本文利用總督府檔案、報紙及學校檔案等，考察日本統治初期，公學校初創時的經費來源，包括學校成立之初，學校方面如何籌措財源，地方政府所扮演的角色、地方有力者的配合以及民眾的負擔。 新學校創設之際，教育經費的幾個主要來源，一是地方有力者的捐款，二是地方社會中廟租、學田租、市場稅、牛墟等公有財產的收入。三是以某種分攤方式，例如田租、房屋稅、營業稅等比例，平均攤派給所有地方居民。其中以第三種最為重要。 由民眾普遍分攤教育費，意味著認知到新學校存在的民眾增加，新學校的存在對越來越多的民眾有意義。從這個角度來看，這也是臺灣民眾被捲入近代世界的一個側面。

This thesis aims at inveatigating the process of how Japanese government introduced the “modern school” system to Taiwan, and Taiwan local society how attended this process. Through the study of school finance, we know when schools were established, the government imitated the old habit of the exercise of public affair since the late period of Ch'ing, that is, ask local society to raise money itself. In the meanwhile, in order to launch the job of collecting money smoothly, it kept the gentry dominion of old society, The richness and people of Taiwan society and the cooperation of the men in power are also essential factors in the establishment of new schools.