Yang Shen-Keng: The Education Philosopher Who Brought Two Oxygen Tanks to His Student's Dissertation Defense

30-Second Overview: Yang Shen-Keng (楊深坑, 1946–2021), the architect of Taiwan's educational philosophy. Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Athens; Taiwan's first Lifetime National Chair Professor in education; four-time recipient of the National Science Council Outstanding Research Award; Golden Tripod Award recipient. He founded the Graduate Institute of Comparative Education at National Chi Nan University, served as Dean of the College of Education and Vice President at National Chung Cheng University, and for nearly forty years hosted the "Yang School" academic seminar at NTNU. He guided more than one hundred master's and doctoral students. He passed away at NTU Hospital on August 29, 2021, at age 76.

The Last Oral Examination

December 13, 2020: Yang Shen-Keng took leave from National Taiwan University Hospital.

He had already been hospitalized for some time. But that day NTNU had a doctoral dissertation oral examination, and he was the supervising professor. He brought two oxygen tanks, accompanied throughout by his wife and son, and traveled from the hospital to NTNU's College of Education. After the examination concluded, he returned to his hospital room.¹

Eight months later, on August 29, 2021, Yang Shen-Keng passed away at NTU Hospital at age 76. The December 2020 examination was the last time in his life he served as an oral examination committee member.¹

An educational philosopher used the last strength of his life to ensure his student could complete their degree.

From Changhua to Athens

Yang Shen-Keng was born in Changhua in 1946. He completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in education at National Taiwan Normal University, then traveled far to Greece, earning a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Athens (1978). In an era when Taiwanese scholars studying abroad predominantly chose English-speaking countries, Yang Shen-Keng chose the birthplace of Western philosophy.²

This choice determined the academic direction of his subsequent forty years: starting from classical Greek philosophy, traversing hermeneutics, critical theory, and postmodern thought, systematically building methodological foundations for Taiwan's educational studies. He introduced Habermas's theory of communicative action into Taiwan's moral education field, arguing that the educational domain should be a space for rational communication and moral practice.³

Academic Milestones

Yang Shen-Keng's academic career spanned 44 years, generating a remarkable output: 54 Chinese and English journal articles, 9 Chinese and English monographs, 88 domestic and international academic conference papers, 35 Chinese and English book chapters, and 10 co-edited volumes.²

Several representative achievements stand out:

Theory of Science and the Development of Educational Studies (科學理論與教育學發展; Psychological Publishing, 2002) is his signature work, based on his National Chair lectures, systematically analyzing how logical positivism, hermeneutics, critical theory, and postmodern thought have influenced educational science. This book received the Executive Yuan's Golden Tripod Award in 2003.²

Teacher Education in Taiwan: State Control vs Marketization (Routledge, 2016, co-authored with Huang Jia-Li) is his English-language monograph, included in the Routledge Research in Teacher Education series, bringing the transformation of Taiwan's teacher education from state control to marketization onto the international academic stage.⁷ He also published multiple chapters in Springer international volumes, including Social Justice, Equal Access, and Stratification of Higher Education in Taiwan, and a chapter analyzing the impact of SSCI on Taiwanese educational research.⁸ In 2001, he presented Dilemmas of Education Reform in Taiwan: Internationalization or Localization? at the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) annual meeting in Washington, D.C., bringing the dilemmas of Taiwan's education reform into international academic dialogue.⁸

In the field of comparative education, he edited Comparative and International Education (through its fourth edition), Development of Teacher Organizations and Professional Rights in Various Countries, Teacher Education Certification Systems in Various Countries, and Comparative Research on Elementary and Secondary School Teacher Quality Management Systems, establishing the academic foundations of Taiwan's comparative education studies.³

Forty Years of the "Yang School"

On the eighth floor of NTNU's College of Education, every Friday featured an academic seminar. This tradition continued for nearly forty years, with participants being Yang Shen-Keng's master's and doctoral students and academic colleagues through the years. They called it the "Yang School" (楊門).²

Yang Shen-Keng guided more than one hundred master's and doctoral students. After his passing, the Taiwan Educational Philosophy Association published a commemorative special issue, with solicited themes spanning eight directions — from educational philosophy methodology to international comparative teacher education — each direction corresponding to a field he had cultivated throughout his lifetime.⁴

His academic footprint also extended into administration and international roles. He served as founding director of the Graduate Institute of Comparative Education at National Chi Nan University (1995), Dean of the College of Education and Vice President at National Chung Cheng University (2003–2007), President of the Chinese Comparative Education Society, Vice President of the Asian Comparative Education Society (2001–2005), and Executive Committee Member of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (1998–2001, 2009–2011). The integrated research projects he led spanned more than twenty years, accumulating academic awards including four National Science Council Outstanding Research Awards, ten Category A awards, two Wooden Bell Awards, the first National Chair Award (1997–1999), and the fourth Ministry of Education Lifetime National Chair Award (2000–2002).²

The Ministry of Education Lifetime National Chair is the highest honor in Taiwan's educational academia. Yang Shen-Keng was the first educational scholar to receive this distinction.¹

"Education Should Not Be Merely the Transmission of Knowledge"

Yang Shen-Keng's core academic belief can be distilled into a single sentence: the educational domain should be a space for rational communication and moral practice, not unidirectional transmission of knowledge.

Starting from Habermas's theory of communicative action, he argued that dialogue in education should be built on mutual respect and rational argumentation. This argument is most clearly embodied in his moral education research: the goal of moral education should transcend instilling specific values, and instead cultivate students' capacity for moral reasoning and value judgment.³

His student Li Feng-ju (李奉儒; professor at National Chung Cheng University's Graduate Institute of Education) has extended this academic lineage in multiple papers, introducing critical pedagogy and educational justice concepts into discussions of Taiwan's education reform.⁵ The Graduate Institute of Comparative Education that Yang Shen-Keng founded at Chi Nan University has had subsequent directors who continued his academic direction — the lineage in blood left a concrete institutional imprint.⁶

In August 2021, Yang Shen-Keng received the Ministry of Education's Professional Medal for Education, recognizing his lifetime contribution to Taiwan's educational scholarship.¹

Those oxygen tanks, that oral examination, those forty years of Friday seminars. The best legacy an educational philosopher can leave is letting his students know that education is something worth doing with one's entire life.

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