Nowadays, the educational competition among students, parents and
schools in Thai society has become more and more intense. This has led to a
huge gap in education between urban and rural areas.
The educational system also enables schools to offer various
programmes such as Thai programme, English programme and bilingual programme to
meet parents’ preferences. However, achievement in education does not solely
limit to studying in famous schools.
The Ministry of Education has carried out Thai educational reforms
several times, but many related factors have obstructed the implementation.
Although the government has set up a policy on reducing study hours and
increasing hours for learning other things, the social values and parents’
attitude towards taking extra or tutorial classes have remained dominant. This
reflects that parents want their children to study academic subjects rather
than learn other things suited to their age.
Finland is widely accepted as the country that has the world-class quality of educational system. Susanna Eltvik, Education Advisor to the Embassy of Finland, said that the educational reform in Finland has been implemented for over 40 years to develop the country’s human resources. The access to education is possible for all areas without school rankings. The effective system of selecting competent teachers with master’s degrees is applied to develop appropriate learning methods. Also, study hours in each day are properly limited in order to let children move and relax their body and mind.
The assessment of learning in each semester is based on
activities, group works, presentations in class, learning development and
others. The learning process emphasises on project-based learning instead of
academic subjects. That is why there are neither tutors nor tutor schools.
Children are encouraged to learn inside and outside the classroom. Moreover, in
Finland, parents usually take their children to libraries since they are
toddlers. The libraries provide storytelling corners with piles of various
children books for them. This helps motivate children to love reading since
they are young.
The quality of education is not determined by entering famous
schools, taking many extra classes or getting top grades. Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, a
famous Buddhist monk in Thailand, said that such education was similar to a dog
without its tail. Children would miss an opportunity to learn other things
around them that are the foundation of success and peaceful coexistence.
Suggestions for parents
1. Parents are
children’s teachers and role models. Motivation for children’s learning should
be created at home through instilling attributes necessary for learning,
including diligence, perseverance, patience, responsibility, discipline,
punctuality, cheerfulness, and problem-solving skills developed from simple to
difficult problems. Unfortunately,
parents usually ignore inculcating these attributes in their children and do
not realise that they are the basis of learning. They expect teachers to teach
and instil them in their children.
2. Children should practise life skills in conjunction with learning, such as creativity, generosity, empathy, voluntary spirit, self-control, confidence, and self-esteem. These qualities make children feel worthy and respect others.
3. Let children use both left and right sides of
the brain. The left side of
the brain, also known as the reasoning part, is related to language
proficiency, reading, writing, maths, science, reasoning and communicative
competence. The right side of the brain, also known as the creative part, is
related to perception of 3D pictures, appreciation of art and music, and
imagination. Both sides of the brain work together and support each other.
4. If
it is necessary to send your children to tutor schools, you should consider the
following factors: study hours in a week, children’s competence in that
subject, self-study session, and time for relaxing their mind or doing family
activities. I often found that children’s study schedule is
too tight since they are in kindergarten which makes them stressed. The
behaviours that indicate they have stress include being moody, irresponsible
and unenthusiastic.
5. Consider
different aspects of your children’s potential for learning; find out their
strengths and weaknesses; promote the balance of learning and let them keep up
with the changing world; and support long-term learning both inside and outside
the classroom to instil the love of learning in them.
Education is essential for the development of human resources.
There is no fixed formula for learning achievement. It needs cooperation from
all sectors, including children, families, schools, communities and society, as
well as government policy to develop and raise the quality of educational
system to meet the international standards. The quality education takes time to
bloom, but the result is surely worth the effort.
Article written by: Patimoke Phromchuay, MD, Child and adolescent psychiatrist