A Study on the Principles and Development of Basic Education Reform in Thailand

Abstract

Thailand in the 1990s faced rapid changes in the era of globalization.In order to cope with these changes, Thailand needed to raise its science and technology standard and equip Thai people with international competitive competence.The Thai economy underwent stunning growth which caused imbalanced development. The financial crisis in 1997 underlined the urgent need for reform in education. The new 1997 Constitution provides challenging guidelines for education reform. It mandates 12 years of basic education for all children (Section 43). The 1999 National Education Act is the first law of its kind in Thai history and serves as master legislation on education in the country. In accordance with the new Constitution and the National Education Act, the 2001 Basic Education Curriculum was formulated.
This study is aimed at examining 1)government policies on education reform; 2) characteristics of basic education reform as viewed from legislative and curriculum reforms; 3)the process of basic education reform through empirical analysis; and 4) issues and challenges for basic education reform.It is hoped that this study will clarify how the country copes with such a crisis by looking at basic education reform in Thailand as a case study.