Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC)Ministry of Education

Benjalug Namfa, Ph.D.Senior Expert & Consultant

Multigrade Teaching in the Small Schools

of Thailand

Outline

Basic Information of Thai EducationMGT in Practice MGT EffectsPolicy Recommendations

1997 Constitution1999 National Education Act

All Thai citizens have the right and duty to obtain• 12 – year Free Education Provision• 9 - year Compulsory Education

(Children, youth, women, the elderly, the underprivileged, people with disabilities and gifted people)

Thai Education Policy

Cabinet resolution: Public schools in Thailand for migrants and

stateless individuals 2005

LOGO

Ministry of Education

Office of thePermanent Secretary

Office of the Education Council

Office of theHigher Education

Commission

Office of VocationalEducation

Commission

Independent Agencies

Office of the Minister

Office for Monitoring & Evaluation

Office of the Basic Education

Commission (OBEC)

225 Educational Service Area Office

(ESAO) 30,816 schools

183 Primary ESAOs 42 Secondary ESAOs

LOGOwww.themegallery.com

Pre-Primary Education

Primary EducationLower Secondary Education

Upper Secondary Education

Higher Education

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Special Education

Approximateage

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Graduate Level

Vocational Edu.

Short-course training

Special vocational Edu.

4 Key Stages

Grade

1 2 3 4

Lower than Bachelor's degree & Bachelor degree level

Thai Education System

Primary schools: 28,358Secondary schools: 2,361Welfare schools: 51Special need schools: 46

Number of schools

(Source: OBEC: 10 Jun 2015)

OBEC in a Glance

Total: 30,816

Basic Curriculum 2008• 67 strands• 8 Learning areas• 5 Learners’ key competencies • Learner development activities

Standards-based curriculum

• Set key desirable attributes• Standards and indicators for each grade level• Core curriculum represents 45% of Basic

Education Curriculum – 8 learning areas• Clear vision, goals, expected learner capacities,

desirable attributes; standards and indicators; allotted time for each subject area and evaluation criteria; guidelines & manuals for implementation

Thai LanguageMathematics

ScienceSocial studies, Religion and Culture

Health and Physical EducationLearningAreas Art

Career and Technology

Foreign Languages

Learner Development Activities

The contents are divided into8 learning areas

1. Communication capacity2. Thinking capacity3. Problem-solving capacity4. Capacity for applying life skills5. Capacity for technological application

Learners’ KeyCompetencies

1. Patriotism2. Honesty3. Self-discipline4. Active learning5. Sufficiency lifestyle6. Diligence 7. Thainess8. Public-mindedness

Learners’ Desired Characteristics

National core curriculum Local / school needs

School curriculum

Basic Education Curriculum 2008

Additional Courses

Learning Time Structure

Core Curriculum G.1-3

G.4-6

G.7-9

G.10-12

Additional

Courses

CORE

CURRICULUM

Decreasing the number of students, 50.55% of schools, having less than 120 students

Educational quality issue

Effective educational managemento Cost-effectiveness is the ratio of learning gains to the costs

of inputso Human resources management

Education for All, reach the unreached child & accessibility of education provision.

Schools in area of low population.

Why Multigrade School?

less than 120

50.55%

121-20022.04%

201-30011.51%

301-4997.50%

500-14996.16%

1500-24991.27% more than

25000.98%

less than 120121-200201-300301-499500-14991500-2499more than 2500

Number of students

Percentage of school size is divided by the number of students

(Source: OBEC, 10 Jun 2015)

(Total number of schools= 30,186)

Number of small schools

15

Year Small schools(Less than 120 students)

Percentage of total schools

2015 15,577 50.55 %2014 15,506 50.15 %2013 15,386 49.60 %2012 14,816 47.62 %2011 14,638 46.83 %2010 14,397 45.82 %2009 14,056 44.61 %2008 13,915 43.73 %2007 13,518 41.90 %2006 12,829 39.73 %2005 12, 269 37.94 %

(Source: OBEC, 10 Jun 2015)

10596.80%

2,48815.97%

3,38821.75%%

3,51522.57%

2,76817.77%

2,35915.14%

less than 2020>4040>6060>8080>100100>120

Total number of small schools = 15,577

Number of

students

Percentage of small schools is divided by the number of students

(Source: OBEC, 10 Jun 2015)

Why Multigrade Teaching?•Appropriate

number of students to make the most learning outcome for each child

• Multi-age classroom provide unlimited growth

• Montessori Education

• Small schools in New Zealand

Where the ideas of Multigrade teaching

and learning come from?

It is about changing mindset of teachers

and educators

Multigrade School in Thailand

Multigrade teaching approaches in Thailand emphasize: Teacher requirements:

knowledge, skills, attitudes Class size determination and student grouping Learning schedule and designed lesson plan

Organized and structured classroom

Support and cooperation from stakeholders

How does Thailand put MGT into practice? o Provide a professional development

o Develop the national MGT guidelineso Develop MGT learning

materials o Monitor, evaluate, and

research

Teacher Professional DevelopmentProfessiona

l Developme

nt

Engagement & hard work

Understanding Differentiated Instruction & Montessori Education & Inclusive Education

Designing Integrated unit & lesson plan for MGT

Classroom organization, Management, and disciplines

ESAOs’ Educators Capacity Building

1,240 Educators from 182 ESAOs (6 people/ESAO)

• To understand the principle of multigrade teaching

• To set the area-based guideline for small school improvement plan

3,770 Schools

Develop the teacher guidelines on Multigrade teaching Integrated unit plans &

lesson plans in concert with the National Basic Curriculum (both hard copy & soft file )

Guideline on Multigrade &Montessori classroom management

Learning Materials Development

Reading level kits for K-G3 (literacy & thinking skills)

Reading ability set for G1-3 (50 booklets)

Learning Materials Development Mathematics Curriculum Support

(G1-3) Intensive Thai-Language for Non-

Thai Students

Individual student records

R&D as a tool for follow up and monitoring

Analyze methods & tools of follow up and monitoring

Research-based development and implementation

Focus on teacher networking

Establish the centers of excellence for MGT

Reducing the risk of traveling long distance between home and school

Helping students attend a school close to home

Reducing risk of dropout and out-of-school children

Better student learning achievement lead to more progress in Ordinary- National Educational Test (O-NET)

Enhancing social and emotional development, greater than students who learn in monograde classrooms

MGT Effects

MGT Effects

MGT teachers have been engaged in professional development focusing on student-centered ethos and methods MGT Teachers were

trained to become facilitators, design lesson plans, and focus on individual learning needs and abilities

Overall National MGT scheme : Policies, strategies, and measures

Determine mechanisms and establish an authorized agency: planning, budgeting, supervision, follow up, monitoring, and evaluation

Develop guidelines on MGT schools: o Research & innovation development on MGTo Consistent professional development & capacity building:

Teachers, school directors, educatorso Educational support systems: platform for a community of

practice, Communications, advocacy, and public relations

Policy Recommendations

Photos : Nakhon Sawan ESAO1 / Soratda/ Wongduan