An Exploratory Study on the Taiwanese Primary and Secondary School Teachers’ Understanding of Personal Data Protection Act

Abstract

In this study, the researchers would like to explore Taiwanese primary and secondary school teachers’ understanding on the provisions of the Personal Data Protection Act (hereinafter referred to as “PDPA”). A self-developed test, with 17 questions in 7 scenarios, was distributed to 519 primary and secondary school teachers in all regions of Taiwan. Results of the survey stated that, firstly, the teachers surveyed displayed a medium or low level of understanding in terms of areas in which the PDPA is not applicable depending on different circumstances. Secondly, the participating teachers showed a low level of understanding in terms of whether teachers should be held liable for damages if his/her conduct is not gross negligence. Moreover, the teachers surveyed manifested a medium level of understanding in terms of the scope of government agencies, liability for damages of the commissioning agency and the commissioned agency, the collection of special category personal data, and the conditions for exemption of damages from government agencies. Finally, the teachers in the survey demonstrated a high level of understanding in the following aspects: protected objects; the collection, processing and use of general personal data; notification obligation; the liability for damages (e.g., the teacher’s conduct of gross negligence, the school’s practice of assigning dedicated personnel to implement security measures for personal data protection); requested circumstances where it is impossible to estimate the amount of damages. The results of this study can be used as reference materials for school teacher workshops or for learning content development.

Keywords

• primary and secondary school teacher
• personal data
• collection
• use
• information privacy