Citizenship education and the reparation of future teachers : A study

This study examines the views of future teachers of social studies regarding significant global trends, required citizen characteristics, and necessary educational strategies to develop the said characteristics. The study builds upon the landmark work of the nine-nation Citizenship Education Policy Study (CEPS I) carried out in the late 1990s that resulted in the model calledmultidimensional citizenship. The original work focused on the views of policy makers and scholars. The present research, CEPS II, is a follow-up study that seeks to determine the views of the next generation of those who will teach citizenship and civic education through social studies programs in seven participant societies: China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, The Netherlands, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States of America. The results suggest that the future teachers, when compared with the policy experts and scholars in the original CEPS I study, are more optimistic about the future and are more oriented towards personal development and participatory behaviors that will positively impact the common good.     

Civics and Values Education in Thailand: Documentary Analysis

The era of globalization has vast implications for Thai society: the effects of globalization upon its national civilization are beyond imagination. The key factor to enable the society to develop in the right direction is the quality of the Thai people. For this reason, civics and values education are recognized as the principal target of educational management. In Thailand, civics and values education are based on religion, especially Buddhism; Thai culture and family life; the institution of monarchy; and social and economic conditions. It is currently realized that economic development without human development leads to disaster in terms of natural resources, the environment, communities, as well as the individual's quality of life. Civics and values education are being revived again to save the country from the risk of this damage, and in order to seek a new balance between “global” and local” values.     

School assessment in Thailand: roles and achievement of ONESQA

The 1999 National Education Act emphasizes the importance of quality assurance and national education standards. The main principle of educational provision of high standard lies in recognition of the importance of assessment for enhancing educational quality and raising the standard. Such recognition has led to establishment in Thailand of the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA). The office is an independent body set up to develop the criteria, methods for external assessment and assessment of educational institutions at each level of education as stipulated in the national education law. The ONESQA became operational in November 2000 and it must appraise every school at least once every 5-year cycle. In this paper, the unique and the roles of the ONESQA will be described. The achievement of the ONESQA concerning the first round assessment of 35,134 schools at the basic education level will be reported and recommendations for quality improvements and lessons learned for the second round assessment will be explored.