National Academy for Educational Research

　　依據《地方制度法》之規範，我國國民教育屬於地方政府管轄範疇，然由於地方政府收入來源不如中央政府豐沛，且彼此之間差異亦大，故對於較貧窮的縣市來說，國民教育經費向來都是地方政府沉重的財政負擔。儘管中央政府一方面透過《憲法》、《教育基本法》與《教育經費編列與管理法》等法令來彰顯對偏遠與離島地區教育事業的重視，另方面也藉由各種補助款，確保財政能力不佳、自有財源不足的縣市也能有足夠的經費發展教育。但對於處於「文化不利」、「社經不利」、「知識不利」、「學習不利」，以及「環境不利」等多項不利的偏遠離島地區學童而言，其學習成就仍具有明顯的城鄉差距。因此，本研究旨在從「財政中立」的角度出發，分析離島地區政府財政能力與教育經費之間的關係，藉此瞭解離島地區政府在獲得中央政府的一般補助後，是否就足以消弭離島地區政府財政能力對教育經費支出的影響？換言之，現行國民教育補助制度是否真能讓教育品質不會因為各地區經濟發展狀況不同而有所差異?本研究除了採取量化指標來評估財政能力與教育經費之間的關係外，同時將透過訪談蒐集政策利害關係人之意見與建議。綜上所述，本研究之具體目的如下：1.了解離島地區各地方政府之間財政能力的差異；2.分析離島地區各地方政府財政能力與教育經費支出的關係；3.探討中央政府一般補助對於均衡離島地區教育品質的成效；4.根據研究發現，針對我國國民教育補助制度提出具體改進建議。

　　For poor counties or cities, the budget for compulsory education has encumbered the fiscal capacity of local governments. The central government has provided numerous subsidies to ensure that local governments with poor fiscal capacities and insufficient income sources can have sufficient funds to develop their education programs. However, in remote and outlying island areas, where many disadvantages are present in aspects such as culture, socioeconomic status, knowledge, learning, and environment, the learning achievement of students is considerably lower than that of students in major cities.?
The present study analyzed the relationship between the fiscal capacity and education budgets of local governments in outlying islands from the perspective of fiscal neutrality. We used quantitative indicators to evaluate this relationship and interviewed policy stakeholders to identify whether the general subsidies that local governments in outlying islands received from the central government can mitigate the effect of fiscal capacities on education budgets. Moreover, further exploration is required to determine whether the subsidies can really help balance the quality of education among outlying islands and whether the current subsidy system can minimize the difference in compulsory education quality despite the different regional levels of economic development.