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Research Results from the Study of 20 Tertiary Institutions in Thailand Methodology And Survey Analyses Questionnaires A questionnaire consisting of 184 questions on 28 pages was distributed to English language teaching staff in 20 tertiary institutions in Thailand. In addition, a questionnaire consisting of 125 questions on 9 pages was distributed to students. The respondents answering the questionnaires were chosen by the Chairperson of the English Department or the Deans of the Faculty of Humanity or the Faculty of Liberal Arts. Statistical Analyses of Both the Qualitative and the Quantitative Questionnaire Results T-test, Chi-square and Spearman Rho Rank Correlations are used where appropriate to analyse the results of the questionnaire. T-test is used because it can be applied to samples of unrestricted sizes. The test is used to measure the means of two independent groups. However, in these cases, the same sets of questionnaires are used for different subjects, that is (1) lecturers from private and state institutions; and (2) students from private or state institutions. The results of the questionnaires match the assumptions underlying the use of t-test: 1. the scores in each group are normally distributed and 2 the variances for the scores of the two groups are equal. (Myers & Well, 1991, p. 66). T-test is used in this study to compare questions where ranking is involved and the means differences are examined (for both lecturers’ and students’ questionnaires). Chi-square test of independence is used, for questions requiring Yes/No answers, to test hypotheses about proportions based on the frequencies of the different categories of observational units observed in the sample. This is to determine whether or not a significant difference exists between the observed number of cases and the expected number of cases, that is, whether two variables are related or independent (Runyon & Haber, 1988, p. 417). A fundamental assumption in the use of chi-square is that each observation or frequency is independent of all other observations (Runyon & Haber, 1988, p. 417). Spearman rho rank-order (or rankdifference) correlation coefficient is used with ordinal data (rank ordered) items for all the questionnaires in this study. However the data in these questionnaires are interval rather than ordinal in nature. The data size for the questionnaires used in this study is greater than the specified size of 30 necessary for the application of this
statistical test. The coefficients for rho range from -1.0 through zero to +1.0. Rho is an estimate of the tendency of how two ranks are similar. That is, the degree of similarity in the ranking between two variables. Spearman Rho is used to measure whether there is any direct relationship between the ranks of variables, to examine whether they are in the same rank order, that is, the extent to which the variables are monotonically related (Neave & Worthington, 1992, pp. 169-170). The Questionnaire for Teachers (Part A) Part A of the questionnaire for teachers consists of 113 questions 17 pages. There were 121 respondents to this part of the questionnaire. Of these, 97 were female and 24 were male. These respondents’ ages range from between 20 and 30 to over 60 (see Table 1). Table 1 Respondents’ Age-Ranges Group Age Range Total 1 20-30 22 2 31-40 52 3 41-50 38 4 51-60 8 5 61-70 1 121 All the respondents are currently teaching at tertiary level and have been teaching at this level for a number of years (see Table 2). Over half of the respondents (68 or 56.2%) are teaching in one institution only, 29 (24%) are teaching in two different institutions, 17 (14%) in three, 3 (2.5%) in four, and finally, 4 respondents teach in 5 institutions. Generally, however, those who teach in more than one institution spend most of their time in one but give guest lectures in the others. The number of years respondents have been teaching at their current institutions is given in Table 2. Table 2 Number of Years Taught at Institutions Group Number of Total Years 1 1-10 32 2 11-20 29 3 21-30 26 4 31-40 34 121 Only two respondents have taught in the polytechnic system. One taught there for 3 years, the other for 19 years. Sixteen respondents have taught from 1 to 27 years at secondary school level. Twelve respondents have taught at other places (not specified) for a range of from 1 to 21 years. Less than 30% have taught for over 21 years or more. Of the 121 respondents, 105 (86.8%) teach reading comprehension. Writing skills appears to be second in
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