Education reform: First put teachers back in the classroom!

[aarontendo]

Many people enter education programs here because they have some of the lowest requirements. I just read a dissertation about it recently and it did a fantastic job explaining it. Not all of those want to enter the teaching field.

[jbauer]

Many people enter education programs here because they have some of the lowest requirements. I just read a dissertation about it recently and it did a fantastic job explaining it. Not all of those want to enter the teaching field.

I'm not trying to bs- I would be interested to read this dissertation. Do you happen to have a link / title?

[aarontendo]

Among departments in prestigious government universities, schools of education tend to have among the lowest entrance examination scores. Many students enroll in training programs as a means to obtain a university education and with no intent to work as schoolteachers following graduation. The example of Chulalongkorn University, considered to be one of the most prestigious universities in Thailand, illustrates this point. Its school of education is considered one of the best in terms of the qualification of faculty and students. Nonetheless, many of its students list other departments as their first or second preference for admission, but obtain acceptance into the faculty of education instead due to their low average entrance score.

Nearly 80 percent of its graduates do not take up teaching as a profession, largely as a result of the failure of teacher salaries to keep pace with the cost of living as Thailand continues to develop economically (Somwang,2010).

From https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:yw658sz0538/Pumsaran_Dissertation_Aug2010_title_b-augmented.pdf

Wasn't the main point of his dissertation, which is worth looking over a bit to be honest. And certainly that portion quoted isn't the most scientific, but I would guess that it's not off the mark by much. The dissertation is more concerned with quality of instruction for math and sciences, which as an American I can say is a worthwhile problem for us to investigate back home too. Seems we have something in common there =)

[aarontendo]

To be frank, when you look at tests such as the GRE and GMAT education majors tend to perform pretty poorly on those as well. Some would argue that it teaches much more in the way of people skills and obviously pedagogy, both of which wouldn't be measured by those. Still, the numbers are what the numbers are.

[jbauer]

Thanks for that!

[aarontendo]

Yep, no worries. Came across it and thought it was an interesting read =)

[Rhys]

Hey Capt A...

Thanks for the link.. interesting as well... yet.. backgrounds of Thai students, religious and social economic status.. have a role in their education development..

Cheers

[gerryBScot]

Yup aarontendo thx for the link. always good to get access to research about the Thai system written by Thai academics. i don't have the time to read it right now but that third essay on Thai teachers and moonlighting looks fascinating.

[Mr Somtam]

The no-fail system is the real deal-killer when it comes to improving the Thai Ed system. As long as the students know that it doesn't matter what they learn or don't learn, they will continue to have no motivation the learn anything.

This: Teachers spend 40 per cent of their time working on the mandatory assessment forms required by the Education Ministry, most of which have no direct impact on the quality of their teaching or on the students. This activity takes up 43 days a year.

is another big problem. The system is set up to grind any motivation or enthusiasm out of both the students and the teachers.

I recently attended a seminar given by a Thai professor who was an adviser to the MOE for curriculum design. She was arrogant, narrow-minded, confrontational when questioned and a boring teacher. Here is one of her choice quotes "the problem with the Thai educational system is that foreign teachers are not educated", and when asked a question about redundant paperwork she said, "you should do this (spend hours copying a book) because it will make you a better teacher!". With people like her in charge of the MOE, Thailand will never improve.

Ah, one of the dinosaurs! Don't you just love 'em!

[typ123]

increasing classroom time is not the answer. the extracurriculars are a good thing and don't need to be diminished. increasing classroom time is only going to make things worse. once again they seem to be avoiding the glaring issues at the root of the system

this is just another ploy by the government to save face and act like they are doing something. the schools will save face by putting on a show when necessary but these policies will fade away eventually and wont be reinforced. the dance of the phony faces goes round and round

[Mr Somtam]

It is very simple. The Thai Government does not want educated Thais.

And there we have it: the T.R.U.T.H.