Abstract
Northern Thailand is home to a variety of diverse ethnic groups and their unique cultures. Included are the Lahu people, who reside throughout most of the countries of mainland Southeast Asia and southwestern China. At present, many Lahu students attend Thai public schools both in their home village-communities as well as larger Thai towns and cities. Teaching in an elementary school, I observed that Lahu students encountered challenges different from those of their Thai peers. In order to help schools and educators create learning environments that consider the specific needs of Lahu students and help them to succeed in school, this qualitative study inquired into the schooling experiences of two Lahu sisters: Som, who discontinued her schooling before completing upper secondary school, and Noi, who graduated from a Thai university. Particular attention was given to the influences of family, peer groups, and schools on the participants’ schooling experiences. The results suggest that a lack of knowledge as to how to go about pursuing available educational opportunities contributed to Som discontinuing her schooling before completing upper secondary school. In Noi’s case, the use of discrimination as a source motivation and the internalization of schooling as a pathway to future fulfillment were instrumental in her graduating from university. For both sisters, overcoming linguistic borders as well as socioeconomic constraints were significant aspects of their schooling experiences.
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- 1.
According to the Thai Ministry of Education, the Thai education system consists of twelve years of schooling: six years of “Prathom,” or primary school, and six years of “Mathayom,” or secondary education. Secondary education is further divided into lower secondary, Mathayom 1–3, and upper secondary, Mathayom 4–6. Eight core subjects make up most of the curriculum: Thai language, mathematics, science, social studies, religion and culture, health and physical education, arts, careers and technology, and foreign languages.
- 2.
See Keyes (1991) for a detailed account of how schools serve the purposes of national integration and the promotion of a Thai national identity.
- 3.
See Johnson (2007) for one of the few insightful accounts of the daily schooling experiences of ethnic minority students in Thailand.
- 4.
The names of people and places in this study have been changed to protect the anonymity of the participants.
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Acknowledgments
I thank Gay Garland Reed for her advice in pursuing this project, Lois Yamauchi for her help with conducting the research and feedback on initial drafts, and Natcharat Juelsgaard for her assistance throughout the entirety of the project.
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Juelsgaard, M.R. (2014). Lahu Students in Thai Schools: The Cases of Som and Noi. In: Liamputtong, P. (eds) Contemporary Socio-Cultural and Political Perspectives in Thailand. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7244-1_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7244-1_16
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