PISA test: Quality of education in Thailand still poor
Thai students consistently perform below the international average in core subjects, according to the PISA test. PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is a large-scale international comparative study conducted under the auspices of the OECD. And is therefore a good indicator of the quality of education in a country.
The results were published by the OECD on Tuesday and show that Thai students, compared to most of the countries that participated in the evaluation, score significantly lower in the subjects of reading, maths and science. The PISA exams, which take place every three years, evaluate education systems worldwide by measuring the basic skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students.
About 600.000 students from 79 countries completed the test, which focused mainly on their reading skills. According to the survey, Thailand ranks 56th in math, 66th in reading and 52nd in science.
Thai students scored 393 points in reading, well below the OECD average of 487 points. In science, Thai students scored 426 points, much worse than the international average of 489. In math, Thais scored 419 points, well below the OECD average of 489 points.
The study also found that socioeconomically disadvantaged students in Thailand scored 69 points higher than disadvantaged students.
Source: Bangkok Post
The teachers themselves often do not master the subjects they teach.
What can you expect from the students?
Incidentally, the figures seem flattering to me, or else the students have been selected.
Because I don't believe that if the 10 tables are too difficult for the students, they can score even a single point in math or science.
Unfortunately, the ignorance is not limited to the classroom.
Doesn't surprise me. I taught there for 8 years. Parents don't think it's that important. “They are still children” is often said. Moreover, many teachers are not capable and the entire education system is shaky on all sides.
China is back at number 1. But that's because, as the Bangkok Post reports:
China was top in all subjects, but its score was calculated using results from just four of its provinces – Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang — which are also some of its most affluent.
If you only take the results of Bangkok and Chiang Mai in Thailand, then Thailand is almost equal to the United States.
The latter is not correct, when you talk about urban population you take New York and Los Angeles in the US for example, which you can compare with Bangkok and Chiang Mai. So compare urban population with urban population and country as a whole with another country as a total
Selective Pride!
China is a multiple of 4 provinces!
A combination of several factors:
a) Status & Face Loss.
b) Being able to buy diplomas and appointments (as a teacher for example); knowledge and skills of secondary importance
c) National pride with therefore not being able & not wanting to see your own mistakes & shortcomings
d) Aversion to foreigners (xenophobia)
e) Far too little knowledge of what is happening abroad (see Thai TV: 5 min the monarch + family, 5 min the prime minister, 5 min the government, 5 min Bangkok, 5 min rest of Thailand, 2 min Asia, 2 min rest of the world
f) Way of least resistance mai pen rai..
It will be dismissed by the government as a study with all kinds of prejudices, etc, etc, because if they admit that this is a representative study, it will be a great loss of face for the Thai!
Well, they are still sporty enough to take part in something like that.
It's like choosing a new sport; if you are the hopeless loser every time and the exercise never makes perfect then you will soon call it a day, but these go-getters will not be fooled.
Surprising or not, is that the participants from the participating ASEAN countries are just as good as Thailand, so there will be no direct reason to raise the level.
My experience as an English teacher in the past at various schools is unfortunately no better and what I hear from some friends who are still active in Thai education remains sad…
This year again I came across young children who kindly addressed me with a 'Hello, my name is!'
(After all, that's what it says in the lesson books, but if the teacher doesn't explain that you have to say your own name afterwards...)
The biggest culprit remains the Ministry of Education and the teacher training…
About 1 year ago there was a lot of fuss about a teacher who demonstrably miscalculated calculations. While they were clearly well made.
If children depend on those types of “teachers” to be taught knowledge, then the result of the research cannot surprise anyone.
A good example myself. I was going to pick up my girlfriend's grandson from school. He had ENGLISH for the last hour and would be ready at 16.00pm. When he had not appeared at 16.30 pm, I went to his class to ask the teacher (in English given my limited knowledge of Thai) how long it would take, the best man looked at me with big uncomprehending eyes On. He really didn't know what I was asking.
Later I understood that English “education” consisted of writing and reading. Speech was not an issue because it was too difficult……!!!! Probably because “teacher” couldn't handle pronunciation.
So you never learn, I guess.
my daughter (4 years old) has been going to pre school since the age of 2,5 like most children. In the 2nd year they are already being prepared for the 'big' school with learning the alphabet and they even get homework.
Now at the big school in the 1st grade, they are already being asked to learn a lot, including homework every day, which I think is too much.
What I have seen from English, for example, is that this is quickly too difficult for the age.
I think that in the current system many children cannot keep up in certain areas, especially if the carers (grandparents) cannot help them. Children and parents do not see the importance of subjects and therefore have no interest. I don't think the school pays enough attention to that.
In addition, the level of teachers will not always be sufficient. Here in the village, my wife's generation speaks better English than today's students.
There are also differences between schools: the free village school, the more expensive and better variant in the region and even more choice in the big city. The socio-economically privileged students!
We will have to be alert to it ourselves and help so that our daughter stays on level. Now she is at the village school, hopefully later at the better school if that is financially feasible.
Yesterday on Dutch TV it was seen that the reading level of 15-year-olds is rapidly declining!
Or is it running backwards, because that's hard too!