Structural Imbalance between General and Technical Tracks in Taiwan’s Education System: A Demographic Analysis from Secondary to Higher Education

Structural Imbalance between General and Technical Tracks in Taiwan’s Education System: A Demographic Analysis from Secondary to Higher Education | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Structural Imbalance between General and Technical Tracks in Taiwan’s Education System: A Demographic Analysis from Secondary to Higher Education Yu-Yang Ambotter S. Chen This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8444251/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study examines the long-term demographic shift between general and technical tracks in Taiwan’s education system and its implications for the secondary-to-higher education pipeline. Using longitudinal enrollment data published by the Ministry of Education from 1991 to 2022, this study analyzes changes in student distribution across secondary education tracks and their subsequent alignment with higher education fields. To facilitate analytical comparison between academically oriented and applied-oriented educational pathways, the study employs Academic Territorology as a taxonomy-based analytical framework rather than a grand theory, mapping secondary school tracks and higher education fields into academic and applied categories. The findings reveal a persistent structural imbalance: while more than 50% of students enroll in academically oriented general high schools, fewer than 30% ultimately enter academic-oriented or STEM-related fields in higher education, with STEM enrollment stagnating at approximately 31–32% after 2018. This discrepancy indicates a systemic misalignment between secondary education pathways and the functional differentiation of higher education. The study argues that this imbalance should be understood not merely as an issue of individual choice or labor market demand, but as a structural consequence of educational tracking and institutional differentiation. These findings raise important implications for education policy, particularly regarding pathway design, university positioning, and the role of vocational education in knowledge-based societies. Social Policy Educational Philosophy and Theory Other Public Policy Sociology Demographic composition General and technical education Educational tracking Taiwan Structural imbalance Secondary-to-higher education pathways Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8444251","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":565281642,"identity":"21f349b2-f485-450f-ad74-f789f4b3b34a","order_by":0,"name":"Yu-Yang Ambotter S. 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Using longitudinal enrollment data published by the Ministry of Education from 1991 to 2022, this study analyzes changes in student distribution across secondary education tracks and their subsequent alignment with higher education fields. To facilitate analytical comparison between academically oriented and applied-oriented educational pathways, the study employs \u003cem\u003eAcademic Territorology\u003c/em\u003e as a taxonomy-based analytical framework rather than a grand theory, mapping secondary school tracks and higher education fields into academic and applied categories.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe findings reveal a persistent structural imbalance: while more than 50% of students enroll in academically oriented general high schools, fewer than 30% ultimately enter academic-oriented or STEM-related fields in higher education, with STEM enrollment stagnating at approximately 31–32% after 2018. This discrepancy indicates a systemic misalignment between secondary education pathways and the functional differentiation of higher education.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study argues that this imbalance should be understood not merely as an issue of individual choice or labor market demand, but as a structural consequence of educational tracking and institutional differentiation. 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