School in Factory (SIF): an approach of Work-integrated Learning in Thailand

SIRIPHORN PHALASOON (TU Dortmund University, Germany/Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, Thailand) 

Abstract

In the fast-growing economic world, Thailand is faced with the problem of producing qualified vocational human resources. In general, educational institutions are unable to educate students to meet the demand of the labour market. The government realized this issue by promoting Work-integrated Learning (WIL) as one of the strategies to cope with the challenges of producing job-ready graduates. As a result, various forms of Work-integrated Learning have been implemented and many of the industries are involved in this educational program. The document analysis method has been used in this article to describe the educational system, national plans and policies, theoretical and didactical concepts of Work-integrated Learning and current approaches of WIL programs in Thailand. The discussion in the present paper concludes that to solve the problem of mismatch in graduates’ qualification between the demand and supply sides, it is crucial to build effective collaboration between educational institutes and the industrial sectors to provide better education to students. The School-in-Factory project is one of the best practice-examples implemented in Thailand that showed positive outcomes for all stakeholders. For the sustainable development of WIL programs, it is recommended that the government needs to be involved in this process more than just promoting its implementation through educational plans and policies. It is also important to note that Thailand needs to put more effort into teacher development

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