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tion in Thailand and the governance of Thai Higher Education (Chandrasuta 2006 ;
Metkarunjit 2010 ). In later years, research that directly addresses the needs and
strategic improvement for Higher Education research in private HEIs, critical issues
in Thai Higher Education, philosophy and teaching and learning process for specific
areas such as non-formal education in HEIs are also highlighted by funding agencies
(Jai-ngam 2004 ; Kamdit 1988 ; Sangmahachai 2002 ).
The second area of research in Higher Education in Thailand is concerned with
Higher Education Governance and Management. It could be argued that this area of
Higher Education Management has gained most research interest among scholars,
students and Higher Education practitioners. The reason being is the research in this
area is based on Higher Education Management programmers offered in Thai HEIs.
In addition, the national policy in encouraging public HEIs to transform themselves
to autonomous institutions has also alleviated the interests among scholars and
practitioners in the areas of university management. Within the scope of Higher
Education Governance and Management, issues for research range from general to
more specific techniques in managing universities. The general tone of research
would include topics on the recruitment and role of the top executives in Thai HEIs,
governance and management in Thai HEIs, ethics among HEI administrators, the
marketing and commercial strategies for public and private HEIs, good governance
in HEIs or the implication of national regulations such as the qualification frame-
work and the management of HEIs (Pearntunyakorn 1988 ; Wannapairo 2012 ). More
specific areas of research relating to Higher Education Governance and Management
are those in Higher Education Laws and Regulations as a result of the promulgation
of the Autonomous University Act, Quality Assurance and Frameworks, Procurement
in HEIs, Financial and Budget Management in HEIs, Student and Community
Relations and Management of HEIs, Management of Communication Channels in
HEIs, Human Resource Management and Compensation Scaling, Accreditation
Process and Adjustment (Chaichan 2011 ; Chusit 2012 ; Dhirathiti 2012 ). This area
of Higher Education research has gained much attention from national research
funding agencies as the number of grants awarded for those conducting research
relating to this area has amounted to almost 300 projects in the past decade. This
number is higher than any other area funded by the TRF.
Among those subtopics mentioned previously, the issue on quality assurance has
been one that dominates the research landscape of Higher Education Research on
Management and Governance in Thailand. This has been the case since the start of
the reform of the Higher Education sector in 1999 during which issues such as qual-
ity, autonomy and internationalisation of Higher Education have come to the fore
(Sookvaree 2011 ). Issues on Student and Community Relations have also become
one of the main highlights in Higher Education research in Thailand, especially
when they relate to behaviours and attitudes of students in Higher Education set-
tings (OHEC 2005 ). The research on the role of HEIs and the community, or some-
times known as University Social Responsibility (USR), has also been on the rise.
Some examples can be found in the research focusing on the compatible role of
universities, schools and communities (Tritilanunt 2006 ).
N.S. Dhirathiti