Management of education policy: the cacophony of education reform in Thailand

This paper explores various perspectives of educational policy makers regarding change in the Thai education policy and challenges of national education reform. A series of personal interview with key policy makers from the Ministry of Education were conducted to explore their perceptions on local and global challenges of education reform. The results indicate three management themes: politics and education policy, curriculum challenges, and globalisation and education system. This study also confirms that decentralisation of education system in Thailand requires on-going support and strategic planning. In order to support education reform process, the Thai government must standardize all the necessary resources in all areas of education. This includes balancing status throughout metropolitan and rural areas, adopting a standard curriculum, and allocating budget towards all schools in the country.