DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES OF THE STUDENT ADMISSIONS MANAGEMENT TO PROMOTE GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP OF INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS IN THAILAND

Abstract

The objective of this research is to investigate the conditions, problems, and developmental approaches concerning student admissions management to promote global citizenship of international schools in Thailand. The sample group consists of 382 parents of students attending international schools in Thailand, selected based on the sample size determination table (Krejcie & Morgan, 1981), and stratified random sampling based on geographical regions. Additionally, 10 school administrators responsible for student admissions were purposively selected from 10 international schools in five regions (two schools from each region with one teacher from each school). The research tools are a questionnaire and an interview form. The statistics used in the research are the percentage, mean, standard deviation; while qualitative data are analyzed using content analysis.

Findings reveal that overall, the student admissions management to promote global citizenship of international schools in Thailand is rated at the high level. When specific aspects of the student admissions management are considered, they can be ranked from top to bottom based on their rating means as follows: two specific aspects are rated at the highest level, namely, that of the registration, and that of the pre-application assessment. The aspects that receive the rating means at the high level are that of the acceptance or denial of applicants, that of the filling out forms for school visits, that of the decision-making in admissions, that of the submission of application documents, and that of tuition fee rates and payment methods, respectively.

Problems of the student admissions management to promote global citizenship of international schools in Thailand include that of ease or difficulty of system registration, that of the lack of notification regarding withdrawal rights for students whose parents do not disclose special needs or disabilities, that of the absence of assessment schedules for applicant characteristics and developmental potential, that of non-specification of student admissions based on GPA, academic history, or references, that of the failure of parents to adhere to specified response timelines, that of the payment channels for tuition fees, and that of the lack of diversity and user-friendliness in the registration system.

The approaches for development of student admissions management to promote global citizenship of international schools in Thailand include improving the efficiency of data entry systems, notifying parents of withdrawal rights for students with undisclosed special needs or disabilities, scheduling assessments for applicant characteristics and developmental potential, specifying admissions criteria based on GPA, academic history, and references, ensuring parental compliance with response timelines, offering convenient payment methods for tuition fees, and diversifying and improving the user-friendliness of the registration system.