Science Education in Thailand: Moving Through Crisis to Opportunity
Both globalization and Westernization have influenced the Thai education system and have led to educational reforms. This chapter begins with a brief overview of the science educational reforms that have occurred in Thailand since 1868. Based on empirical
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Science Education in Thailand: Moving Through Crisis to Opportunity Chatree Faikhamta and Luecha Ladachart
Abstract Both globalization and Westernization have influenced the Thai education system and have led to educational reforms. This chapter begins with a brief overview of the science educational reforms that have occurred in Thailand since 1868. Based on empirical research and our personal perspectives and experiences as Thai science educators, we go on to provide a synopsis of the status of the current educational context, including the aims of science education, student performance, and teacher preparation and development. In the main body of the chapter, we discuss the challenges and complexities of helping Thai students achieve scientific literacy and encouraging science teachers to shift their traditional teaching style to a constructivist-based approach. We then describe the process of moving Thai science education through crisis to opportunity and of creating a balance between sociocultural factors and the needs of today’s knowledge-based society.
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Science Education Reform
Thailand is situated in Southeast Asia and is bordered by Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. It has never been colonized by a European power. The main religion in Thailand is Buddhism, but there are also significant numbers of Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, and other religions. Buddhism is a central part of community life and has had a strong influence on the culture and attitude of the Thai people. The general characteristics of Thai people are that they are peaceful, generous, concerned for others, adhere to the religious moral teachings, and uphold the institution of the monarchy. Despite the uniqueness of the Thai culture, however, modern advances and Western technologies and beliefs have affected the way that Thai people live and interact with each other. In particular, the rapid technology C. Faikhamta (&) Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand e-mail: [email protected] L. Ladachart Ministry of Education, Bangkok, Thailand © Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 M.-H. Chiu (ed.), Science Education Research and Practice in Asia, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0847-4_11
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development over the past few decades has caused tremendous changes in the primary structure of Thai society, and the country is moving away from dependence on agriculture to become a semi-industrial and information-based economy (NESDB 2002). The current education system in Thailand has been in a state of reform since 1999. Historically, there have been three main periods of reform. Roadrangka et al. (2010) have researched Thai science education for many decades; in their work, they clearly describe the history of Thai education reforms. The first reform occurred from 1868 to 1910, when King Chulalongkorn focused on modernization as a way of life and tried to overcome Western colonization by creating a modern and independent Thailand. The second reform (1973–1980) emphasized preparing the Thai people f
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