Promoting the quality of small-sized primary schools in Northeastern Thailand through Developing a Culture-based Educational Management Model

The reason for developing education is to develop students as high-quality individuals who are able to meet education standards and make a positive contribution to society. This qualitative investigation aimed to 1) study the background and history of small-sized primary schools in Isan; 2) to study the current conditions and problems with educational management based on culture in small- sized primary schools in Isan; and 3) to study a model for developing education management on the basis of culture in order to promote the quality of small-sized primary schools in Northeastern Thailand. Seven schools were chosen as research areas for this investigation. Tools used for data collection were survey, participant and non-participant observation, structured and non-structured interview, focus group discussions with groups of five to seven respondents and a workshop. Results show that there is a network for developing small-sized schools in Northeastern Thailand and this is an important medium for pooling resources and exchanging ideas about how to solve administration problems in the primary education of the Isan region. There are four key areas and eight components of educational administration that could be identified from observation, interviews and discussions with respondents. From the outcome of data gathering, the research team recommends a structural-functional approach to the development of educational management of Northeastern Thai primary schools. This approach consists of consideration of parts of the administrative system, the eight components, to determine the health of the whole, the quality of primary school education.

Keywords – Administration, culture, education, management, primary, school