This interdisciplinary book offers a critical analysis of Thai education and its evolution, providing diverse perspectives and theoretical frameworks. In the past five decades Thailand has seen impressive economic success and it is now a middle-income country that provides development assistance to poorer countries. However, educational and social development have lagged considerably behind itsglobally recognized economic success. This comprehensive book covers each level of education, such as higher and vocational/technical education, and such topics as internationalization, inequalities and disparities, alternative education, non-formal and informal education, multilingual education, educational policy and planning, and educational assessment. The 25 Thai and 8 international contributors to the volume include well-known academics and practitioners. Thai education involves numerous paradoxes, which are identified and explained. While Thailand has impressively expanded its educationalsystem quantitatively with much massification, quality problems persist at all levels. As such, the final policy-oriented summary chapter suggests strategies to enable Thailand to escape "the middle income trap" and enhance the quality of its education to ensure its long-term developmental success.

Autorentext
Gerald W. Fry is a Distinguished International Professor at the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. He received his BA from Stanford University, an MPA from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton, and his Ph.D. from Stanford University. Previously Dr. Fry was a professor of political science and international studies at the University of Oregon where he also directed the International Studies Program and the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies. He was the team leader for major Asian Development Bank projects related to education reform in Thailand and Laos.. He has previously taught at Stanford and various universities in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. In 1991-1992 he was a Pew Fellow in International Affairs at the Kennedy School at Harvard. His many publications include the books, Pacific Basin and Oceania; The International Education of Development Consultants: Communicating with Peasants and Princes; the International Development Dictionary; Thailand and its Neighbors: Interdisciplinary Perspectives; Association of Southeast Asian Nations; and Historical Dictionary of Thailand.

Inhalt
PART I Background: The Thai Context.- 1 History and Development of Thai Education.- 2 The Thai Context: Historical, Cultural, Demographic, Geographic, Economic, and Political.- 3 Religion and Educational Development.- Part II The contemporary Thai Educational System.- 4 The Structure of Thai Education.- 5 Preschool and Primary Education.- 6 Rethinking Thai Secondary Education.- 7 Vocational Education in Thailand: Its Evolution, Strengths and Limitations, and Blueprint for the Future.- 8 Non-Formal and Informal Education in Thailand.- 9 Thai Higher Education: Privatization and Massification.- 10 Quality and Autonomous Universities: Policy Promises and the Paradox of Leadership.- 11 The Internationalization of Higher Education over the Decades: Formidable Challenges Remain!.- Part III Major educational issues: Inequalities and disparities.- 12 Education of the Disadvantaged.- 13 Inequalities in Educational Attainment.- 14 Regional Educational Disparities in Thailand.- 15 Education in Thailand's Ethnic Languages: Reflections on a Decade of Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education Policy and Practice.- Part IV Educational Issues: Quality.- 16 Interaction of Education with Research and Development.- 17 The Evolution and Current Status of STEM Education in Thailand: Policy Directions and Recommendations.- 18 Redesigning Teacher Education.- 19 Quality Issues of Education in Thailand.- Part V Planning, policy, reforms, leadership, and accountability.- 20 The Evolution of Educational Policy and Planning: From NEC to ONEC and OEC.- 21 The Evolution of Education Reform in Thailand.- 22 Thailand's Challenge of Systemic Education Reform: Where Are the Leaders with the 'Right Stuff'?.- 23 The Financing of Thai Education.- 24 Educational Testing, Assessment, and Quality Assurance.- Part IV Alternative educational paths and future directions.- 25 Shadow Education in Thailand: Thai and International Perspectives.- 26 Thai Alternative Education.- 27 Synthesis, Rethinking Thai Education: Paradoxes, Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities.