Call for papers

The Faculty of Education (Chiang Mai University) has called for papers to be published in its Journal.

These articles can be based on personal research or be compiling from readings.

Publication schedule:

• First issue: December 2010
• Second issue: March 2011
• Third issue: June 2011
• Fourth issue: December 2011

Articles' submissions are welcome from now on. Writers will receive hard copies as a token.

Please send your manuscript to the editor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phasina Tangchuang at: phasina@yahoo.com or phasina@hotmail.com

E-journal / Faculty of Education

The Journal of the Faculty of Education in which articles from CELS-affiliated researchers were published (see previous post) is now available online , in PDF format.

Please click here for a free download.

Journal of Education Chiang Mai University

The faculty of Education has now released the paper version of its newest Journal (Volume 36, Number 1-2, January-December 2009)

Phasina Tangchuang was editor of this issue and published different articles.

Other CELS researchers contributed to it as well:

- Audrey Baron-Gutty / The intricacies of basic education decentralisation in Thailand
- Phasina Tangchuang and Alain Mounier / Research programmes and building research capacity within the Centre for Education and Labour Studies (CELS) 2008-20111: experiences, lessons, perspectove and prospects
- Xavier Oudin / Education systems in Thailand and Vietnam: A comparison

Interesting reading

The French National Institute on Educational Research (INRP Institut National de Recherche Pédagogique) has released the English translation of an interesting file about the changes in educational policies.

It is entitled In the footsteps of the world education market and is available online.

Please click here if you want to download it for free.

Book release

The CELS is proud to announce that its book "Education & Knowledge in Thailand. The Quality Controversy", edited by Alain Mounier and Phasina Tangchaung, has been released.

More details are avalaible on the publishing house website : Silkwormbooks.

Coming soon...

Silkworm Books will soon be releasing the result of a long-lasting, fascinating CELS research programme: the book "Education and Knowledge in Thailand. The Quality Controversy".

Their website presents it with the following details:

If an observer asked today whether Thailand is becoming a “knowledge-based society”, the reply might be yes—provided that the country continues to invest in the education of her citizens.

Yet the authors of this book take a strongly critical view of Thai education. Investing more money in education is certainly essential, but it will not automatically lead to a knowledge-based society. On the contrary, they say, current changes in policy and approach are actually moving Thai education away from transmitting and producing knowledge and scholarship, away from developing and honing individual abilities to think and learn. This failure parallels world trends: the uncontrolled and unbalanced increase in enrolment; the interference by political and economic interests in the orientation and management of educational institutions; and the commodification of education—in particular, privatisation, internationalisation and vocationalism. These symptoms are diagnostic of the so-called diploma disease which pervades the system. Public policymakers in Thailand are unfortunately too quick to compromise and may be unable to reverse this trajectory.

To overcome obstacles to a quality education, a society must place the transmission and production of knowledge at the core of the educational endeavour, genuinely and authentically, without making concessions to lesser aims and rationales. This commitment would give present and future Thai students the skills and abilities they need to master their own future and contribute to the destiny of the nation.

The book is a lively interplay between theory and well-documented facts. It offers a quantitative and qualitative analysis which is fundamental to understanding the overall situation of Thai education, to advancing the debate on educational quality and to charting a course for the future. It will appeal widely to educators, students, parents, academics, researchers and policymakers who are concerned about the state of education in Thailand.

Highlights

• An original and critical scientific analysis of the Thai education system in historical and comparative perspectives
• A critical look at the 1999 Education Reform
• A comprehensive survey of education theories
• The first study of education in Thailand using field data from the last half-century
• A detailed analysis of the determinants of educational quality
• An analysis of current impediments to educational quality
  

OP 11 Education, Economy and Identity Ten Years of Educational Reform in Thailand

The CELS is proud to announce the release of the Occasional Paper published together with the IRASEC.

Irasec – Occasional Paper n°11, September 2009, 114 p.

ISBN : 978-61616-90282-0-83

Abstract:

The last educational reform in Thailand, starting in 1999, has tried to balance two challenges: safeguarding the Thai culture and identity, and ensuring a solid basis for Thailand in a world economy oriented towards knowledge-based and high-tech goals.
Policy-makers have put the stress on strengthening “Thai local wisdom” and this has been put in practise through the obligation for schools to develop a local curriculum. This curriculum shall represent 30% of the overall teaching hours. This provision epitomises the search for a balanced schooling system, between indigenous wisdom, global knowledge and employability.
The other dimension of the reform has been to secure Thailand’s position in a context of high value-added industrialisation. Policy-makers have put the stress on the development of vocational and technical education, and cooperative education programmes. Their goals in terms of labour force training improvements have proved difficult to achieve.

The Editors:

Audrey BARON-GUTTY (Université de Lyon, Institut d’Asie Orientale) is a PhD Student in Political Science. Her thesis deals with the impact of globalisation on the making and implementation of national educational policies, with a special focus on Thailand and its educational reform launched in 1999. She was sponsored for two years by the IRASEC to carry out her field work and the CELS (Centre for Education and Labour Studies), based at Chiang Mai University, provided her with institutional support.

Supat CHUPRADIT (CELS, Faculty of Education, Chiang Mai University) is a PhD student in Research and Development in Education. His thesis topic deals with dual vocational training in vocational and technical institutions in Thailand, and its role in skills and knowledge formation and transmission. He has taken part in CELS-conducted research projects, including the one funded by NRCT (National Research Council of Thailand) on education and poverty.

The Contributors:
Audrey BARON-GUTTY, Chitrlada BURAPHARAT, Kwanchewan BUADAENG, Supat CHUPRADIT, Prasit LEEPREECHA

Follow the links for more details and free download in PDF format.

Planned CELS activities for the following weeks

From 25^th May to 5^th June 2009, Phasina Tangchuang, Ben Kittikhun and Visarut Tangchuang will go to Udorn Thani and Sakon Nakhon provinces to fulfil the JEAI-CELS and NRCT research programmes.

Their research activities during these two weeks will include:

1) Interviewing around 150-200 poor workers, from different occupations in various villages, sub-districts and districts in these 2 provinces, to back up the CELS research programme studying the links between education and poverty.

2) Studying the context of education by focusing on schools. Around 10 teachers from each school (4 schools per province) will be interviewed.

3) Observing mathematics teachers, from different schools, preparing lesson plans (and sharing their experiences) on Multiplication and Division for the 4th grade students. Teachers will be video-recorded when preparing lesson plans; in-depth interviews will be conducted to study their professional and individual backgrounds. The recorded materials will then be used to allow analysis using Transana Programme by researchers from CELS and involved Rajabhat Universities, and also supporting experts from University Lumière-Lyon 2 (France).

From 15^th to 27^th June, the CELS team will carry out the same tasks but in Uttaradit and Lampang provinces.

CELS Discussion Papers, 2008/4

Publication from CELS

Title: Population and Labour Market Prospective in Thailand and Vietnam
Authors: Xavier Oudin
Language: English

In this discussion paper, we have gathered some studies based on statistical comparisons between Vietnam and Thailand. They were the material used for numerous presentations, discussions and of course, for the final report submitted to the Thai Research Fund.
It was not in the terms of reference of this project to compare economic performances of the two countries. The few materials presented here are just contextual information, recalling that Vietnam, despite rapid economic growth in the last two decades, still lag behind Thailand. The demographic frame seemed important to the participants inasmuch as it impacts on the labour market and on economic choices.
As shown in a previous discussion paper, Vietnam and Thailand face opposite constraints from population evolution. In this paper, we detail the projections of population and their impact on the age structure. We then focus on the consequences of the demographic transition on labour markets in the two countries. We try to draw some perspectives on labour market and even introduce some hypotheses concerning skills. This allows us to make a simulation of what the labour market will look like in 2025.

To download CELS Discussion Papers 2008/4, please click here.

This CELS Discussion Papers supported the Research Project "Labour Capacity Preparation in Thailand and in Vietnam 1980-2025", sponsored by TRF (June 2007-June 2008).

To see how you can contribute to "CELS Discussion Papers" series, please follow this link.

CELS Discussion Papers, 2009/1

Publication from CELS

Title: The implementation of the local content provision in Thai basic education
Authors: Audrey Baron-Gutty and Supat Chupradit
Language: English

This paper is based on questionnaires submitted by the CELS in schools located in poor areas of Northern and North-Eastern Thailand. The aim was to assess to which extent the schools have implemented the so-called 'local curriculum' that they have been put in charge with.
This field survey was also a way to evaluate the content of this curriculum and the hurdles towards its implementation.
To download CELS Discussion Papers 2009/1, please click here.

This paper supports the reasearch project launched in December 2008, 'Education, Identity and Economy. Ten Years of Educational Reform in Thailand'.

To see how you can contribute to "CELS Discussion Papers" series, please follow this link.

CELS Discussion Papers, 2008/3

Publication from CELS

Title: The development of education and training systems in Vietnam and current situation
Author: Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tien Dat
Language: English

After a brief overview of the development of educational and training systems in Vietnam, this paper provides a description of the current situation in Vietnam.This CELS Discussion Papers has supported the Research Project "Labour Capacity Preparation in Thailand and in Vietnam 1980-2020", sponsored by TRF (June 2007-June 2008).

To download CELS Discussion Papers 2008/3, please click here.

To see how you can contribute to "CELS Discussion Papers" series, please follow this link.

CELS Discussion Papers, 2008/2

Publication from CELS

Title: Comparing population structure and education systems between Thailand and Vietnam
Authors: Xavier Oudin and Phasina Tangchuang
Language: English

Following short articles are the basic material used to popularise some findings of the research programme funded by the Thai Research Fund (TRF). At their request, articles were published in order to disseminate findings of research projects to a larger audience. Final articles were published in Thai in the Krungthep Thurakit (Bangkok Business) in 2008.
The first article compares the age structure of population of Vietnam and Thailand and shows the implication of different situations in both countries. One of them is the pressure for migration, as explained in the second article. The third and fourth articles deal with education systems, more particularly with the organisation of the Vocational and Technical Education and the paths or trajectories of study in VTE. A last article gives some reflexions on selection in the education system in the two countries, which were discussed during this project.
This CELS Discussion Papers has supported the Research Project "Labour Capacity Preparation in Thailand and in Vietnam 1980-2020", sponsored by TRF (June 2007-June 2008).

To download CELS Discussion Papers 2008/2, please click here.

To see how you can contribute to "CELS Discussion Papers" series, please follow this link.

Link to CELS Publications and CELS Research Themes

CELS Publications

• Working Papers

CELS Working Papers No5, 2007: Xavier Oudin, Surveys on the Labour Force in Thailand Part I: Characteristics of the Labour Force

CELS Working Papers No4, 2007: Phasina Tangchuang, Studies on Higher Education in Thailand. 1. Skills: Employers versus Higher Education; 2. Is there an Inflation of Doctoral Degree Programs?

CELS Working Papers No3, 2006: CELS, ศักยภาพของแรงงานไทย: บทเรียนจากการสัมภาษณ์พนักงานและผู้บริหารสถานประกอบการ [Thai Labour Competencies: Lessons learned from Interviewing Employees and Managers]

CELS Working Papers No2, 2006: CELS, Social Opinions on Education
CELS Working Papers No1, September 2005: CELS, Political Philosophy of the Education Reform [ปรัชญาการเมืองของการปฏิรูปการศึกษา]

• Discussion Papers

CELS Discussion Papers, 2009/1: Audrey Baron-Gutty and Supat Chupradit, The implementation of the local content provision in Thai basic education
CELS Discussion Papers, 2008/4: Xavier Oudin, Population and Labour Market Prospective in Thailand and Vietnam
CELS Discussion Papers, 2008/3: Nguyen Tien Dat, The development of education and training systems in Vietnam, and current situation
CELS Discussion Papers, 2008/2: Xavier Oudin and Phasina Tangchuang, Comparing population structure and education systems between Thailand and Vietnam
CELS Discussion Papers, 2008/1: Alain Mounier and Phasina Tangchuang, Characterizing Poverty in Thailand

• Training Series (not downloadable; available at CELS Office only-Chiang Mai)
  

CELS Training Series No.4, Proceedings of the Fourth Workshop, "Education and Economic Growth: From Global to Domestic Practices", August 2002
CELS Training Series No.3, Proceedings of the Third Workshop, "Art Education withing the Educational Reform Framework", April 2002
CELS Training Series No.2, Proceedings of the Second Workshop, "Human Ressources Development and Competencies: The Educational Dimensions", 2000
CELS Training Series No.1, Proceedings of the First Workshop, "Family Behaviour regarding Education", 2000

Link to CELS Research Themes

CELS Discussion Papers, 2008/1

Publication from CELS

Title: Characterizing poverty in Thailand
Authors: Alain Mounier and Phasina Tangchuang
Language: English

International literature on poverty has considered three major interrogations: How to define poverty? Who are the poor? What are the causes of poverty? The present paper surveys how these questions have been answered and how these answers shape the picture of poverty in Thailand. A last section looks at the policy prescriptions made by these analyses for reducing poverty.

This CELS Discussion Papers has supported the Research Project “Education and Poverty”, sponsored by NRCT (2007-2009).

To download CELS Discussion Papers 2008/1, please click here.

To see how you can contribute to "CELS Discussion Papers" series, please follow this link.

Link to CELS Publications and CELS Research Themes

“CELS Discussion Papers” / CELSได้จัดให้มีการตีพิมพ์ชุดความรู้

The CELS has launched a series of publications named “CELS Discussion Papers”. CELS welcomes in this series papers related to CELS research themes from any scholar and person involved in research projects. Please see attached for details.

ศูนย์วิจัยเพื่อการศึกษาและแรงงาน(CELS)ได้จัดให้มีการตีพิมพ์ชุดความรู้ที่ยังต้องมีการถกเถียงกันต่อไปที่เรียกว่า “CELS Discussion Papers”
CELS ต้อนรับนักวิชาการผู้ที่มีผลงานในลักษณะดังกล่าวที่สัมพันธ์กับสิ่งที่ CELS ให้ความสนใจเพื่อจัดพิมพ์เผยแพร่ต่อไป ดูรายละเอียดเพิ่มเติม

Link to CELS Publications

The Education-Work Controversy, Alain Mounier, Journal of Education (2006)

Article from CELS Researcher published in Journal of Education (2006)

Title: The Education-Work Controversy
Author: Alain Mounier
Language: English
Published in Journal of Education, Volume 33, Number 1-2, January-December 2006

To download this article, please click here.
Please mention all needed details when quoting it.

CELS Working Papers No3, 2006

Publication from CELS

Title:Thai Labour Competencies: Lessons learned from Interviewing Employees and Managers. [ศักยภาพของแรงงานไทย: บทเรียนจากการสัมภาษณ์พนักงานและผู้บริหารสถานประกอบการ]
Author: CELS
Language: Thai
ISBN 974-672-010-4

To download CELS Working Papers No3, 2006, please click here

When using it as a reference, please quote all related details.

Link to CELS Research Themes and CELS Publications

CELS Working Papers No2, 2006

Publication from CELS

Title: Social Opinions on Education
Author: CELS
Language: English
ISBN 974-656-896-5

Have participated in one or several phases of the study: Assoc. Prof. Dr Annop Pongwat, Assoc. Prof. Dr Phasina Tangchuang, Assoc. Prof. Chaviwan Sukapanpotharam, Assoc. Prof. Dr Anurak Panyanuwat, Assit. Prof. Winai Somdee, Prof. Sen Saisuphaluck, Research Assistant Seejan Jaipor, Dr. Alain Mounier.

To download CELS Working Papers No2, 2006, please click here.

When using it as a reference, please quote all related details.

Link to CELS Research Themes and CELS Publications

CELS Working Papers No5, 2007

Publication from CELS

Title: Surveys on the Labour Force in Thailand
Part I: Characteristics of the Labour Force
Author: Xavier Oudin
Language: English
ISBN 978-974-672-381-7

This working paper presents a first set of results of two surveys conducted by CELS in 2004 and 2005. The surveys are part of a research programme funded by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) that was conducted from 2004 to 2007. The main purpose of the research programme was to analyse the effect of education and formation of skills on labour productivity and hence on Thai international competitive advantage and on national economic and social development. To download CELS Working Papers No5, 2007, please click here.

When using it as a reference, please quote all related details.

Link to CELS Research Themes and CELS Publications

CELS Working Papers No1, September 2005

Publication from CELS

Title: Political Philosophy of the Education Reform [ปรัชญาการเมืองของการปฏิรูปการศึกษา]
Author: CELS
Language: English
ISBN 974-656-774-8

Philosophies of education cannot be understood except in a broad context of societal evolution and history. In Part 1, we examine political philosophies that explain educational policies in an historical perspective. In Part 2, different approaches of philosophies of education are presented. The “stream approach” is used in Part 3 to build a general and manageable theoretical framework for revealing the meaning and possible effects of educational policies. This framework gives sense to current debates on education worldwide and in Thailand as well. To download CELS Working Papers No1, September 2005, please click here.

When using it as a reference, please quote all related details.

Link to CELS Research Themes and to CELS Publications