News source: Wu Guanwei, intern reporter of Central News Agency

News link: central news agency

The 2023 International Aesthetic Education Forum was held today at the Taiwan School in Kuala Lumpur. Program host Zhao Huiling, professor of the Fine Arts Department of National Taiwan Normal University, said that Malaysian art and culture are unique, the ethnic groups are diverse, and the cultural integration of each other is worth learning from Taiwan.

The "2023 International Aesthetic Education Forum" was co-organized by National Taiwan Normal University and National Taiwan School of Kuala Lumpur, attracting about 80 teachers from 13 middle schools in Malaysia. The activities are quite diverse, including special lectures, workshops and curriculum presentations from each school. They not only allow participating teachers to learn about "cross-field aesthetic education", but also showcase Taiwan's aesthetic education achievements to Malaysian teachers.

Zhao Huiling told CNA today that this forum was held at the National Taiwan School in Kuala Lumpur because Malaysia’s diverse ethnic groups and historical background have allowed it to blend a unique culture, and there are students of different ethnic groups and ages studying here. These cultural interaction experiences can be learned through cross-field teaching.

The aesthetics project started in 2014, and in 2018 it led aesthetics teachers to go abroad for exchange for the first time. Zhao Huiling said: "I must be proud to say that in the 10 years since the plan was launched, Taiwan's art and aesthetic education development has made Taiwan leading the way among countries around the world."

Zheng Yafen, principal of the National Taiwan School in Kuala Lumpur, said that the National Taiwan School in Kuala Lumpur is a seed school for the aesthetics project and the only Taiwanese school outside the country. However, since the teachers and students in the school come from different nationalities, when implementing Taiwan’s educational philosophy, it is necessary to adapt to local conditions and consider the acceptance of different nationalities.

Despite this, she still believes that knowledge is interconnected, and Chinese language educators in Malaysia also hope to communicate with relevant planners in Taiwan to enhance their capabilities together. She looks forward to using Kuala Lumpur Taiwanese School as a base to continue sharing aesthetic education to secondary schools across Malaysia.

The "2023 International Aesthetic Education Forum" is organized according to the Ministry of Education's "Cross-field Aesthetic Education Excellence Pilot Plan" and is divided into 4 phases. It has now entered the 4th "transformation" phase in 2022. Through recruiting benchmarks or seeds The school will deepen cross-field curriculum modules and develop model courses on aesthetics.

The ultimate goal of the plan is to "enhance students' cross-field aesthetic literacy", "refine cross-field curriculum modules", "link international and local aesthetics" and "integrate cross-field aesthetic education promotion alliances".

This year the project team will also lead selected aesthetic teachers to South Korea and France to understand the pulse of international STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics) through exchanges with overseas teachers. (Editor: Wei Shu)