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Weapons of Mass Assimilation: A Critical Analysis of the use of Education in Thailand also include civics and its goal should be to introduce students to important issues in democracy and citizenship. The goal of this course would be to help the students think of themselves as capable and interdependent citizens who are engaged with the political and social future of their country. Multiculturalism should also be included in this subject in order to reflect the diversity of the country’s population. Reform is also necessary for history lessons. The overwhelming emphasis of national history for most of primary and secondary education should be changed to a more balanced coverage of world, regional, national, and local history (Sweeney & Zandan, 1981). Interdependence should be emphasized and national events should be linked to regional ones and so on so as to show students the complexity of the historical process. This would help correct the distorted view of history previously taught at schools and thus empower members of groups whose histories have been marginalized. Another important reform would involve the previous emphasis on instrumental knowledge and modernization. Teaching farming in urban schools, vocational mechanics to future politicians and ignoring social studies in the education of future engineers are important flaws of the current system. The present system concentrates on passing on factual knowledge to students so that they can learn a trade and help in the modernization process of the country. The problem with this system is that it is instrumental and treats people as tools. One of the results is that students who take the math and science track in secondary school have deficient language skills and little knowledge of the outside world. The Thai education system should be reformed in order to concentrate on what the Germans call bildung which refers to the search for knowledge in order to gain understanding and thus becoming a better person. This view of education is more holistic and preparers students not only to learn a trade but to become responsible and informed citizens. Another added advantage of this approach is that students are taught how to think analytically and thus gives them more flexibility to change career paths in the future if they wish to do so. A change to bildung in Thailand would involve the elimination of the three tracks presently offered in Thai secondary schools in favor of a single one in which 308
Otto F. von Feigenblatt, Vannapond Suttichujit, Md Shukri Shuib, Mohamad Faisol Keling, and Mohd Na’eim Ajis basic subjects are encouraged and problem solving is emphasized. In summary the Thai system needs to be reformed in order to be more student-centered as well as more holistic. The goal should be to empower students rather than shape them into mindless tools for the economic development of the country. The proposed changes should be applied flexibly and taking into consideration the local context but the sooner they are put in place the better the future of the country and of the present generations will be. References Albritton, R. B., & Bureekul, T. (2004). Developing Electoral Democracy in Developing Nations: Thailand [Electronic Version]. A Comparative Survey of Democracy, Governance and Development, Working Paper Series, 1-33. Retrieved September 20, 2009, from http://www.asianbarometer.org/newenglish/publications/workingp apers/no.17.pdf Albritton, R. B., & Bureekul, T. (2007). Thailand Country Report: Public Opinion and Political Power in Thailand [Electronic Version]. A Comparative Survey of Democracy, Governance and Development, Working Paper Series, 1-38. Retrieved September 20, 2009, from http://www.asianbarometer.org/newenglish/publications/workingp apers/no.34.pdf Berthoff, A. E. (1990). Paulo Freire's Liberation Pedagogy. Language Arts, 67(4), 362-369. von Feigenblatt, Otto F. (2009a). ASEAN and Human Security: Challenges and Opportunities. Ritsumeikan Center for Asia Pacific Studies Working Paper, No. 09-5(July), 1-22. von Feigenblatt, Otto F. (2009b). Human Security and the Responsibility to Protect: A Holistic Approach to Dealing with Violent Conflict in Southeast Asia. In A. K. Pandey, S. Verma, R. P. Pathak, B. Paranjape, N. K. Mishra, Gangatharan, D. Pande & B. K. Choudhary (Eds.), Repositioning 'Subalternity' in Globalized India: The Dynamics of Social Inclusion (pp. 130). Delhi: Macmillan. von Feigenblatt, Otto F. (2009c). The Thai Ethnocracy Unravels: A Critical Cultural Analysis of Thailand’s Socio-Political Unrest. Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, 1(3), 583-611. 309
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