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ANALYSIS OF THE FACULTY PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A MANDATED EDUCATIONAL POLICY: THAI NATIONAL EDUCATION ACT BY PAN, YUE MING (JIMMY) Bachelor's of Language Arts Shenyang Teacher's College Shenyang, Laoning P.R. China 1983 Master of Language Arts Shenyang Teacher's College Shenyang, Liaoning P.R. China 1990 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION May,2002 ANALYSIS OF THE FACULTY PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A MANDATED EDUCATIONAL POLICY: THAI NATIONAL EDUCATION ACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and special thanks to my dissertation advisor, Dr. Adrienne Hyle, my academic mother in America. It is my true feeling that writing this dissertation is not a single-handed project. Throughout the dissertation process, I have received Mother Hyle's endless love, support, guidance and encouragement for completing this dissertation. Being a Chinese, I felt very fortunate to be selected for this Cohort Doctoral Program supported by Siam University in Thailand to study in the College of Education at Oklahoma State University four years ago. Since this joint-venture project was a pioneering program between the above-mentioned universities, I spent two third of my learning time in Thailand. That's why I could closely focus on the whole process of the Thai education changes in line with the National Education Act, which has enriched the contents of my dissertation writing. Within this whole period, Mother Hyle was dedicating her time and energy to guide and encourage me at each step of dissertation writing through the Internet. My complete work has surely been merged with her sweat, insight and support. I also wish to thank the other members ofmy committee, Dr. Martin Burlingame, Dr. Edward L. Harris and Dr. Kay S. Bull for their willingness to serve on my committee in addition to their many other responsibilities. iii Today, I deeply cherish the memory of Dr. Burlingame and Dr. Harris who flew to Thailand five years ago to create this joint-venture program along with the efforts of Prof. Pomchai Mongkhonvanit, President and Dr. Twee Hormchong, Senior Vice President of Siam University in Thailand. Loving appreciation is extended to my wife, Guo Xiu Zhi and my son, Pan Xing for their support and encouragement of my educational work. In addition, I wish to acknowledge support from Khun Suthisri Masamam of the Office of National Education Commission and Dr. Padoongchart Suwanawongse of the Ministry of University Affairs for helping to prepare the English versions of the 1999 National Education Act and other reform-related documents and articles. I also want to thank Khun Nattaya Kunluan, my closest friend in Bangkok who helped me contact the participants, translated the rules and regulations both from the government and the three-investigating universities from the Thai language into English, and provided me with the transportation to the investigating sites. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. DESIGN OF THE STUDY ............................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem .......................................................... 6 Purpose of the Study ................................................................ 7 Theoretical Framework . 8 Network Analysis .......................................................... 8 Change Theory . 10 Procedures . 13 Significance of the Study .......................................................... 20 Research ...........................· .......................................... 20 Practice ...................................................................... 21 Theory ....................................................................... 22 Summary ............................................................................. 22 Reporting ............................................................................. 23 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .................................................... 24 The Core Meaning of Autonomy ................................................. 25 The Conception of Autonomy ............................................ 25 Accountability and Academic Freedom . .. 29 Summary .................................................................... 32 Status of Higher Education in Thailand .......................................... 32 History of Higher Education ............................................. 33 Present Status of Higher Education . 34 Rationale for Thai Higher Education Reform . 36 Summary .................................................................... 43 The Evolution of University Autonomy in Thailand .......................... 43 The Historical Background .............................................. 43 The First Wave ............................................................ 44 The Second Wave . 44 The Third Wave ............................................................ 44 The Fourth Wave .......................................................... 45 Summary .................................................................... 46 National Education Act of B.E. 2542 (1991) .................................... 47 Learning Process ........................................................... 4 7 The Substance of the Curricula .......................................... 48 University Autonomy . .. 48 Quality Assurance ......................................................... 49 Summary .................................................................... 49 V Chapter Page Social Reflections on the National Education Act .............................. 50 The Supporter to the Act ................................................. 50 The Opponents to the Act . 52 Summary .................................................................... 54 Theoretical Framework ............................................................ 55 Network Analysis . 55 Summary .................................................................... 59 Change Theory ............................................................. 59 Summary .................................................................... 59 Chapter Summary . 63 III. PRSENTATION OF THE DATA .................................................... 65 Case Study Procedures ............................................................ 65 Case Study Sites . 65 Interviews . 66 Document Review ......................................................... 67 Respondents .. : . 67 Reporting ................................................................... 68 Change Thai University of Technology Phranakorn (CTUTP) .............. 68 General Information and History . 68 Participants at CTUTP . 70 Common Stress and Individual Pressures about the Change ......... 71 Faculty's Positive and Negative Attitudes .............................. 76 Summary .................................................................... 81 Wichira University (Wichira) ..................................................... 82 General Information and History . 83 Participants at Wichira .................................................... 85 Common Stress and Individual Pressures about the Change ......... 87 Faculty's Positive and Negative Attitudes .............................. 90 Summary .................................................................... 96 Chonburi Provincial University (Chonburi) ..................................... 97 General Information and History . 97 Participants at Chonburi . 98 Common Stress and Individual Pressures about the Change ......... 99 Faculty's Positive and Negative Attitudes .............................. 106 Summary .................................................................... 107 Chapter Summary ................................................................... 108 IV. ANALYSIS OF THE DATA ......................................................... 111 Analysis of Networks ............................................................... 111 Time ......................................................................... 109 Intensity . 11 7 Intimacy . 119 vi Chapter Page Reciprocal Services . 120 Summary .................................................................... 120 Analysis of Change Theory ........................................................ 123 Adoption Phase . 123 Summary of Relevance, Readiness and Resources .................... 129 Early Implementation Phase ............................................. 130 Summary of Materials, Approaches, and Beliefs . 134 Chapter Summary .................................................................. 135 V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIIONS, RECOMMNEDATIONS IMPLICATIONS, AND COMMENTARY .......................................... 137 Summary of the Study ............................................................. 137 Data Needs and Sources .................................................. 138 Data Collection ............................................................ 138 Data Presentation . 13 8 Data Analysis . .. 140 Findings . 141 Conclusions ......................................................................... 145 Recommendations and Implication . 146 Theory ...................................................................... 147 Research . .. 14 7 Practice . 148 Commentary .......................................................................... 148 REFERENCES .............................................................................. 153