to develop the 12-years program. Until now, the Taiwanese government
continues to advocate the new educational system and focusing on competence and literacy as its
core (Wang, 2023).

III. Research Methods

This research aims to study whether teenage depression, which is to some extent a result of
academic pressure, is mitigated after the implementation of Taiwan’s new 108 curriculum. After

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