Download The Thai Higher Education System

Internationalisation of Thai Higher
Education: Some Critical Reflections
*Dr. Craig Wheway
**Titiyawadee Punmanee
*Lecturer, Rajabhat Maha Sarakham University, Thailand. E-mail: [email protected]
**PhD Candidate, Canterbury Christ Church University. E-mail: [email protected]
Contents
1. Historical development of the Thai Higher
Education system
2. Characteristics of Thai internationalisation
(Via international programmes).
3. Unequal distribution of labour
4. What isn’t measured (Quality Assurance)
5. Final thoughts
Historical Development
• Higher education systems in developing
countries developed in different ways from
the West.
• Adoption of colonial models from the British
• In Thailand, ‘role of the state’ and the
‘academic oligarchy’ are important (Nilphan,
2005).
• ‘Tight’ relationship between the two.
Historical Development (2)
• Social and cultural differences between
countries.
• Thailand not colonised (well , not fully)
• Thai model criticised for have too much
government control and a lack of autonomy
• This situation, at least economically is
changing.
Chulalongkorn University (Elite)
Chulalongkorn University
(Massification)
Chulalongkorn (Graduation)
First Graduation for King Rama IX and Queen Sirikit
Contemporary Situation
• Education spending as a proportion of total
GDP has increased from 3.9% in 1997 to 4.3%
in 2000. As of 2009, spending was at 4.1% of
GDP .
• Increases in expenditure not linked to
increases in performance.
World Bank World Development
Indicators (2014)
Thailand
Scientific and technical
journal articles
UK
Scientific and technical
journal articles
2011 (latest) 2,304
1986 (oldest) 226
1985 (oldest) 32,256
2012 (latest) 46,032
% of labour force with tertiary
education
% of labour force with tertiary
education
2012 (17%) inc
colleges,/tech/universities
2012 (38.09%) inc
colleges,/tech/universities
Characteristics of Thai
internationalisation
• Through international programmes
Q. What is the rationale for
internationalisation?
• Thailand has a low number of researchers per
head of population.
• About 40% of 18-22 year olds have access to
higher education.
Internationalisation (3)
• Internationalisation has run hand-in hand with
the neoliberalisation of the Thai system.
• Government support is slowly being eroded
and fees have been introduced.
• Teaching in English is generally an elite activity
with quality instruction in English costing close
to Western levels
Global University Rankings
Name of Ranking
QS World University
Ranking 2014/15 (World)
Times World University
Rankings (2014-2015)
University
Ranking
(World)
Ranking
(Asia)
Chulalongkorn University
243
48
Kasetsart University
601
151
Thammasat University
651
134
Chulalongkorn University
Outside top 400
Kasetsart University
Outside top 400
Thammasat University
Outside top 400
• King Mongkut’s University of Technology (Thonburi) Times World University
Ranking: 351! (Highest in Thailand)
• Was a skilled labour college until 1974.
• Focus on engineering
Course fees
Rajabhat Maha Sarakham
English Program: One semester 16,400 baht (£339)
Maha Sarakham University (Northeast)
Business School International Program (Bachelor)
Thai: 193,500 (4 years, £4,004)
Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok)
International Program (Bachelor): 2013 Entrance:
Thai: 209,250 (£4,331)
International: 329,750 (£6,825)
Student expectations
• They will improve their English.
• The academic content of courses is rarely
considered.
"Thai students say, study just enough to get your
degree. But people like me want to gain knowledge;
I need to get some ideas to get out into the world of
work. I want something in the omelette. Honestly, I
want the teaching and learning here to be better"
(Indian student-Thai student quoted in Nilphan,
2005: 212).
Unequal distribution of labour?
• Focus on ‘human resource development’
• Dominance of the Chulalongkorn, Thammasat
and Kasetsart
• Backdrop of inadequately trained teachers in
education generally (UN 21% not teaching
subject trained in).
• Chronic ‘underemployment’ (Kittiprapas,
2002) even though headline unemployment is
0.89%!!!!!
The ‘elite’ and the ‘bog standard’
• Contrasting the elite with the Rajabhat
universities.
• Internationalisation in the Rajabhat
universities is confined to a narrow range of
subjects taught in English.
• MOU agreements often for ‘show’.
What isn’t measured (Quality
Assurance)
• What the official statistics fail to
show/indicate
• Quality assurance misses real quality
- Supervision of teaching and research
standards
• Ministry of University Affairs (MUA) often only
check standards via whether English is the
main medium of teaching
Quality (2)
• Pressure to teach rather than research (I have
reference)
• 2,000 baht (£40) per hour rates at the big
universities for additional teaching.
• Other universities outside the ‘big three’
(reputation) have already established
international programmes.
Quality Assurance
• SAR, TQF (Thai Quality Framework)
• Copying of Western models (without actual
checking of standards)
• Administrators when questioned, noted 75%
of students were in employment after their
studies.
• Detailed break down of destinations was
lacking.
Assumption University
• Approach common, promotion on ‘fixed
assets’ (Maybe these are more tangible in
Thailand)
• Cathedral of Learning
• Elite students in international programmes do
go on to get good jobs through patronage.
• But are they competitive in a global market
place? (ASEAN)
Signature Architecture
Final thoughts
• Internationalisation is taking place
• Thai universities ‘desire’ internationalisation
to add credibility.
• Challenges are related to structural and
societal inequalities.
• Future research needs to consider the
neoliberalisation of the Thai higher education
system.