ILLEGIBILITY OF STUDENTS IN HIGHLAND AREA: THE CAUSES, PROBLEMS, AND SOLUTIONS

Abstract

The objectives of this study were 1) to investigate the state and problems in Thai language instructional management of schools in highland area under Chiang Rai Educational Service Area Office 3; to develop Thai language skills practice package for Thai language illiteracy of schoolchildren in highland area of Chiang Rai province; and 3) to evaluate the outcome of using Thai language skills practice package for Thai language illiteracy of school children in highland area of Chiang Rai province. The samples were divided into 2 groups, that is, 1) 87 School administrators and teachers from school in highland area of Chiang Rai province selected by purposive sampling technique as specialist informants in providing information on the state and problems in Thai language instructional management of schools in highland area; 2) Six teachers and 179 students were purposively recruited to participate in experimenting the use of the developed instructional media. The research instruments were Thai language skills practice package for improving Thai language illiteracy of schoolchildren in highland area and interview form.

           The interview results with school administrators and teachers in education level 1 (grade 1-3) from 33 schools in highland area under Chiang Rai Educational Service Area Office 3 regarding the state of Thai language instructional management revealed that majority of the schools lacked Thai language teachers. Among these, only 24.24% of the teachers held degree in teaching Thai language. Also, 96.96% of the schools employed instructional management model prescribed by Ministry of Education; however, the schools implemented other teaching models such as the 4-ladder skills pattern developed by Asst. Prof. Siwakarn Patoommasoot, TPR BBL, and Montessori. The majority of schoolchildren were ethnic groups. The main group was Akha and followed by Hmong, Yunnanese, Tai Yai, Lahu, and Mien. The main Thai illiteracy problem was writing skills accounting for 29.24% and followed by reading ability problem at 28%.  

           The development of Thai language skills practice package for schoolchildren in highland area of Chiang Rai province were constructed for 3 educational levels, that is, kindergarten (kindergarten 2) and primary 1 (grade 1 semester 1 and 2). The practice package consisted of 13 books covering 1 book for kindergarten, 9 books for primary grade 1 semester 1 (1 book) and primary grade 1 semester 2 (8 books about Thai consonants rules), and 3 books as teacher manuals (1 book for each educational level).

           The evaluation results on implementing Thai language skills practice package for schoolchildren in highland of Chiang Rai province showed that the achievement scores of students before and after using the developed practice package were different in all educational level and schools. That is, the schoolchildren’s achievement mean scores after using the practice package were higher than that of the pre-implementation in all levels and schools. The teacher’s evaluation on the developed practice package showed that there was teacher manual provided with the practice package and clear pictures allowed better understanding of words and stimulated memory ability of the learners so they could easily remember Thai consonants using pictures. The pictures and exercise contents were appropriate for children and they could easily refer to their real life. The exercise content came with examples so the learners could use them to expand the practice on their own. However, there were some flaws for minor adjustments before real teaching implementation.