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“Trends in higher education research in Thailand” on the trends of Higher
Education research in Thailand). Thirdly, and probably most importantly, Higher
Education is offered as a degree, especially in the form of postgraduate degrees only
in a few higher education institutions, such as in Chulalongkorn University and
Srinakharinwirot University. This has inevitably led to a smaller volume and
number of research projects focusing on Higher Education as an area of study in the
country.
Current Status of Programmes Offered in the Area
of Education and Higher Education
Education and Higher Education as disciplines have been recognised as fields of
study in Thai HEIs for more than a century^6. This fact is traceable through the
examination of courses and programmes available in Thai HEIs. In the past,
Education was a discipline or a field of study that focused on teacher training. This
was most clearly seen in the establishment of teaching colleges or wittayalai krue
since the late nineteenth century. These teaching colleges were later conferred the
status of a university as a result of the reform of Higher Education in Thailand in
- These teaching colleges were renamed “Rajabhat University” and began to
offer more courses and programmes that are not limited to teaching or Education.
However, the culture of integrating Education as one of the leading disciplines in
the institutions of higher learning known as “Rajabhat University” is still apparent.
This has made Education an important area of concentration in such institutions.
Upon closer inspection by reviewing curriculum and programmes structure in
leading pubic and autonomous HEIs in Thailand including six public/autonomous
and three Rajabhat universities using information available on the institution’s web-
sites, there are approximately 50 HEIs offering courses and programmes related to
Education under the actual affiliation of “Faculty” or “College” at present in
Thailand. These faculties and colleges usually offer courses and programmes at the
bachelor’s degree through to doctoral degree levels in various subfields of educa-
tion. As demonstrated in Table 15.2, six out of nine research-intensive universities
in Thailand offer a wide range of bachelor’s degree courses in education including
Curriculum and Instruction Development Education; Arts, Music and Theatrical
Arts; Research and Educational Psychology; Education Policy and Educational
Management/Leadership; Education Technology; Lifelong Learning/Adult
(^6) Details could be found in the philosophy and principles of the establishment of the Faculty of
Education or College of Education throughout Thailand. The first teaching institute to produce
teachers for Thai education system can be dated back to the early twentieth century during the
reign of King Rama V. Under the Civil Servant School (or known in Thai as Rongrian Karachakarn
Polarouen), a teaching division was established and has been transformed into the Faculty of
Education under Chulalongkorn University in 1957.
N.S. Dhirathiti