Ministry Of Education To Determine New Standards For Academic Standing

[Jai Dee]

Ministry of Education to determine new standards for academic standing

The Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment is calling a meeting tomorrow to consider new regulations in considering how to adjust the academic standing of teachers.

The Director General of the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment, Mr. Somwang Pitiyanuwat (สมหวัง พิธิยานุวัฒน์ ), revealed that a meeting of the Academic Standing Adjustment Committee will be held tomorrow (June 28) in order to consider regulations which are necessary to gauge the academic standing of teachers, administrators, and academic experts.

Mr. Somwang revealed that the academic standing of academics will be determined through the quality of their work and performance, and not certificates or personal evaluations. The Minister of Education has instructed officials to coordinate with the Bureau of the Budget in developing policy in determining academic standing and education standards. The matter is expected to be concluded within 4 months.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 27 June 2007

[Xangsamhua]

Ministry of Education to determine new standards for academic standing

The Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment is calling a meeting tomorrow to consider new regulations in considering how to adjust the academic standing of teachers.

Mr. Somwang revealed that the academic standing of academics will be determined through the quality of their work and performance, and not certificates or personal evaluations.

This refers to evaluation of academics by number of published articles, presentations at conferences, etc., doesn't it? Not related to school teachers?

[Ijustwannateach]

You're probably right. A better translation would have been "professors," most likely- but that's the Thai Bureau of Public Relations for you.

[aussiestyle1983]

If what Xangsamhua said is correct and this refers to academics only, thus meaning school teachers would still need degrees and lenghty paper trails regardless of their capability and experience while professors and other academics can just get by on their performance and capability, then the MOE = Hypocritical, two faced, double standardised organisation full of un-educated Thais who don't have enough common snese to make a decision to save their own life.

But then again, it did mention "teachers" as well in the article so perhaps this could apply to everyone working in the teaching or academia profession in Thailand.

I await the flames from the brownnosers................

Edited June 28, 2007 by aussiestyle1983

[PeaceBlondie]

This is interesting, and might actually affect the standing of two or more farang educators in Thailand. Of course, this is a government announcement to have a meeting and discuss plans they may never implement. The news bulletin mentions nothing about farang, and it's unlikely that the top honchos spend much time discussing farang teachers.

[Scott]

PB: I think your wrong. I am sure they spend a lot of time discussing farang teachers. Things like "boy, did you see how we screwed that one over."

"Yeah, but here's what I did to one of mine."

etc.

etc.

[canadiangirl]

If what Xangsamhua said is correct and this refers to academics only, thus meaning school teachers would still need degrees and lenghty paper trails regardless of their capability and experience while professors and other academics can just get by on their performance and capability, then the MOE = Hypocritical, two faced, double standardised organisation full of un-educated Thais who don't have enough common snese to make a decision to save their own life.

But then again, it did mention "teachers" as well in the article so perhaps this could apply to everyone working in the teaching or academia profession in Thailand.

I await the flames from the brownnosers................

Hey aussiestyle,

this isn't a flame, but I respectfully disagree. MOE might have its problems, but the different treatment of teachers vs. university professors/academics is hardly specific to Thailand.

Pretty much everywhere in North America, you have to be certified as a teacher to teach at a high school/grade school, but if I have a Ph.D. in mathematics, I can be a university professor in mathematics without any teaching qualifications or training whatsoever. Academics are mostly hired on the basis of their research, how much prestige + money they can generate for the university; how good they are at teaching undergraduate students has very little to do with it.

[Ijustwannateach]

I've done a bit of research on this. Seems that some of the structures here are a little different than we are used to (in the U.S. anyway). Part of it has to do with the civil service (to which all public educators belong) and also to the situation where certain high schools and elementary schools are associated with universities.

It seems that there's a move to increase the influence of merit, performance, achievement, etc. as they affect promotions within this system. For example, a person could actually be promoted from elementary school teacher to high school teacher to university professor to tenured professor, as they accumulated achievements, qualifications, and experience according to the proposed system- "personal evaluations" are being phased out (at least officially) to increase transparency and reduce corruption.

This is highly unlikely to affect many foreign teachers in any significant way, as most of us are not eligible for promotion, etc., in the same manner as the Thais.

"Steven"

[PeaceBlondie]

PB: I think your wrong. I am sure they spend a lot of time discussing farang teachers. Things like "boy, did you see how we screwed that one over."

"Yeah, but here's what I did to one of mine."

etc.

etc.

Thanks for taking over the sarcasm assignment in my absence, Scott .

I think the higher up aristocracy in the Ministry of Education spends only minutes per months of their time worrying about farang. A lady whose name ends in na Ayuttaya isn't worried about Pete in Phitsanaluke.

[aussiestyle1983]

If what Xangsamhua said is correct and this refers to academics only, thus meaning school teachers would still need degrees and lenghty paper trails regardless of their capability and experience while professors and other academics can just get by on their performance and capability, then the MOE = Hypocritical, two faced, double standardised organisation full of un-educated Thais who don't have enough common snese to make a decision to save their own life.

But then again, it did mention "teachers" as well in the article so perhaps this could apply to everyone working in the teaching or academia profession in Thailand.

I await the flames from the brownnosers................

Hey aussiestyle,

this isn't a flame, but I respectfully disagree. MOE might have its problems, but the different treatment of teachers vs. university professors/academics is hardly specific to Thailand.

Pretty much everywhere in North America, you have to be certified as a teacher to teach at a high school/grade school, but if I have a Ph.D. in mathematics, I can be a university professor in mathematics without any teaching qualifications or training whatsoever. Academics are mostly hired on the basis of their research, how much prestige + money they can generate for the university; how good they are at teaching undergraduate students has very little to do with it.

I think you missed the point. Regardless of "weather the different treatment of teachers vs. university professors/academics is hardly specific to Thailand." or not this thread is specific to Thailand and MOST people using the thaivisa.com teaching forum either work as teachers in Thailand or have some sort of interest in Thailand or teaching in Thailand, so what happens in other countries is irrelevant.

I personally wouldn't be a teacher in a western country like the ones you mentioned, the pay is to low and the work loads are too much (plus all the legal BS that you can get you ass sued for anything these days) so I couldn't careless about the treatment of teachers academic standards in other countries.

Thailand is a different country, with a different culture and is not as stable and developed as the other countries you are comparing it to in the first place. There is a shortage of qualified teachers in Thailand and a shortage of English teachers period in Thailand; the nations fluency or should I say, anti-fluency in English should be enough to proove this. There is also proably more illegal teachers working in Thailand that in many other countries.

If the MOE were to adjust the requirements and academic standards of all teachers and academics, it could have a positive affect. More capable teachers could be employed based on their capability and experience rather than being judged on the fact that they do not have an irrelevant degree in shoe lace making. There would be less illegal teachers because more teachers would be able to become legal just by proving they can teach.

I'm not saying that anyone with two arms and two legs should be able to qualify to become legal here (all though that is all that's needed to land a job) I'm just saying Thailand needs to make more realistic standards. The level the academics have to teach is a lot higher than teachers teaching kindergarten and prathom, so if anyone should need a degree to teach it should be thr academics and professors.

All I can see hapening as a result of this is that there will still be a shortage and large number of illegal teachers teaching for peanuts just to teach KG and high school students but more and more professors will be able to get jobs (including the sex tourist ones) just based on how well they deliver their work. We all know that grades can not accuratly determine how well people teach here because most of the are made up or adjusted to begin with.

The MOE needs to adjust the academic standing requirements for all teachers, reagrdless of their title and what they teach, or the countries education system will continue in the dirrection it's been heading over the last 12 months, down.

Edited June 29, 2007 by aussiestyle1983

[mbkudu]

I think you're overreacting.

[aussiestyle1983]

How so?

I don't work in LOS anymore and don't plan to for a long time if ever again, so this won't make a difference to me but I do have the right to free speach whether or not you like it so I will use that right to state my opinion regardless. I just feel sorry for all the good teachers who put in the hard work and are more than capable of teaching that get pushed around by new laws and regulations every time someone at the MOE has a bad nights sleep or thinks of a new idea. If you are happy to not have an opinion on the TOPIC, then so be it.

[mbkudu]

If you are happy to not have an opinion on the TOPIC, then so be it.

I do have an opinion, and I stated it: I think you're overreacting. The teachers who have legitimate degrees will be part of the system without many obstacles, and the ones who do not will have to know people who can get around the system. It's as simple as that. They like fancy bits of paper.

Edited June 30, 2007 by mbkudu

[mbkudu]

If you are happy to not have an opinion on the TOPIC, then so be it.

I do have an opinion, and I stated it: I think you're overreacting. The teachers who have legitimate degrees and credentials will be part of the system without many obstacles, and the ones who do not will have to know people who can get around the system. It's as simple as that. They like fancy bits of paper.

[aussiestyle1983]

If you are happy to not have an opinion on the TOPIC, then so be it.

I do have an opinion, and I stated it: I think you're overreacting. The teachers who have legitimate degrees and credentials will be part of the system without many obstacles, and the ones who do not will have to know people who can get around the system. It's as simple as that. They like fancy bits of paper.

What about false fancy bits of paper?

[Shoho]

I can't imagine that the Thais would be granting academic standing to any farangs too quickly. I could see this dangled as a carrot maybe that's about it.

[aussiestyle1983]

I can't imagine that the Thais would be granting academic standing to any farangs too quickly. I could see this dangled as a carrot maybe that's about it.

Of course they wouldn't, then they would lose their superiority or should I say, false sense of superiority