從國家控制到市場治理：臺灣留學制度的「策略行動場域」分析（1960-2020）

From State Control to Market Governance: A Strategic Action Field Analysis of Taiwan's 1960-2020 Study Abroad System

本研究以臺灣留學市場的制度轉型為主題，運用「策略行動場域」（Strategic Action Field，SAF）理論，探討該市場如何從冷戰時期國家主導的制度場域，逐步轉化為由市場行動者與資訊治理主導的商業場域。1980年代以前，美國與黨國政府做為「在位者」（incumbents）共同主導留學制度，透過政策審查、獎補助制度與資訊壟斷，穩定掌握出國管道與場域規則。然而，隨著出國留學限制鬆動與全球高等教育市場化趨勢興起，原有的國家在位者場域控制力逐漸鬆動，一批具備跨國資本與語言專業的「挑戰者」（challengers）進場，包含歸國學人、補教創業者與留學顧問業者。他們透過語言培訓、升學諮詢與出版資訊指南等實作，逐步推動場域規則與制度正當性的重構。本文指出，臺灣的留學制度歷經三次主要的「場域斷裂」（field rupture）：一為國家治理撤退與挑戰者興起，二為民間業者的組織化與專業化，三為數位平臺與跨國機構的再治理重構。本文結合歷史檔案、產業訪談與田野觀察，具體呈現國家、顧問、公會與學生社群等多元行動者，如何在場域互動中形構市場秩序與治理邏輯。本研究主張，唯有從中層場域的視角出發，才能理解臺灣留學市場化的制度生成條件與權力再分配機制。

This study examines the institutional transformation of Taiwan’s study abroad system. Using the ''Strategic Action Field'' concept in institutional theory, it traces how the market shifted from a state-led field during the Cold War to a commercial field dominated by market actors and information governance. Before the 1980s, the United States and the KMT government jointly acted as ''incumbents,'' maintaining control over study abroad channels and field rules through policy reviews, grants and subsidies, and information monopolies. Their control weakened with the loosening of study abroad restrictions and the global trend toward higher education marketization. In the 1980s the field was transformed by challengers with multinational capital and language expertise, including returned scholars, supplementary education entrepreneurs, and overseas study consulting firms. These actors changed field rules and rebuilt institutional legitimacy. This article identifies three major ''field ruptures'' in Taiwan’s study abroad system: the combined retreat of state governance and rise of challengers, the professionalization of private industry, and the restructuring of governance via digital platforms and multinational institutions. Data from archives, industry interviews, and field observations are used to show how states, consultants, guilds, and student communities construct market order and governance logic through field-level interactions. The author argues that only a meso-level field perspective can accurately portray the institutional foundations of Taiwan’s study abroad marketization and power redistribution mechanisms.