The impact of external resources on the development of an indigenous school in rural areas: Taking a junior high school in Taiwan as an example

The UN SDGs presented a vision for sustainability and the reduction of inequality within a country. The Taiwanese government uses many external resources to develop rural education. This study was conducted in a small public junior high school in a remote indigenous community in central Taiwan. Due to the economic downturn, the population in the indigenous community is outflowing, and the number of students is decreasing. With external resources, such as the Project of Female Science and Technology Talent Development from the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan and other plans, this study introduces a full-time researcher as a teacher to promote science education in the research school. Implementing the projects improves students' academic performance and encourages students to participate in science competitions and achieve success. This study explores first the impact of the school's implementation of the Ministry of Science and Technology program on the development of the school; second, the results of the development of the school-based curriculum; and finally, it quantifies the statistics of the students' changes in the National High School Entrance Examination results. The impact of external resources on school development is determined by analyzing the performance of the participating students. This study finds that the Ministry of Science and Technology program plays an essential role in the development of the school, providing a key platform for teachers' growth, enriching school funding, developing featured courses, and encouraging students' performance. External resources have significantly improved students' results on the National Examination and facilitated students' motivation to learn science.