A Century of Development in Agricultural Education: The Lesson Learned and Implications for Thai Schools

Abstract

Past development and present status of school agricultural education in Thailand were reviewed, focusing on the current situation within the context of the on-going reform movements in Thailand. Research objectives were: 1) to review historical development and status of basic agricultural education in Thailand, and 2) to elicit exemplary cases illustrating good practices of agricultural education in schools, and to determine the success factors. Documentary analysis was first conducted to obtain an overview of past and present prospects of school agricultural education. Case studies of 10 primary and secondary schools were later conducted to illustrate the current status. Review of selected cases from available sources provided supplementary data. Finally, reflection accounts were secured from a panel of opinion leaders in agricultural education and related areas. The findings were as follows: 1. Four periods of development in school agricultural education were identified. The year 1898, following the first educational reform, marked the beginning of formal agricultural education. Evolved over time, several concepts of relevant education in agriculture were implemented, and efforts were undertaken to vitalize agricultural program in school. Exemplary cases of success had been rare, however. 2. From 12 case studies presented in this report, 9 cases were selected from actual field data and 3 from available sources. These were classified as general and exemplary cases, respectively. 3. Key factors were identified for relevant agricultural education: school readiness, community support, and external inputs. Based on the lesson learned, recommendations were provided for relevant agricultural education in school to meet the changing context.