Bangkok--6 May--Australian Embassy, Bangkok
The Australian Government will team up with Chulalongkorn University to improve the teaching of science and maths in Southern Thailand.
The $1 million Australia-Thailand Teacher Training Project will train up to 380 specially selected teachers from Government and Islamic Schools in the provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.
The project will run for two years, with the training to focus on 3 distinct teaching approaches.
These include ‘active learning’, which provides teachers with tool kits that will improve science training in schools; ‘learn-thru-experiment’, where teachers study how to use experiments to boost interest in science and mathematics; and ‘problem-oriented research’, which demands the teachers propose their own projects to help solve learning difficulties in their own communities.
“The Australian Government is proud to be aligned with such a respected institution as Chulalongkorn University for this important project,” said Australian Ambassador to Thailand Paul Grigson.
“I also want to thank the Royal Thai Government for its close cooperation and consultation during the project’s formation.”
“Education is the cornerstone of community development. By boosting interest in and improving the teaching of core subjects like maths and science, we are supporting Thailand’s education priorities.”
As part of the project, trainers will visit Australia to see first-hand cutting-edge teaching techniques. This continues the growing people-to-people linkages between Thailand and Australia in the area of education. For example, there are now between 22,000 and 23,000 Thai students enrolled to study in Australia.
The Australia-Thailand Southern Teacher Training Project was agreed at a meeting between Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Thailand Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya last year. It will commence in May 2010.
Media contacts:
Benchawan Tanjaroensub
Media Officer
Australian Embassy, Bangkok
Tel: 02 344-6463
E-mail:
[email protected]