A new attitude is required to improve teaching

A recent warning by a US researcher over the academic ability of Thai students, especially in the sciences, deserves special attention from our decision-makers, for it suggests there is something wrong with science teaching in Thailand.

Tom Corcoran, co-director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the Teachers’ College of Columbia University, recently said that Thai schools should allocate more study hours to science.

He said Thai students get three classes a week, or 150 minutes, while in most other nations students get science classes every day, amounting to 250 minutes or more each week. Some observers have called the overall study hours for Thai students appropriate, but the poor results they achieve in science show that the quality of science teaching must be improved.

Thai students’ scores in science subjects are simply not as good as they should be, despite the fact that sciences are important subjects in today’s world. In a fiercely competitive education and work environment, we should be giving our students the opportunity to excel and to enable them to compete in a world where creativity and innovation determine the winners and survivors.

Science subjects encourage students to think with reason and logic. Prowess in science can lead to a better environment and world. Countries that place importance on the sciences and can boast of regular scientific achievements stand a better chance of improving the wellbeing of their people. Innovations can often translate into good business opportunities. In advanced societies science education is given importance. Even US President Barack Obama has voiced concern over the quality of science teaching in America when compared to Asian countries such as Singapore and South Korea.

 While other East Asian countries have been striving to improve the quality of education, Thai students are held back by low-quality science teaching. Thai students perform either moderately or poorly in international test scores.

This is unfortunate, because the government is currently spending about 20 per cent of its total budget on education. The results are nevertheless far from satisfactory. This shows that the money is being either misused or simply squandered.

The government also fails to provide enough support for stellar students, to enable them to strive for excellence in their chosen fields. Many Thai students have won awards and medals in international competitions for maths and sciences, but they often run out of energy over the long term because of the lack of opportunities to improve their skills and develop their talent to the fullest degree. 

Another problem is that the Thai textbooks do not enable students to think independently or focus on big ideas. As is often the case, the curriculum tends to require students to memorise by rote what they have learned, rather than engage in critical thinking and problem-solving.

In fact, our students’ poor performance in the sciences reflects their overall poor performance in school. Students who cannot read well or who possess a low level of comprehension stand little chance of excelling in any subject, let alone science. After all, language is the basis of all subjects and the ability to communicate, solve problems, demonstrate rational thought and fulfil dreams and ambitions.

This issue must be addressed urgently and effectively before Thai students slip further behind in the international rankings. The latest results of the Programme for International Student Assessment show Thai students performing poorly in all subjects, particularly math, science and reading comprehension. Thailand ranks at the bottom of the rankings.

The effort to improve does not require a massive budget, as the government often claims. It does not require fancy gadgets such as computer tablets, either. It depends on an effective curriculum and good-quality teaching, with the proper amount of attention to every student. We have to quickly adjust our attitude if we are to make this happen for the next generation of school starters.