Teachers, Teacher Education, and Professional Development

Teacher Education Specific to Mathematics and Science

The Office of the Higher Education Commission (OHEC) is responsible for overseeing education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The OHEC has the authority to manage, promote, and develop strategies for higher education in accordance with the academic freedom and excellence of degree-granting institutions. In its Second 15-Year Long Range Plan on Higher Education (2008–2022),⁸ the OHEC claims that the quality of secondary school students pursuing higher education has declined as a result of declining teacher quality.

The OHEC has concluded that new conditions must be established to attract talented applicants to the teaching profession, such as providing teacher education to graduates of majors other than education who wish to enter the profession. The OHEC has increased its efforts to review the parameters of teacher education and professional development in Thailand, for school teachers as well as vocational teachers, by undertaking the following measures:

Adjusting teacher education, recruitment, remuneration, and welfare to attract quality personnel who may be interested in the profession (e.g., by providing scholarships and civil service job placement guarantees)
Supporting research at higher education institutes on issues regarding the teaching profession, as well as establishing a system of guarantees to ensure the quality of teachers and teacher education institutes
Planning teacher education, development, and deployment systematically, and according to need
Helping graduates of other majors who are interested in becoming teachers to realize their potential as teachers, and allowing local community members to become involved in teaching and learning development
Developing an education system for teachers at the higher education level, which facilitates the integration of teaching ability, knowledge transfer, and management of professional development experiences

Currently, teacher education in Thailand is provided by teacher training colleges called Rajaphat Universities, as well as faculties of education at other universities. These programs emphasize learner-centered teaching methods and include courses in teaching methods, school administration, and general education subjects, as well as optional specialized courses, and a supervised practical teaching experience. There are two types of programs for educating professional teachers in Thailand: a five-year bachelor’s degree program and a one-year certificate program.

The five-year bachelor’s degree program is for basic education teachers (Grades 1 to 12) and comprises four years of coursework and one year of internship in an educational institution. The scope of the program includes teaching, research in classroom settings, curriculum development in schools, learner development activities, school service, and community education and services. A teaching license is conferred upon graduation.
The one-year certificate program is a professional development program open to bachelor’s degree graduates of any major who wish to pursue teaching as a profession. In this program, participants complete a teaching practicum at a certified school for one year. A teaching license is conferred upon successful completion of the program.

Requirements for Ongoing Professional Development

The IPST is one of the most prominent organizations providing professional development programs for in-service teachers of mathematics, science, and technology in Thailand. The IPST has developed a teacher education curriculum and organizes teacher education nationwide, offering face-to-face as well as distance learning programs via satellite and the Internet. In collaboration with certain networks, the IPST has been working to educate master trainers and mentors to assist teachers, through various initiatives developed to help carry out the following objectives:⁹

The development of scientific, mathematical, and technological knowledge and skills among teachers, education supervisors, and administrators with a view to raising Ordinary Educational Test (O-NET) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) average scores
The development of teachers as potential leaders of change in science and mathematics education
The development and promotion of programs that will produce high-potential science and mathematics teachers
The development of a scholarship scheme to help students and teachers reach their potential in order to meet the needs of the country and offices concerned