PROGRAMAS ACTUALES DE GESTIÓN DE RIESGOS

Despite such expressions of concern or qualification regarding Thailand becoming a globalized country, there is, at the same time, strong recognition of the need for educational reform. This thesis is arguing the need for educational reform within the context of globalization as a means of encouraging the development of a new social imaginary in Thai society. In advocating educational reform, it is stressed that this is not the responsibility of schools only: parents, the local community and the private sector all have an important role to play. The process must address teaching and learning, curriculum design, and the quality of schooling which, in many Western societies in recent years, has been referred to as having a ‘performance and development culture’ in education (Ball

2000; 2003; White, 2006; Smyth et al., 1999). This too requires a new imaginary for the management and practice of education.

In the process of educational reform, attention must also be given to the quality of teaching staff and education sector personnel. In 2008, the Ministry of Education developed a project called Return Teachers to Students which emphasizes reducing the workload of teachers, revising the debt structure of schools, establishing funding to develop the quality of life for teaching staff, and investing in information technology. Interestingly, this initiative placed responsibility for reform squarely with the performance of teachers. With respect to teachers, Preecha commented:

In relation to teachers’ development, this must be for the whole system. This should start with personnel selection. Teachers must truly love their profession. Their personality should be traced back to the time when they were secondary school students. The teachers’ selection and production process should begin at an early stage of the teachers’ development. Motivating factors should be created; for example, whether the social welfare system is adequately motivating or whether their salaries are high enough.

He further emphasized that teaching is an important occupation, whilst at the same time lamenting the fact that the standard of teaching in Thailand lagged behind that in many countries overseas:

In the Thai education system, teachers still have problems. Seen against teachers in foreign countries our teachers are still not comparable. As I have mentioned, we do not use English for communication and teachers still have problems in using a common language in searching for information. A good example is in the use of advanced technology. As our country is weak in terms of budget and our teachers do not have access to technology in the way they should and the younger generation, especially those from wealthy families, are far advanced in technology and thus have left their teachers behind.

His critical view about the quality of teachers and his call to overhaul all aspects of teaching is a challenge to the Ministry of Education and its management of curricula, schools, and teachers.

Another issue relating to the state of teaching has been the relatively low salaries paid to teachers. In the interviews conducted as part of this research, school principals have acknowledged that pay increases are an important source of motivation for teachers to improve their teaching skills. However, the average income of teachers in Thailand is still significantly lower than most other professions, which in practice means that teaching staff must find part-time jobs to adequately support themselves and their families. One of the school principals, Paitoon, addresses this saying that, “primarily, teachers should be paid higher salaries; the budget should be fully allocated to teachers’ salaries, as in Malaysia or Australia.” The poor salary was given all by the participants as a reason why some teachers are unfocused and unmotivated. As Paitoon put it:

The rate of hiring is still quite limited and teachers do not receive high payment and cannot be ensured of their progress as government officials. If only teacher morale could be boosted, they would become better teachers with teaching spirit.

In contrast, interviews with Ministry of Education officials drew attention to an increasing recognition that learning is no longer restricted to schools because technology allows students to learn anywhere and at any time. The problem however is that due to budget restraints, poor educational management, and the quality of teaching staff, numerous schools have not been able to embrance this potential for change.

Chaleyo, one of the policy makers in the Ministry of Education, also recommended that as part of overall reform in education the curriculum should be standardised in all areas in order to ensure a level of quality. This goes hand in hand with the reform of the ways in which teachers work that has been mentioned. He emphasized the importance of teachers supporting independent learning styles, arguing that this would enable students to develop their own ideas and knowledge outside of the classroom or school.

It is contended here that education reform is vital for the development of social creativity in current times. Children and young people can develop more effective ways of contributing to the ongoing development of communities and the country if their education supports a new imaginary. The curriculum must be developed in response to existing and emerging social needs, many of which have been occasioned by globalization. Of course curriculum and instructional design is a continual process that needs to reflect the interaction of prevailing norms and practices, with the need for change. Resources, whether in terms of ensuring that technology is available to all, or in terms of adequate salaries and professional development for teachers seems to lie at the hard of the chances for successful change.