Teaching Staff

Teacher education aims to train and develop prospective as well as practicing teachers regarding morality, knowledge, ability and skills in teaching and in motivating learners to learn. Mindful of professionalism and the responsibility of teachers to serve as a role model for learners regarding social behaviour, lifestyle and preservation of the national language and culture, the objective is to develop an inquiring mind and engage teachers in continuous improvement of themselves and their teaching capability, as well as in community development, rehabilitation, conversation and enrichment of local and national environment and culture.

There are two main types of teacher training establishments: teacher colleges (Rajabhat Institutes) under the Ministry of Education and Faculties of Education within universities under the supervision of the Ministry of University Affairs. Rajabhat Institutes are teacher colleges under the Department of Teacher Education which, since 1995, has changed its name to Office of Rajabhat Institutes Council, in accordance with the new Act of Rajabhat Institutes. At present, there are thirty-six Rajabhat Institutes under the supervision of the Office of Rajabhat Institutes Council, and they play a crucial role in both pre-service and in-service training. They are educational and community research institutes for training teachers and those who will join other professions with the objectives of providing knowledge and higher professional training, conducting research, providing community service, fostering art and culture, training teachers and developing in-service teacher’s capabilities. This is carried out in collaboration with schools and colleges.

Rajabhat Institutes offer different programmes of specialization, mainly a two-year course leading to an associate degree and a four-year course leading to a bachelor’s degree. There are five specialized areas of education, each being subdivided into various programmes of specialization: pre-elementary education (one programme of specialization); elementary education (one programme of specialization); secondary education (twenty-one programmes of specialization); special education (one programme of specialization); and education techniques (seven programmes of specialization).

Admission is open to regular students who may enrol as full-time students and attend regular classes. Evening and week-end students are normally working adults seeking updated knowledge and skills for their future career advancement. Candidates are selected by means of entrance requirements and examination

The Office of Teacher Civil Service Commission (OTCSC) is in charge of the recruitment process of teaching staff to the civil service as follows:

• The recruitment of public school teachers is based on the merit system. There is relatively no discrimination based on sex, religion, ethics, intelligence and economic status. Applicants must possess the general basic qualifications required for a public servant, for instance, be a Thai national and not less than 18 years old. Specific qualifications are required for certain teaching positions. In addition, the applicants for pre-primary, primary, and lower secondary teaching posts must have prior professional training in teaching.
• Recruitment for entering the profession at every educational level is on the basis of competitive examinations, selection by written texts, and selection by assessment.
• Teachers on probation will secure their tenure after six months from the first day of employment. This is subject to an evaluation by a committee consisting of an immediate superior and two senior teachers.

Although civil servants in general and those in the teaching profession in particular are under different systems of personnel administration, their salaries are in practice on the same scales. While the class and structure of positions of civil servants in general have been defined on the basis of the Position Classification (PC), those of teachers have been determined on the basis of the Academic Rank Classification (ARC). This is based on the concept that those in the teaching profession utilize their knowledge, experience and expertise in teaching and thus should be promoted to higher positions with intellectual academic standing. It serves as an incentive for competent teachers to go forward in their career because most teachers can remain longer in the teaching profession and can be promoted to higher positions without having to perform administrative functions.

With regard to the promotion of each teacher’s position, a job description has been prepared and specific requirements have been defined for each position. The criteria for promotion are: teaching experience, salary rates, teaching performance, and job performance or academic work output/teaching skills.

The teachers’ qualifications in both public and private schools tend to become higher. Teachers with lower than Bachelor’s degree in public schools decreased from 28.9% in 1990 to 20.7% in 1993 and those in private schools decreased from 49.9 to 42.8%. Teachers with a Bachelor’s degree in public schools increased from 65.7% in 1990 to 74.7% in 1993 and those in private schools increased from 45.9 to 52.8%. However, teachers with higher than bachelor’s degree in both public and private schools were still less than 5% in 1993. At higher education level, the qualifications of academic staff in institutions under the MUA and Ministry of Education have become higher. The proportions of academic staff possessing Master’s and Doctorate degrees in various types of institutions (except public universities) tended to increase, while those possessing Bachelor’s degrees tended to decrease in 1996.

According to the standard criteria, the total workload of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school teachers is thirty-five hours per week which includes teaching load and other tasks. The result of the Research on the Efficiency of Teacher Utilization (ONEC, 1996) revealed that the workload of teachers on the average was below the standard criteria. It was found that teachers spent seventeen to twenty-one hours per week on teaching, five to eight hours on work supporting teaching, and two to four hours on administration and other services.