Thailand Outdone By Vietnam In Latest Education Rankings

[Flashermac]

In terms of quality of schooling, kingdom sits at 47, far lower than neighbour's number 12

 

THAILAND trails far behind two other Southeast Asian countries in the biggest-ever global grading of education quality.

 

Thailand sits down at 47th, while Singapore emerged as best brain in the world and Vietnam did nicely at 12th in the latest league table from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), based on the performance of 15-year-olds on math and science tests.

 

Its ranking covers more than a third of the world's nations. With 76 countries, it presents a much wider map of education standards than the OECD's previous rankings based on Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests, which focus on more affluent industrialised countries.

 

"This is the first time we have a truly global scale of the quality of education," Andreas Schleicher, the OECD's education director, said yesterday.

 

The OECD economic think tank says the comparisons show the link between education and economic growth.

 

"The idea is to give more countries, rich and poor, access to comparing themselves against the world's education leaders, to discover their relative strengths and weaknesses, and to see what the long-term economic gains from improved quality in schooling could be for them," he said.

 

Asian countries swept the first five rungs. Singapore was followed by Hong Kong and South Korea. Japan and Taiwan were tied at fourth. The US could only manage 28th.

 

Finland, which has long been famous for educational quality, ended up sixth this time.

 

Thailand emerging at 47th does not come as a surprise since it was 50th in the last PISA test in 2012, which polled 65 countries and regions.

 

However, Thailand outdid Malaysia and Indonesia, which were 52nd and 69th.

 

Lagging behind Indonesia were only seven countries - Botswana, Peru, Oman, Morocco, Honduras, South Africa and Ghana bringing up the rear.

 

The findings related to this ranking would be formally presented at the World Education Forum in South Korea next week, where the United Nations will convene a conference on targets for raising global education by 2030.

 

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Thailand-outdone-by-Vietnam-in-latest-education-ra-30260034.html

[Flashermac]

One of the biggest problems I've seen in primary schools is simply the ridiculous overcrowding. Even if a teacher genuinely wants to do a good job, it's not easy when students are crammed into a classroom like eggs in a crate and much of the time is spent just maintaining discipline. It also doesn't help that there are nowhere near enough qualified English teachers to go around, and like as not the English teacher didn't major or minor and English and can't even communicate in the language. Thai families who can afford to send their children to private schools.

 

Years ago students had to pass national exams to advance through the grades. Nowadays, students move along on a conveyor belt until they complete the minimum required 9th grade, even though they may barely be able to read and write. Computer rooms and cheap tablet computers are not going to change anything. The whole system needs to be overhauled.

[My Penis is hungry]

Vietnam is well known in education circles, as is India, both have invested very large sums into education, even when being very poor.

 

Smart, results begining to pay off. Surprised at Ghana, but then again maybe not, they are doing well economically in Africa, but not engouh being put into education

 

Countries ranked on maths and science

1. Singapore

2. Hong Kong

3. South Korea

4. Japan (joint)

4. Taiwan (joint)

6. Finland

7. Estonia

8. Switzerland

9. Netherlands

10. Canada

11. Poland

12. Vietnam

13. Germany

14. Australia

15. Ireland

16. Belgium

17. New Zealand

18. Slovenia

19. Austria

20. United Kingdom

21. Czech Republic

22. Denmark

23. France

24. Latvia

25. Norway

26. Luxembourg

27. Spain

28. Italy (joint)

28. United States (joint)

30. Portugal

31. Lithuania

32. Hungary

33. Iceland

34. Russia

35. Sweden

36. Croatia

37. Slovak Republic

38. Ukraine

39. Israel

40. Greece

41. Turkey

42. Serbia

43. Bulgaria

44. Romania

45. UAE

46. Cyprus

47. Thailand

48. Chile

49. Kazakhstan

50. Armenia

51. Iran

52. Malaysia

53. Costa Rica

54. Mexico

55. Uruguay

56. Montenegro

57. Bahrain

58. Lebanon

59. Georgia

60. Brazil

61. Jordan

62. Argentina

63. Albania

64. Tunisia

65. Macedonia

66. Saudi Arabia

67. Colombia

68. Qatar

69. Indonesia

70. Botswana

71. Peru

72. Oman

73. Morocco

74. Honduras

75. South Africa

76. Ghana

[Flashermac]

What I saw when I worked in the States was that it's hard to keep qualified science and mathematics teachers when the economy is booming. When it is down, engineers and such get laid off and have to go into teaching. But as soon as it picks up, they promptly quit and go for better paying jobs.

 

One of Thailand's problems is that the Minister of Education is a politically appointed office. It is unusual for the MoE to have any teaching background. My Mrs was in the Supervisory Unit of the MoE, and she told me the ministers changed so often that they had difficulty keeping up with the policy changes.

[Coss]

 

Countries ranked on maths and science

1. Singapore

2. Hong Kong

3. South Korea... etc

Thanks for the list, nice to see us near the upper end, surprised at the States being so low, might explain why space rockets explode so regularly.

[My Penis is hungry]

Khunying Kasama was good at moe, but didn't last long enough. Good public servant

[cavanami]

The unions have damaged the school system in the USA, IMO.

 

Adding a few extra days to the school year would help...but unions would not allow!

 

Sacking the lousy teachers would help...but unions would not allow!!

 

Not all the blame can be laid on the union but some can, for sure!!!

[Flashermac]

Education reform: First put teachers back in the classroom

 

 

Education reform, one of the major topics in the ongoing reform process, can't begin to see the light of the day without some real efforts to shake things up. But that probably won't happen in the foreseeable future despite what the reformists may say on paper.

 

Education Minister Admiral Narong Pipatanasai hasn't come up with any revolutionary ideas to stir things up. He has gone back to the same old warnings that the practice of paying "tea money" by parents to get their children places in well-known schools won't be tolerated. He also said using "personal connections" to secure places for privileged students won't be accepted either. But nothing is expected to change.

 

Almost every new education minister, upon taking office, has made more or less the same threats, but the bureaucrats and school administrators have managed to act as though they are following the order while keeping the old practice intact - with impunity. That's the way it has always been. And that's the way it will continue to be, unless real political will is enforced.

 

And that political determination will have to be based on some real understanding of the issues at hand.

 

A comprehensive study led by Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) president Dr Somkiat Tangkitchvanij hits the nail on the head with this conclusion: Return teachers to the classroom.

 

The study shows that despite the fact that Thai students are spending more time in the classroom (1,000 to 1,200 hours annually) than the average in most countries (less than 800 hours), their standards remain deplorably low.

 

Researchers found that because teachers are required to carry out activities that are not related to teaching, they are forced to be absent from the classroom up to 84 days a year. In other words, most Thai teachers meet up with their students in class only 200 days per year - or 60 per cent of the 1,000 hours.

 

Teachers spend 40 per cent of their time working on the mandatory assessment forms required by the Education Ministry, most of which have no direct impact on the quality of their teaching or on the students. This activity takes up 43 days a year.

 

Teachers are also assigned to work with small groups of students who are dispatched to compete in various contests. This second segment of out-of-classroom work consumes 23 days. Others enter into academic competitions on their own, which takes about 10 days every year.

 

The TDRI research team proposes a new theme: Flip the Classroom, Change the Future.

 

First, the assessment system must be overhauled so that scores aren't recorded only on paper. The evaluation must be conducted on the basis of real work that benefits students. Teacher-training courses should be held during school breaks, rather than pulling teachers out of their classrooms to attend training.

 

Second, close attention must be paid to improve the quality of teaching. The researchers found strong evidence of a clear distinction between experienced teachers their inexperienced counterparts when it came to impact on students' performance.

 

Over the next 10 years, about 200,000 teachers are due for retirement, opening up the way for vigorous recruitment of a new crop of teachers who could be trained to make learning both fun and educational for students.

 

As things stand now, there is a huge surplus of applicants for teaching jobs. It is forecast that in the next five years, teaching colleges will produce about 300,000 new graduates, who will be joined by another 300,000 who already possess teaching licences. But there are only about 40,000 to 50,000 vacancies. In theory, the demand-supply situation should produce higher-quality teachers in the near future.

 

But the screening process remains flawed. Applicants are tested only through written examinations - which is a very ineffective means to select qualified teachers whose ability is determined not by written knowledge alone but on how they can keep their students' attention through modern teaching techniques.

 

Another serious impediment is the old system whereby government school administrators don't have the right to choose their teachers, who instead go where they are assigned by the central authorities. This rigid system means that teachers don't get to teach the subjects they know best. What's worse, when they are often assigned subjects they aren't good at or interested in. Imagine how the students react - and how both the teachers and students must struggle to survive the dread of a "dead classroom".

 

Will the education-reform "superboard" headed by Premier Prayut Chan-o-cha pay sufficient attention to this set of proposals and begin to consider making real changes to the classroom so that genuine reform can really start?

 

It seems deceptively simple. But it's a tall order indeed.

 

First, the authorities must "get" it.

 

Second, they must stop asking: "What's in it for me?"

 

Instead, they have to start asking the really relevant question: "What's in it for the students?"

 

Until the right questions are asked, the answers will still be blowing in the wind.

 

 

http://www.nationmul...l-30260013.html

[Mekong]

What I saw when I worked in the States was that it's hard to keep qualified science and mathematics teachers when the economy is booming. When it is down, engineers and such get laid off and have to go into teaching. But as soon as it picks up, they promptly quit and go for better paying jobs.

 

 

Flash,

 

Interesting point that you make, I learned most of my science / mathematics / engineering acummin in my post grad years whilst working in the private sector, I was never taught but I chose to ask, How, Why, What? etc.

 

I am not an educationalist or a teacher, never have been and never would claim to be, but I see a difference in attitude between TH and VN, humour me people there are not many Engineers whom have worked for numerous years in both countries over the past decade, no not bragging just adding creadance to my observations.

 

In my little bastard mind, Thais want to be told the answer where as Vietnamese are happy to be told how to find the answer, I am talking post grad proffesionals here with 5-10 years experience under their belts, the things I was told in the past I have forgeten the things I had to find out for myself I remembered, maybe I am an ass but at least the people I mentor will remember because I made them look for the answer themselves.

 

i could go deeper but have said enough already.

 

Kong

[Mekong]

Maimonides

 

Thais want a fish on their plate, VN want to learn how to fish

 

Here endeth the lesson