Report Thai Schools Struggle with New Literacy-Based Curriculum Shake-Up

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of Thai PBS

 

Thailand's Education Ministry is stirring the educational pot with the introduction of a new literacy-based curriculum across 4,400 state schools. Debuting this upcoming semester, the policy has ruffled some feathers as educators and experts voice concerns about the abrupt curriculum change.

 

Lecturer Athapol Anunthavorasakul from Chulalongkorn University has highlighted that teachers only learned of this major shift a couple of months ago, sparking confusion and frustration among the academic community.

 

The revamped curriculum will debut at the preschool and Prathom 1-3 levels, focusing on reading, writing, and maths skills as part of a lifelong learning strategy.

 

The Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) claims the new courses are thoroughly researched and devised in consideration of the Thai context, supported by online resources and AI tools for teachers.

 

Despite these assurances, some educators feel overwhelmed by the short notice and additional training required to implement the new system.

 

Under the new plan, traditional GPA evaluations are replaced with skill-level assessments, categorised as beginner, developing, proficient, and expert. This significant shift away from core subject focus to skill-based learning is viewed as a bold step to lift the nation's educational standards.

 

However, many teachers are apprehensive, fearing an increased workload and complications in handling multiple teaching curriculums, particularly amidst transitioning students between old and new curriculum frameworks.

 

Critics, like Athapol, argue the rollout is premature, likening it to a "hot potato" scenario where schools are left to adjust with minimal support. Educators also question why the Competency-Based Curriculum, already being trialled in some regions, was not chosen instead.

 

Obec's Secretary-General, Thanu Wongchinda, remains optimistic, hoping the new educational approach will prepare Thai children for future challenges.

 

If successful, the new framework could extend to senior primary and secondary school levels. Despite the challenges, Obec pledges smooth transitions for students switching between different curricular systems.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Thai PBS 2025-05-13

 

 

[DrPhibes]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Picture courtesy of Thai PBS

 

Thailand's Education Ministry is stirring the educational pot with the introduction of a new literacy-based curriculum across 4,400 state schools. Debuting this upcoming semester, the policy has ruffled some feathers as educators and experts voice concerns about the abrupt curriculum change.

 

Lecturer Athapol Anunthavorasakul from Chulalongkorn University has highlighted that teachers only learned of this major shift a couple of months ago, sparking confusion and frustration among the academic community.

 

The revamped curriculum will debut at the preschool and Prathom 1-3 levels, focusing on reading, writing, and maths skills as part of a lifelong learning strategy.

 

The Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) claims the new courses are thoroughly researched and devised in consideration of the Thai context, supported by online resources and AI tools for teachers.

 

Despite these assurances, some educators feel overwhelmed by the short notice and additional training required to implement the new system.

 

Under the new plan, traditional GPA evaluations are replaced with skill-level assessments, categorised as beginner, developing, proficient, and expert. This significant shift away from core subject focus to skill-based learning is viewed as a bold step to lift the nation's educational standards.

 

However, many teachers are apprehensive, fearing an increased workload and complications in handling multiple teaching curriculums, particularly amidst transitioning students between old and new curriculum frameworks.

 

Critics, like Athapol, argue the rollout is premature, likening it to a "hot potato" scenario where schools are left to adjust with minimal support. Educators also question why the Competency-Based Curriculum, already being trialled in some regions, was not chosen instead.

 

Obec's Secretary-General, Thanu Wongchinda, remains optimistic, hoping the new educational approach will prepare Thai children for future challenges.

 

If successful, the new framework could extend to senior primary and secondary school levels. Despite the challenges, Obec pledges smooth transitions for students switching between different curricular systems.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Thai PBS 2025-05-13

 

 

"Under the new plan, traditional GPA evaluations are replaced with skill-level assessments, categorised as beginner, developing, proficient, and expert."  Love it, my wife was going on to be a teacher before she met me, had her college degree and everything.  She looks at teachers now and says they act like HiSoc's.  

[SAFETY FIRST]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

teachers are apprehensive, fearing an increased workload

I bet they are, most of them go to school for the free food and to socialise. 

[Pouatchee]

only one way to do  it and that is cold turkey. delaying means it will never be implemented. only problem is, who rewrote the curriculum? I doubt these people were competent...

[Quentin Zen]

Seeing lots and lots of "teachers" hired without degrees and some leaving after only a day or week.......well, this system is broken.  Non-native speakers getting jealous, Thai teachers enforcing crazy rules to de-motivate the farang who gets about $1000 a month in a world where T-shirts are now selling for over $500.  Good luck.  

[2long]

Kids in P1-P3 are still very young. They all develop at different speeds and in different directions.

School for kids this age should be for socialising, learning their place in peer groups, learning to follow some fair rules, learning that they're not the centre of the universe, and a wee bit of academic subjects, but mostly practical stuff.

[BangkokReady]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Under the new plan, traditional GPA evaluations are replaced with skill-level assessments, categorised as beginner, developing, proficient, and expert. This significant shift away from core subject focus to skill-based learning is viewed as a bold step to lift the nation's educational standards.

 

However, many teachers are apprehensive, fearing an increased workload and complications in handling multiple teaching curriculums, particularly amidst transitioning students between old and new curriculum frameworks.

 

Sounds like it's going to become harder to fudge the numbers and they might have to do real teaching.

[KireB]

5 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I bet they are, most of them go to school for the free food and to socialise. 

I guess you never went to school.

[KireB]

2 hours ago, Quentin Zen said:

Seeing lots and lots of "teachers" hired without degrees and some leaving after only a day or week.......well, this system is broken.  Non-native speakers getting jealous, Thai teachers enforcing crazy rules to de-motivate the farang who gets about $1000 a month in a world where T-shirts are now selling for over $500.  Good luck.  

My t-shirts cost around 800 baht,

[Emdog]

"...focusing on reading, writing, and maths skills..." AKA "the 3 R's" What were they teaching before, or maybe were they teaching before? Vital skills like never asking questions (those students seen as "trouble makers". Seriously. How to assemble and stand in formation for no good reason (future police officers?). Learning that competency has no relationship to life outcomes (It's who you know, not what you know)

This radical view that students might learn something useful is bound to upset apple cart of Thai culture

[connda]

Presenting mind-numbing rote-learning in a new and improved package guaranteed to confuse teacher and students alike. 

[hotchilli]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

The revamped curriculum will debut at the preschool and Prathom 1-3 levels, focusing on reading, writing, and maths skills as part of a lifelong learning strategy

That's novel, some real education instead of playtime and sleeping.

[digger70]

9 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I bet they are, most of them go to school for the free food and to socialise. 

Some of them are only Wannabe teachers for a start.🙏

[jcmj]

They need to also add more English classes when they are this age as they are like a sponge. Maybe then they will be able to communicate better in English rather than just know the structure of a sentence. Unfortunately the teachers will not like this because most of them can barely get by speaking English. Sad for the children.