The Construction of Democratic and Autonomous Citizens in a Progressive Thai School: Possibilities and Challenges

Abstract

One of the key challenges for Thai education since the last century has been to produce
citizens who are able to think for themselves and who can contribute to the common good of society. The past two decades have seen a growing interest in innovative education methods and the establishment of Thai schools with progressive educational philosophy and pedagogical approach potentially more capable of developing citizens with critical thinking skills and higher awareness of social problems than that in mainstream schools. This study examines the process of citizen construction in an alternative Thai school through both the formal and the so-called issues and concerns, are capable of generating meaningful and critical learning for them and can engender the right conditions for the development of democratic citizenship. However, hierarchical power relations embedded in Thai social structures continue to be observed in the alternative school, a factor which can undermine the progressive educational idea. This situation also poses an important challenge for the construction of democratic and autonomous citizens in Thai society.

Keywords: Education, Progressive Schools, Democratic Citizens, Thailand