Tutorial Schools in Thailand: Perceptions and Motivations of Thai High School Students (original) (raw)
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STUDYING ENGLISH IN TUTORIAL SCHOOL IN THAILAND: FAILURE OF THAI EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS
This case study investigates the attitude about studying English in tutorial schools in Thailand, and factors facilitating studying in those tutorial schools. Through interviews and questionnaires, it was found that many high school students study in tutorial schools to gain their grade and score for the examination. The responsibilities between gaps of Thai education should be Thai educational systems and school teachers. However, the limitations are time factors, participants’ viewpoints and conflicts between some of the results of questionnaire.
rEFLections
Private tutoring has, over the past decades, been a key educational phenomenon for Thai college-bound students. having received both praise and condemnation. This qualitative case study shows that private English tutoring in Thailand has expanded beyond the ‘shadow education’ discussed by Bray (1999). Five tutor-student pairs were interviewed via Zoom video conference and the interviews were analyzed by theme. Results indicate the social, educational, and economic benefits of private education, as well as its far-reaching effects on personal growth, professional development, and life prospects. Concerns about educational inequality introduced by the tutoring industry, and its uneasy co-existence with mainstream education, are also discussed.
Journal of Nusantara Studies (JONUS), 2017
This study explores the factors leading Thai upper-secondary school students to study English at tutoring school. The students’ perceptions of their EFL private tutors and mainstream school teachers are also a focus of this research. Drawing on statistical data from 80 upper-secondary school students, it shows that these students perceive EFL private tutors to be more effective in the provision of examination support, particularly regarding the university admission examination, compared with mainstream school teachers. Overall, these students have more positive attitudes towards their English tutors than their mainstream school teachers. They agree that tutors have higher English language proficiency and can make them understand the lesson better than their school teachers. The characteristic of the tutors and teaching techniques is considered a significant factor leading students to study English at tutoring schools, particularly the teaching techniques that allow them to do better...
Analyzing the Thai State policy on private tutoring: the prevalence of the market discourse
Asia Pacific Journal of Education , 2014
Private tutoring in academic subjects, which is provided for a fee and which takes place outside standard school hours, has become a global phenomenon. It is also very visible in Thailand. This paper draws on qualitative method including documentary analyses and semi-structured interviews with Thai policy elites, to understand the Thai state policy on the issue. Using a theory of the state, particularly the concepts of policy text and policy discourse, it analyses the Thai state policy responses to regulate private tutoring. While the state has given much attention to commercial regulations for safety and customers’ protection, little attention has been given to the educational aspects such as curriculum, quality assessment and qualification of the tutors. Analyses of policy texts and interviews with Thai policymakers at the Office of Private Education Commission and the Office of Education Council showed that the Thai state regulation on private tutoring is dominated by the market ideology. The Thai state was unequivocally embracing “public-private partnership”, treating students as consumers and endorsing private tutoring as a contributor to the development of Thailand’s human resources. This paper contributes to the empirical evidence on private tutoring in Thailand and offers a theoretical framework to further analyze and understand the state policy on private tutoring.
International Journal of English Language Teaching , 2019
This article aims to address one main and three sub-research questions by presenting and analyzing the findings. The article analyzed the lived experiences of eleven Bangladeshi higher secondary school students to provide insight into their thoughts, feelings, beliefs, values and assumptions of private tutoring of English (PT-E). Each participant participated in a one-to-one in-depth semi-structured interview. To justify research questions of the study, 267 significant statements (i.e., significant phrases or sentences that pertained directly to the lived experience of PT-E participants) were identified from 11 verbatim transcripts of interviewees. As of 267 significant statements, four themes are originated from the analysis of the participants' responses to the interview questions.
CAMBODIAN TWELFTH GRADERS' CHOICE FOR ENGLISH PRIVATE TUTORING: QUIT OR NOT TO QUIT
TEFLIN, 2020
Private tutoring is not a new phenomenon for education in both developed and developing countries. However, English private tutoring (EPT) attracted a limited number of studies, although English is viewed as the key to success in non-English speaking countries like Cambodia. By observing EPT as a choice, this mixed-method study, using the convergent design, aimed to explore factors affecting Cambodian 12 th graders towards quitting or not quitting EPT during the year of the national examination. Quantitative data were collected from 639 twelfth graders in Cambodia via a self-rated questionnaire, while qualitative data were obtained from 8 respondents. Findings reveal that the decision of leaving EPT is more influenced by their parents, while that of continuing EPT is stirred by educational aspirations, internal motivation as well as part-time employment during their university life. Surprisingly, unlike private tutoring of other core exam subjects, this study found that students from better income families in Cambodia do not seem interested in investing in EPT. It is proposed that an 'exam-career balance' syllabus be developed and implemented in both mainstream schools and EPT classes to boost the success probability of Cambodian 12 th graders in their exams as well as their future.
Thai pre-service teachers' beliefs about the learner-centred approach and their classroom practices
2013
The aim of this study was to explore NNS EFL pre-service teachers' understanding of the learner-centred approach (LCA), and their actual classroom practices during their internship in Thai schools. This study is not only grounded in the concepts and practices in relation to the LCA, but it also examines and discusses the importance of how teachers' beliefs may influence their acceptance or rejection of this approach. This chapter first presents a full explanation of why this study is necessary. An overview of the importance of English, the Thai educational system and English language teaching in Thailand is provided. The purposes and research questions of the study are then described in detail, followed by a discussion of the significance of this study. Finally, the structure of this thesis is presented. 1.2 Rationale A variety of factors led me to the conclusion that this research not only was necessary, but that it would be timely. These factors are my personal interest, based on my work experience in the Thai education sector; the educational reforms that have been taking place in Thailand since the 1990s, with their emphasis on the importance of adopting the LCA in teaching; the recent development of a new model for teacher training in Thailand, and finally the general lack of research interest in the 1999; Office of the National Education Commission, 2004). The National Education Act comprises 9 chapters (see Figure 1.1), and sections 22-30 of chapter 4 of the 'National Education Guidelines', which is deemed to be the heart of the educational reform, specifically emphasise the maximising of benefits for learners. The 1999 made it mandatory for teachers to make the transition from a teacher-centred Chapter 3 Educational System Chapter 5 Educational Administration and Management Chapter 6 Educational Standards and Quality Assurance Chapter 2 Educational Rights and Duties Chapter 1 General Provisions Chapter 7 Teachers, Faculty Staff and Educational Personnel Chapter 8 Resources and Investment for Education Chapter 9 Technologies for Education Avidity for lifelong learning Knowledge about oneself o Capable of solving problems Capable of self-expression 'khwai'-centred approach. The term 'khwai' (buffalo) in Thai literally means a large cow that farmers use to draw ploughs. When this term is used to refer to people or This interpretation suggests that if teachers do not have a clear understanding of how to use the LCA, then, instead of assisting students to become smarter, student progress will be hindered by this approach (Thamraksa, 2011). Nonkukhetkhong et al. (2006), for example, investigated secondary school teachers' perceptions of and use of the LCA in teaching English as foreign language (EFL) in Thailand. They found that teachers were uncertain about the theory underlying the LCA, and that the extent to which they implemented it depended upon their understanding. There seems to be some doubt as to whether this approach can improve students' learning quality. Some teachers are not confident about how or what they should do to implement this approach (Thamraksa, 2011). Furthermore, 'a number of questions regarding the feasibility, viability, and applicability of this teaching model are raised widely in the teaching community' (ibid., p. 61). Some teachers view the LCA as a demanding approach. Undoubtedly, most of them do not welcome this approach because of various factors, such as their attitudes and beliefs. Despite the fact that the new pre-service teacher training programmes were introduced in 2004, and the LCA was introduced in Thailand in 1999, how STs conceptualise the LCA and how this approach is adopted by them have attracted little interest among researchers. Recent research has tended to concentrate on in-service, rather than pre-service teachers. 1.3.3 Thai Education System The current Thai education system was profoundly influenced by the 1999 National Education Act (the Act was amended in 2002) and the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand promulgated in October 1997. The enactment of the 1999 National Education Act and the constitution resulted in the commencement of education reform in Thailand which brought considerable changes to the education system. Some examples of these changes include: first, a 12-year free basic education scheme was first granted in Thai history in October 2002, and was extended to 14 years in May 2004, by including 2 years of pre-primary schooling (UNESCO,
Journal of Nusantara Studies (JONUS) , 2021
Offering private tutoring (PT) to their students is legal in Cambodia. However, teachers are banned from engaging in PT during official hours and holidays. Literature has proven common root causes across contexts such as low salaries, class size, insufficient instructional times and high-stakes examinations. With a new attempt, this narrative paper aims to discuss PT and its effects from the different stakeholders' perspectives and to reflect PT functions towards mainstream education. On the one hand, symbiosis generates a 'dependency system,' divided into two relationships such as 'commensalism' between PT and the mainstream system, and 'mutualism' between supply and demand side including the mainstream system. On the other hand, parasitism (professional misconduct) exists owing to policy implementers' laissez-faire approach in exercising the approved codes of conducts. Hence, the parasitism remains in the public classrooms owing to the lack of accountability and monitoring system of the in-charge stakeholders. Its presence enlarges the capacity of the dependency system to cast a shadow over the incomplete shape and size of the mainstream system. Thus, it should be alerted that when it is oversized, this symbiotic function may downplay the mainstream system and moves it away from the core attention of the demand side.
ECNU Review of Education, 2023
Purpose: The growing literature on private supplementary tutoring, widely known as shadow education, addresses multiple dimensions and roles. However, many studies inadequately capture the diversity and implications of different forms of tutoring. This paper examines these matters in Myanmar, highlighting complexities and ambiguities in descriptors and in the nature of provision. Design/Approach/Methods: Using a mixed-methods design, this study was conducted in Mandalay Region and Chin State. The data were obtained from interviews with 110 Grade 11 students, 34 high school teachers, 30 parents, 29 private tutoring providers, and two private school owners. Findings: The article categorizes tutoring forms based on their styles and orientations, particularly lecture-type teaching and homework supervision by guides, class sizes, durations of fee-charging (e.g., annually), the number of subjects taught per tutor, and tutoring locations. The study brings the topic out of the shadows for clearer analysis of the phenomenon and thus for assessment of its implications.