Implementing a national policy initiative to support education for sustainable development: lessons from Taiwan’s Environmental Education Act

This policy ethnography focuses on a nationwide environmental and sustainability education policy that was developed and enacted in response to United Nations’ call for mainstreaming Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The framework of governmentality was used as a heuristic tool to explore the modalities of the Taiwan government and their effects on ESD policymaking. It was also used to understand the underlying motivation and strategies used by policy implementers when implementing this nationwide ESD policy (Taiwan’s Environmental Education Act). Data include official documents and two semi-structured interviews with 30 policy implementers. All data were analysed using hybrid inductive and deductive thematic analyses. The findings suggest that participating in the ESD movement has allowed the Taiwan government to work towards its desire for international recognition as an independent country. However, a lack of policy negotiation and dialogue has contributed to a superficial engagement with, and uptake of, the ESD policy ideas and directives in Taiwan. Drawing on the study results, recommendation on ESD governance is proposed.