Maj Gen Sanan Kachornprasart on his graduation ceremony at Ramkhamhaeng University

Teachers must research, publish

I have been following the good work of Dr Somwung Pitiyanuwat and Onesqa this year and have made a point of trying to establish a quality control mechanism at the Language Center at Udon Thani Rajabhat University in accordance with the guidelines Onesqa uses to assess schools in Thailand.

For those that have an interest in quality assurance Onesqa, which I am pleased is independent of the Ministry of Education, has developed seven standards and forty-eight key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the quality of higher education institutions in Thailand. There are also standards and key performance indicators for basic education.

The majority of educational establishments wisely use the Onesqa standards and KPIs as benchmarks as internal quality assessment tools at their institutions. However, I am concerned that some areas receive more attention than others and that self-interest and a lack of dedication to the teaching profession may lead to a lack of balance when it comes to assessing quality not directly assessed by the Onesqa criteria. For example, there is nothing in any of the Onesqa evaluation tools that requires teachers to frequently publish academic papers on teaching, methodologies or research into pedagogy generally.

Thai teachers in unique position

As a lifelong learning practitioner I am always searching for published articles by Thai teachers of English. Thai teachers of English have a special insight into how Thai students learn English. They occupy a unique position in the teaching hierarchy. As teachers of English Thai teachers are teaching their second (or third) language to young Thais who are learning English as a second language from Thai teachers. That presents an incredible advantage over foreigners who teach English to young Thais.

The insight, experience, and wealth of knowledge that Thai teachers of English uniquely possess should be shared with the rest of the teaching community as a tool to boost the language learning capacity of our students. The best way to do that is for Thai teachers to publish their insights, knowledge and experiences in journals that are readily accessible to teachers, parents and the public.

When I attend conferences in Thailand and overseas, I look for research that could help me with my English language teaching. But I am disappointed at the lack of published research by Thai teachers of English in English, since English is the internationally recognized language of research.

I acknowledge that there are articles and papers published, but mostly from Thai teachers of English in pursuit of their Masters or doctorate Degrees. There is very little published research conducted to investigate problems, examine and improve the profession, and to prove theories once Masters or doctorate degree are awarded.

A lot more needs to be done by Thai teachers of English to educate the teaching profession and the wider community. Purely academic theses are certainly welcomed, but there should be much more practical, in-class kinds of essays that reflect the hands-on teaching experiences of Thai teachers who are charged with the awesome responsibility of teaching English to Thai students.

I'm absolutely sure that foreign teachers who teach English (or any other subject) to Thai students could benefit greatly from the insights, experiences and suggestions of Thai teachers. But unless Thai teachers begin to publish, the vacuum will persist.

KPIs should require research

Once a teacher becomes a Doctor, there is a social responsibility to conduct research and publish on a regular basis. My opinion is that not enough effort has been made by Thai teachers of English who hold relevant qualifications to conduct research and publish outside of degree courses.

More research needs to be conducted by those who are qualified to do so, in order to investigate specific Thai problems in learning English and I feel that this research needs to be published so that all teachers and observers can benefit from it. There are two areas of particular concern to me. These are assessment by Masters and Doctoral thesis publication and full-time lecturers holding Doctoral degrees on staff.

Research, publications to benefit all

Care and attention must be given to the types of publications to which articles are submitted, as most respected journals charge subscription rates to view or copy articles and this puts them out of the range of many dedicated teachers who survive on government salaries.

If a concerted effort is made to fulfil the requirements of Onesqa and its KPIs in a way that obeys the spirit as well as the letter of the requirements, then educational institutions, teachers and students will benefit.

The end result will be that our students will reap maximum rewards, perform better in their studies and enhance the economy and society of Thailand for generations to come. The Ministry of Education and Onesqa have a shared responsibility to order these changes and to police their enforcements. Are they up for it?

Steve Graham is an English language teacher at the Language Center, Udon Thani Rajabhat University in northeast Thailand. If there are any comments or areas for debate that you would like to discuss, you can contact Steve at: shed_chelsea@hotmail.co.uk .