Abstract
The major analytical research question addressed in this paper is: What are Thailand’s strengths and weaknesses as an international education hub for students from the Asian region? The key descriptive research question is: What is the nature of the educational experience of Asian students in Thailand? The two major research methodologies of the study are mixed research methods and comparative case studies, with the use of in-depth interviews of influential experts, surveys, and an autoethnography. In terms of major findings, there has been a dramatic growth of Asian students at Thai universities during the past two decades. Thailand’s major advantages relate to low costs, location, quality campus facilities, and a welcoming attitude toward outsiders, while major disadvantages are the quality of many of Thailand’s international programs often related to low English language capabilities. The paper concludes by presenting a creative new architecture for thinking about Asian study abroad in Thailand.
Keywords
Yes, you may well doubt, you may well be uncertain... Do not accept anything because it is the authoritative tradition, because it is often said, because of rumor or hearsay, because it is found in the scriptures, because it agrees with a theory of which one is already convinced, because of the reputation of an individual, or because a teacher said it is thus and thus… But experience it for yourself. The Lord Buddha The Kalama Sutta
Research problem, questions, and objectives
The primary focus of this paper is Thailand as a destination for potential graduate students from the Asia-Pacific region. A major related issue addressed in this paper is how can Thailand internationalize higher education in a way that both fosters academic excellence and makes Thailand more attractive to students from the Asian region. There are two key intellectual research questions, one descriptive and one analytical. The descriptive question addressed is: What is the nature of Asian students’ educational experiences in Thailand? The analytical question is: What are Thailand’s major strengths and weaknesses as an international education hub? What makes it distinctive as an alternative to further education in the Global North? What attracts international students to Thailand? And perhaps most importantly how can Thailand increase the number of students from the region and offer them education of high quality and excellence? Also, our purpose is not to promote Thailand as a destination, but instead to seek a deeper understanding of inter-Asian student mobilities in the context of Thailand’s rather distinctive approach to internationalization in a nation that was never colonized. The focus is not an analysis of higher education itself (which would be a major monograph or book), but instead to provide insight into the nature of the Asian student experiences in Thailand. The aim of this paper is not the typical analysis to advance or test theory, but instead to provide a rigorous, reliable analysis of Thailand’s potential (strengths and weaknesses) as an international education hub. It is an example of a focused applied policy analysis (Bardach and Patashnick, 2019). The extensive triangulated data provide for a rigorous focused investigation of the key intellectual questions posed above.
The basic research problem related to Thailand’s potential as a hub and destination for other Asia-Pacific students is critically important, because there is relatively limited awareness of the nature of the internationalization of Thai higher education which has occurred in recent years. A primary audience for the study is, thus, educators in the region mentoring and advising students about potential Asia-Pacific sites for further graduate study. Also, educators in the West are similarly often unaware of higher education opportunities in Thailand. Thailand's recent hosting of the 2023 annual conference of the Asia Pacific Association of International Education, provided it an opportunity to showcase to such educators its potential as an international education hub in Asia and Southeast Asia.
Literature review
Much of the literature on student mobility focuses on movements among students from countries of the Global North or some studies of students going from the Global North to the Global South. But there are few studies of South-South mobility, a reason why this special issue on inter-Asian student mobility fills such an important gap in the literature (Phan, 2018; Shive et al., 1988).
Looking at student mobility critically, scholars address numerous key issues. The first is the quality and excellence of international education. Numerous critical scholars such as Phan (2017) and Woolf (2007) are deeply concerned about the mediocrity of many international education programs. Other major issues identified in the literature associated with student mobility are brain drain, academic imperialism (Alatas, 2003; Alatas and Hassan, 2005; Altbach, 2015; Alvarez and Shad, 2011), identity issues and language learning challenges (Diao and Trentman, 2021), intercultural learning (Baker, 2012), and the patronizing paternalistic aspects of many Western service-learning programs (Illich, 1968). Chapman et al. (2010) in a major study of cross-border higher education in the Asian region, while noting the quality problems of higher education in the Southeast Asia region, recognize that this approach to internationalization has positive potential in terms of “enriching the academic experience of students”; promoting “social integration, academic integration, and satisfaction”; and providing “more relevant education in a country that is friendlier and closer in language and culture than study in the West” (p. 20) (see also Amara, 1995),
There is extensive literature on the internationalization of higher education, focusing largely on study abroad, international students, internationalization at home (IaH), and comprehensive international education (Hudzik, 2015). Much of this literature also discusses critically the many rationales for promoting the internationalization of higher education. The current trend is to move beyond narrow human capital approaches to look at broader outcomes of internationalization related to becoming more engaged with the world and developing intercultural competencies needed in rapidly internationalizing societies.
Since Thailand was never colonized, its path of internationalization has been both more limited and also diverse with multiple external influences (Rattana and Hill, 2017). Unlike former British or US colonies (Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines), Thailand suffers from a serious English language disadvantage, which has adversely affected its attractiveness as a destination. Porntip and Chotima (2018) provide an excellent overview of the internationalization of Thai higher education, but indicate that much is still to be done. They are highly critical of the lack of any clear national policy related to the internationalization of higher education and the false equating of having some courses taught in English with genuine internationalization. Two recent studies of the internationalization of higher education in Thailand note Thailand’s significant potential, but demonstrate how Thailand for a variety of reasons is not fully realizing such opportunities (Aree et al., 2022; Panawat and Patreeya, 2022).
In terms of the internationalization of Thai higher education, the situation is really a “tale of two cities.” The most impressive aspect of the internationalization of Thai higher education has been pockets of excellence such as the International College at Mahidol University (Bulmer, 2020; Burford et al., 2020), the Asian Institute of Technology (one of our case studies in this article), and the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Adminstration at Chulalongkorn University (another case study) (see Pembleton, 2011). But overall, despite impressive increases in the number of international students during the past two decades, most Thai universities have few international students. Yet overall, for the first time ever there are now more international students in Thailand than Thais studying abroad (ratio: 1.11) (UIS, 2021), which represents an important turning point in the internationalization of Thai higher education. Also, the international mobility rate for Thai students is a low 0.6%. In Vietnam, for example, it is much higher and growing much faster. Among study abroad destinations for Thai students, only 3 of the top 10 countries are in Asia and only two in Southeast Asia, namely, Indonesia and Malaysia (ranked no. 5 and no. 6).
This literature review points to the major challenges Thailand faces in trying to become an international hub attractive to Asia-Pacific students from throughout the region. It is imperative that Thailand develop more distinctive centers of excellence and improve the overall quality of its higher education programs.
Context: Historical and cultural
Thai education has deep historical roots going back centuries and even millennia. The quotation of the Lord Buddha above reflecting the essence of Buddhist epistemology is from more than 2,500 years ago. It emphasizes both critical thinking and experiential learning long before prominent educational philosophers such as Freire and Dewey. Also, the Thai word for education, kansuexsa, based on its ancient Sanskrit roots, means becoming capable, consistent with the development of 21st century skills (Sirindhorn, 2018) and the Nobel laureate Sen’s emphasis on capabilities (Sen, 2005).
During the 19th century, Siam’s visionary monarchs opened their nation’s doors to international missionaries as part of their strategy to avoid colonialism (the only country in Southeast Asia to have escaped such a fate). These missionaries played an important role particularly in the development of modern and quality educational and medical institutions. The case study of Assumption University below is an example of such missionary influence.
Thailand’s never having been a colony is particularly important in its impact on the Thai psyche, educational system, and attitudes toward outsiders. This unique historical fate perhaps contributes to Thailand’s in general being quite welcoming to outsiders throughout its history. Migrants from China have played a dynamic role in both Thailand’s economic and educational development (Amara, 1995; Wasana, 2019).
Also, in the late 19th century, Siam’s visionary King Chulalongkorn the Great, way ahead of his time, began an important process of modernization through internationalization. Despite the difficulties of travel at that time, the monarch visited Java and India and had two major trips of long duration to Europe. The European trips had two major goals: 1) to learn from European experience to inform Siam’s own internationalization and 2) to build good diplomatic relations with key European powers. Both goals related to Siam’s deep fears of colonialism. In the early 20th century, Siam’s internationalization was primarily influenced by Europe (Rattana and Hill, 2017; Rhein, 2016). Siam’s first university, Chulalongkorn University, was developed with British influence, and then Thammasat University, established by French-educated Dr Pridi Banomyong, was based on a French model. During World War II, Kasetsart University developed as a kind of US land-grant institution. As a result, the Thai higher education system developed in a highly eclectic way with diverse international influences (Sukanya et al., 2021).
Demographic context
Back in the 1960s, Thailand’s fertility rate was a high 6.2. Currently, it is a low 1.5. This dramatic change has important implications for higher education as the college age group is now much smaller. With the massification and privitization of Thai higher education, there is now much excess capacity in the higher education system. Recently, the Council of University Presidents of Thailand (CUPT) reported that there were only 230,000 applicants for 300,000 available seats (Dumrongkiat, 2019). Thus, this is creating a crisis for many second or third-tier institutions of higher education. One solution to this problem is to attract more international students, the focus of this paper. Thailand’s close neighbor China with its huge population is now the world’s major source of international students with 662,100 studying overseas in 2018 (Textor, 2020). Our case studies show a dramatic increase in Chinese enrollments in Thailand during the past two decades.
Method
The major methodologies for this study are mixed methods research (Creswell and Creswell, 2018) and comparative case studies (Bartlett and Vavrus, 2017; Vavrus and Bartlett, 2022; Yin and Campbell, 2018). Many research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, are employed in the study to allow for the triangulation of data to strengthen the study’s rigor and reliability. There are two major units of analysis: 1) institutions of higher education and 2) individuals, that is, leading Thai thinkers in the area of the internationalization of higher education. This choice of units of analysis is responsive to Thailand’s rather unique institutional and historical context, in which its higher education system has had diverse international influences resulting in many genres of higher education institutions in Thailand.
There are three major university case studies: 1) the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), 2) Assumption University (AU), and 3) Chulalongkorn University (CU). These three universities were purposively chosen, based on Merriam’s principle of maximum variation sampling (Merriam and Grenier, 2019). Each represents an entirely different genre of Thai higher education, international, private, and public.
AIT was chosen because it shows Thailand’s potential in the internationalization of higher education with the impressively high rankings it has achieved in this area. In terms of its future, its challenges are primarily to 1) diversify its Asian students even further and 2) to expand its international enrollments so that more Asian students can experience the kind of rich multicultural learning that AIT provides. In many respects, AIT is like what many had envisioned for the United Nations University. AU was chosen because it represents the enrollment challenges faced by Thai private universities, even prestigious ones such as AU and Dhurakij Pundit University (DPI). Chulalongkorn University was selected because it shows the potential for Thai-language universities to become international despite the obstacle of international students not being able to study in Thai.
Each of the three case studies was done separately by diverse scholars from those institutions who know their cases first-hand. The case studies are analyzed in an inductive way, to give important voice to international students for them to share the nature of their lived experiences pursuing further studies in Thailand. Corley et al. (2021) argue that we need more creative inductive qualitative research of this type, despite the commonly rigid biases against such research.
The major quantitative element is the analysis of longitudinal student flow data from Asia-Pacific countries to Thailand. These data were challenging to obtain and few studies have such data over significant periods of time. Another quantitative element is surveys of Chinese (N = 41) and Cambodian students (N = 14) at Dhurakij Pundit University (DPU) (a major private university) and CU, respectively.
Among qualitative methods utilized are: focus groups of Asia-Pacific students in Thailand; diverse in-depth interviews, and an autoethnography of a Vietnamese student who recently completed doctoral studies in Thailand, part of our Chulalongkorn University case study (Pillay and Pithouse-Morgan, 2016). For the AIT case study, there were four focus groups randomly selected with participants from each of AIT’s three colleges (N = 40) and an additional 10 interviews of faculty and students were conducted. Participating students were from many different countries of the Asian region. Similarly, at AU, to give voice to students, “to tell the story behind the numbers,” and to provide a deeper understanding of the participants’ study experiences at Assumption University, 17 diverse students were interviewed. Finally, 11 influential Thai international educators were interviewed. The 11 thinkers interviewed were also selected based on the principle of maximum variation sampling (Merriam and Grenier, 2019). Their inclusion is designed to complement the three university case studies by strengthening our research triangulation and provide valuable member checking, and are an important source of insightful, creative thinking about Thailand’s internationalization strategies and policies.
Case studies of the three universities included in the study.
Key Thai influential international educators interviewed.
Case study of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)
The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) is a small, private international graduate school located in the northern part of the greater Bangkok metropolitan area. Although it is located in Thailand and receives strong support from the Royal Thai Government, AIT maintains much autonomy, given its international status. This unique position is a legacy of its historical origins as a regional postgraduate institution and has contributed to its vibrant international culture. The institute has been recognized three out of four years for being the most international university in the world (AIT, 2018). The goal of this case study is to understand the special nature of its international culture and learning environment based on views shared by AIT faculty, staff, and students.
Background
The institute was first established as the SEATO Graduate School of Engineering in 1959. When SEATO was dissolved in 1977, its engineering school was reestablished as AIT and has continued its mission of educating emerging leaders from throughout the region and around the world. Given its history and strategic mission, internationalism is embedded throughout its university culture. Faculty, staff, and students from around the world and throughout the region contribute to the institute’s strong international orientation.
AIT has long placed a strong emphasis on creating social impact and sustainability and has 256 partnerships with nations, international organizations, companies, and universities from around the world. Consisting of the three Schools of Engineering and Technology, Environmental and Natural Resources, and Management, it has evolved its programs over the years to meet the changing needs of an increasingly internationalized world. Its roughly 2,400 students pursue degrees in various technological disciplines, as well as in management, social, and environmental sciences, with around 80% of graduates returning to their home countries to contribute to their growth and development. In addition to graduate degree programs, AIT’s executive education division provides short-term training courses for over 1,500 professionals from throughout the Asian region.
Enrollment trends
10-year AIT student enrollment trends.
Source: Regumi (2020).
The percentage of Thai students who received Royal Thai Government scholarships has grown substantially over the 10-year period, from 37.7% in 2009 to 84.8% in 2019. Students from Nepal, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Bangladesh have also been well represented over the 10-year period. Nationals from these five countries represented 48% of students in 2009 and 42.8% in 2019. Within this population, 15.5% of students were full scholarship recipients in 2009 and 37.7% in 2019. Ninety-two percent of all students were Asian nationals in 2019.
The broad and integrated international student composition serves as a key motivational factor for students who choose to study at AIT. In many cases, students shared that they chose to study at AIT as an alternative to institutions located in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, as it provided them with an opportunity to complete their graduate students in English while remaining relatively close to home, as stated by several students from Bangladesh and the Maldives. The ability to study at an international institution within which English is the lingua franca serves as a connector for those within the extremely multicultural community.
Several students reflected on the ability to expand their perspectives by learning from classmates’ first-hand experiences.
A first-year Nepali student stated how she developed a comparative perspective (emphasized by the late prominent international educator, Josef Mestenhauser (D’Angelo et al., 2023): I learn not only about my country or Thailand, but also about other countries, as well. In group assignments, we can compare data, perspectives, systems, and cultures with our peers. I really like that.
Similarly, a first-year Thai student remarked: I had some international friends because of exchange programs in my undergraduate program. Now, at AIT, I have learned so much more from people from other cultures because of the discussions we have in class and spending time together outside of class. I can think in new ways.
These types of experiences help develop cognitive complexity, as they enhance their capabilities in comparative thinking, which contributes to their global leadership capabilities (Osland, 2018). Several students shared how AIT’s international environment has been transformative in helping them to develop multiple cultural perspectives. A first-year Bangladeshi student’s thoughts are shared below: I’m conditioned to think about colonialism and its impact on my country and in my region. It’s interesting to see how people from Thailand approach their issues and problems, given they were never colonized. Since my professors are from different countries, that also adds a fresh and new perspective.
International orientation factors
While the diverse national origins of the student population is certainly a notable factor, it is also important to identify the key international elements of AIT’s institutional culture. Many campuses offer student housing facilities. However, AIT offers student, faculty, and staff accommodations. In addition, the AIT International School, located on the main campus, provides primary and secondary education to children within the AIT community. This fully integrated and interconnected international environment seems to enrich significantly the international culture. This sentiment was expressed by several participants who attributed this as a critical factor influencing their decision to study at AIT. A Thai professor who had previously worked in Europe and recently moved from Bangkok to the main campus stated: When I worked in Europe, people tended to be more independent...everyone had their own lives. At AIT, after we finish working, we say goodbye in the office, and then we see each other on the sports field with our families. Then, we may see each other again later in the evening at dinner. It’s quite nice.
One student commented: “We have the opportunity to socialize and develop personal relationships. It helps to develop trust and understanding. We feel like we’re living in a family, but a very, very, big one.”
Of the full-time faculty, 31.5% are Thai, 47.5% originate from other Asian countries, 11.5% are European, 4.9% are North American, and 4.9% are from other regions (AIT, 2020) (see Figure 1). Few, if any, universities in the world have such cultural diversity among their faculty members. Origins of AIT Faculty (Asian Institute of Technology, 2020b).
It is interesting to note that many of the faculty had previously lived and worked abroad, which adds depth to and enriches their intercultural perspectives.
A Thai professor stated: AIT’s culture is different from Thai culture. There’s a good mixture that provides a nice balance... Each of us has our own culture, and we respect other cultures; we come to understand them.
This transcultural effect emerged as a major theme from the student focus groups as well. Several of the themes identified in this case study help us understand how AIT has achieved the designation as the world’s most international university. Certainly, the institute’s history and governance structure provide a foundation for this orientation, and the fusion of cultures, both inside and outside of the classroom, among faculty, staff, and students, reinforce its international orientation. One European faculty participant, having worked at globally ranked universities in Singapore and China, went so far as to say that “the culture that exists at AIT doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.” Actually, AIT is similar to the original ideal of a United Nations University. This theme was echoed by other faculty participants who suggested that while many institutions have international students or faculty, often the international composition is dominated by one or two countries. Further, given AIT’s social impact and international development goals, the institute has long engaged in research that meets the needs of the larger region. AIT has aligned these research aims with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which are designed to address development challenges globally and in multiple contexts. The institute’s history, international composition, international partnerships with universities and collaborations with international organizations (e.g., The United Nations, The World Bank), foundations, and NGOs have all contributed to its strong international orientation and global distinctiveness.
Conclusion
AIT has a unique composition of international students, faculty, partnerships, and dual degree programs that contribute to its unique international orientation. In summary, factors that have helped position the institution as having the highest international orientation globally are as follows: • unique highly diverse cultural composition of students, faculty, and staff, in which no one culture is dominant; • number of partnerships with diverse institutions around the world; • diversity of international funding and governance members; • multicultural residential campus inclusive of culturally diverse food options and cultural activities that promote interaction across cultures. • a natural multilingual environment in which many non-Thai AIT students are picking up some Thai and other Asian languages informally. This is an important part of the AIT experience.
While some of these factors may exist in other universities, the diversity within each of these areas at AIT is rather extraordinary. AIT has been active in developing alternative pedagogical approaches and will need to become even more intentional about creating and fostering hybrid intercultural connections. The presence of AIT in Thailand provides a distinctive model for the intercultural university of the future, not only in Thailand but also across the globe.
Case study of Assumption University
Assumption University context
The roots of Assumption University go back to 1969 when Assumption Commercial College was established as an autonomous higher education institution. In 1972, with the approval of the Ministry of Education, it was officially established as Assumption Business Administration College (ABAC). In 1990, it was granted new status as “Assumption University” by the Ministry of University Affairs. The University is a non-profit institution administered by the Brothers of St Gabriel, a worldwide Catholic religious order. Assumption University offers study programs at all academic levels; 38 bachelor’s degree programs, 19 master’s degree programs, and 13 doctoral degree programs. All programs are taught in English. As Thailand’s first international private university, AU has attracted diverse international students and faculty.
Trend of international students’ enrollment and analysis of longitudinal data
Trend of top 10 international students’ enrollment 2000–2020 at Assumption University.
In the academic year 2020, a total number of 2,536 internationally mobile students were enrolled in degree programs at AU: bachelor programs with 1,934 student (76.3%), master programs with 378 (14.9%), and doctoral programs with 223 (8.8%).
Proportion of Thai and international students 2000–2020 at Assumption University.
On the other hand, there has been a sharp increase in international students’ enrollment between 2000 and 2020, nearly doubling with a 73.9% increase. Between 2000 and 2020, the number of Chinese students at AU quadrupled! And now more than a quarter of AU’s students are international.
Trends in numbers of international faculty at AU
Full-time AU international faculty nationality and diversity statistics were obtained from the Office of Human Resources in order to understand the international origins of faculty members. International faculty working at AU in 2019 are from 37 different nations. Figure 2 Top 11 origins of international faculty (2019).
Figure 2 indicates the top 11 origins of international faculty: Myanmar (16.2%), the US (15.6%), India (13.3%), the Philippines (9.3%), China (6.4%), Australia (4.1%), the UK (2.9%), and 2.3% each for Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Nepal in 2019. 80.3% of these faculty are from the Asia-Pacific region. Most of the Myanmar professors came to teach at AU due to geographical proximity and the repressive political situation back home. AU has had close ties with Stanford University in the USA thanks to Brother Dr Martin, a former president and Stanford alumnus, who had the vision to establish the majestic world-class Suvarnabhumi campus, which is a creative amalgam of Stanford, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, and Buddhism (see De Botton, 2006). This has helped the university attract a number of professors from the U.S. to work and teach at AU. There has been a good representation of Indian and Filipino faculty body at AU due to their English language proficiency.
Qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews of diverse AU students
Motivation to choose AU for further study
Three interviewees from South Korea and China stated that one of the reasons to choose AU is that it offers English-medium programs at all academic levels while most universities in Thailand use English only at international colleges or for some specific fields. A Korean business administration student shared her thoughts below: I started doing research about the international universities in Southeast Asia. Someone said that AU is good because the whole academic program is taught in English...So I think that is a good chance to improve English skills and experience more widely … English is most popular and powerful languages in the world, it is very useful for my future. My English has improved a lot during the school year…
These statements proved that one of the strongest pull factors for international students to choose AU is because English is its medium of instruction. English is increasingly recognized as a barometer of internationalization and it is accepted as commercial, political, intellectual, and cultural resources by institutions across Asia (Phan, 2018).
AU has earned a reputation for its diverse exchange, double degree, and joint degree programs with France, Germany, Britain, and India (Office of Graduate Studies, 2020). Each year, AU serves as a host university to welcome and provide credit courses that are transferred to their home universities and partner universities reciprocate. Another advantage is that AU has uplifted its image and internalization status to attract more prospective students and this has led to positive word of mouth that was mentioned by many interviewees.
A fourth year Indian student in management stated: Assumption University has a very famous name in business. It is one of the top universities. And some of my relatives used to study there. So they gave me good word of mouth and some information about it. So it was very easy for me to choose AU.
A Nepali, fourth year student in visual communication design revealed her motivation for studying at AU: AU has been like really popular name among in Thailand and as well as in Nepal. And my cousin, he graduated from AU in engineering and he recommended me to check out the university website... why I picked up AU, it’s because I heard like a lot of good things about AU. Like they have all international stuff, like international teachers... When I did my research, I came to know that there is the subject (visual communication design) that I really like. Actually, I looked at other universities as well, but they could not meet my needs. AU was like the perfect one.
Several interviewees mentioned that they have AU alumni friends or family/relatives whose word of mouth greatly affected them to choose AU. This gives important implication to AU in terms of quality curriculum, quality teachers, and interactive communication channels for maintaining decent reputation as an international higher education institution. The convenient geographic location of AU is another critical advantage which makes AU more competitive compared to rival universities in Asia.
Multicultural learning experiences and classroom interactions
A Chinese student enrolled in the M.S. Management program mentioned that she enjoyed diverse student body from Europe and Asia developing intercultural friendships and improving cross-cultural understanding: … Also, I can see many different colors of students on-campus. Actually, in our dormitory, I made friendships with some international students from Korea, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Europe, which is another major strength of AU.
A Nepali from the fourth year visual communication design shared similar experiences: … It’s like we get different type of ideas because we’re all born and raised in different culture… So that’s really the best thing about diversity. Let’s say… when we work in a group. .. I say my point of view that I have been grown up with and I’ve been seeing since I was kid and maybe like someone else from some other nationalities bring up their ideas on what they have been seeing around their life. So that’s, I think, really of the best thing I see here.
This student mentioned enjoying working with a diverse team and respect different points of view within/between groups. Consistent contact with cross-group intergroup and school diversity are associated with improved understanding and positive attitudes toward those of other cultures.
Interviewees showed their satisfaction with their professors’ professionalism, quality teaching materials, inclusive learning culture, and diversity of faculty. The quality of education certainly influences student mobility. It is based on two indicators from the position of the students in general. First there is the reputation of the higher education institution and second is recognition of the degree in the origin country. In this regard, AU meets these two indicators having an excellent reputation and degrees recognized across the continent and globe.
Improvement in self-confidence and agency
One Chinese business administration student in her second year emphasized how AU has helped her to improve her English skills and self-confidence levels: Among the many decisions I have made, coming to AU to study abroad may be the one I do not regret the most. At the beginning, I was not very able to adapt to school life. Presentations was the biggest difficulty I faced. But now feel more confident speaking English in front of others. I can let myself go out of the comfort zone. I become more independent and am able to take responsibility for myself.
This resonates with Phan’s thinking (2018). Being able to use English was seen as an important factor contributing to the students’ positive experiences in the AU environment. The positions taken by this student in relation to English suggest that they formed positive identity and self-efficacy being able to set up higher goals and moving out of their comfort zones.
Conclusion
The objective of this case study is two-fold. One is to identify the two-decade flow of internationally mobile students and faculty and staff at AU by analyzing trends in longitudinal statistical data. The other is to analyze the learning and living experiences of international students by conducting in-depth one-on-one interviews, which led to the emergence of several important themes.
AU has successfully recruited international mobile students from 58 nations, mostly in the Asia-Pacific region, and there are international faculty from 37 countries. These diverse students and faculty have been attracted to AU due to its being a well-known English language international university, from positive word of mouth recommendations, the presence of qualified professors, the use of modern pedagogies, and its central geographic location in Asia. The interviewees highlighted that improved English skills, self-confidence, positive multicultural learning experiences, and a supportive faculty system as some of the notable strengths of Assumption University. One recent doctoral graduate from Myanmar emphasized how flexible AU was in enabling her to combine work with study. In contrast to universities in the U.S., for example, Thai universities are far more flexible in offering their curricula at times suitable for students who might be working full time. The recent Burmese graduate also emphasized the proximity (to Myanmar) as a highly positive factor. Interestingly this student was so pleased with her doctoral study experience at Assumption that she has decided to pursue another master’s degree at highly regarded Mahidol University and will pursue a second doctorate in Thailand.
Well-designed international classrooms with culturally diverse students are most beneficial for intercultural learning and enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. However, a declining trend in Thai students’ enrollment and international students from some areas, suggests the need for the university to take a more active role in diversifying and differentiating offerings targeted to what is seen as new and emerging “market” needs.
Also, without the kind of robust, rigorous tracer studies advocated by the Singaporean economist of education, Pang Eng Fong, it is difficult to know what has happened to these international students who have chosen to study at AU (Pang, 1982). And most importantly in terms of accountability and quality, what competencies and proficiencies did they develop while studying in Thailand and how might their identities have changed? To what extent were their experiences transformative? Further tracer study research is needed to answer these key questions.
Case study of Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn is Thailand’s oldest and most prestigious university (Wichai, 2017). Its roots go back to 1899 when King Chulalongkorn the Great established a special school to train royal pages and civil servants to help administer his Kingdom. In 1917, his son, King Rama VI, transformed this school into Chulalongkorn University in honor of his late father. Over time the university has grown into a large comprehensive university located on 1153 rai (2.09 km2), a green campus and oasis in the center of Bangkok. The site for the university was precious royal land donated by King Rama VI to establish the campus. Forty eight percent of this area is now rented out commercially and to governmental entities, generating huge amounts of discretionary revenue for the university, which provides it special advantages in internationalizing and providing attractive campus facilities.
Currently the university has 443 academic programs and about 35,000 students. It is highly selective with less than one of 10 applicants being accepted. It has approximately 80 international programs, the most famous of which is the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Adminstration, which has had enduring connections with the Kellogg School at Northwestern and the Wharton School at Penn (Pembleton, 2011). The university offers 443 academic programs housed in 19 faculties. It has cooperative agreements with many outstanding universities around the world such as Tokyo University, Harvard University, and the University of Oxford.
The university also has several outstanding research centers. Particularly notable are the Chulalongkorn University Social Research Institute (CUSRI) and the Institute of Asian Studies, which includes the Asian Research Center on Migration, the Mekong Studies Center, and the Muslim Studies Center.
Its green campus has excellent world-class facilities. In the recent QS 2021 World University Rankings, it was ranked no. 96 globally for academic reputation and no. 208 overall (QS, 2021). In terms of being distinctive, in the most recent Impact Rankings (Innovation for Society), Chulalongkorn ranked no. 1 in Asia and no. 23 globally (THE, 2021).
Among its facilities particularly relevant to international students are Chula I-House, a 26 story up-scale dorm with 846 inexpensive units, an outstanding library whose facilities compare favorably to top universities in the Western world, and extensive recreational facilities.
International students’ enrollment trends 2000–2020 at Chulalongkorn University.
Note: These data are only for international students from the Asia-Pacific region.
Given these data, it is important to ask how Chula has been able to increase its international enrollment so dramatically? There are three major explanations: 1) Campus facilities are becoming world-class. Particularly relevant to international student recruitment are the I-House for quality residential life on campus and the outstanding Chula library. 2) More and more programs are being offered in English. 3) Chula has actively developed relations with leading universities across the globe. The Chula case provides important and valuable lessons for other Thai public universities seeking to expand international student enrollments.
Despite such dramatic growth, currently, international students represent only about 3% of the student body. 23% come from China and 48% from the ASEAN region. Thus, there is potential for much further growth in international student enrollment at Chulalongkorn University.
The largest number of ASEAN students is from Myanmar (14.7%) and Indonesia (14.1%).
To provide empirical data related to the Asian international student experience in Thailand, a survey was done of the total population of Cambodian students in the Faculty of Education at Chula, with a high 93% response rate, and a former Vietnamese doctoral student at Chula did an autoethnography of her doctoral experience, the last segment of this case study. Major results of the survey can be summarized as follows: • Cambodian students chose Chulalongkorn primarily because of the availability of scholarships, Thailand’s close proximity, and the perceived quality of the education offered, meeting international standards. • Chula offers a huge diverse array of academic programs. • Since Cambodian and Thai cultures are similar, adjustments are relatively easy. • They like the living and study environments of Chula. • They are eager to learn from their ASEAN neighbors. • Competency in Thai will be valuable back home in Cambodia. • They value the natural multilingual laboratory of Thailand and the opportunity to develop simultaneously some proficiency in Thai while greatly improving their English.
In terms of the fellowships mentioned, HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, herself a distinguished alumna of Chula, has established a substantial fellowship fund to enable Cambodians to study at her alma mater. Interestingly the current Cambodian Minister of Education, His Excellency, Dr Hanchuon Naron, recently in 2018 received a doctorate in educational administration from Chula. These students also offered thoughtful suggestions for improving the international student experience. These will inform our concluding section on the implications of this research for policy and practice.
As the concluding part of this case study, we now share the experiences of a recent doctoral student at Chula from Vietnam. This factual testimony of her lived experience was specially written for this study.
Autoethnography of a former Vietnamese doctoral student at Chula: “Studying in Thailand was my best ever decision in my life”
My family and colleagues often ask me why I wanted to leave such an excellent job at VNU-HCMC to further my graduate studies in Thailand which is a neighboring country with few differences from Vietnam, compared to other Western countries. At that time, I couldn’t give them a convincing answer. However, after spending over three and a half years studying there, I can now honestly say that studying in Thailand was the best decision I ever made in my life.
Studying in Thailand not only gave me better learning opportunities in receiving high quality education, but it also broadened my mind, provided me new skills, and expanded my perceptions and horizons. It was truly a transformative experience.
I fell in love with Chulalongkorn University as I began to study its profile and long history. It has a gorgeous green campus, an oasis located in the heart of Bangkok. There are many beautiful places, spectacular Buddhist temples, diverse museums, and many different natural attractions including 1,430 beautiful tropical islands which make Thailand a kind of natural “paradise” in Southeast Asia and the world. I learned how to live in the moment and appreciate the small things in life. The most livable and memorable venue at Chula during my three and a half years was the central library. It was where I spent my days and nights researching and writing my thesis. It was the place that I never missed each time when I was at Chula. Its facilities are world-class.
By immersing myself in the new destination, I had to pick up new and important phrases and sayings in the Thai language, which always made me feel happy speaking and listening to these “strange” and joyful sounds. This enriched me personally and I became more confident in dealing with people different from myself. The international/intercultural experiences gained helped to develop my international outlook and global perspective. In Chula, students are expected to be independent learners. Acquiring critical thinking through many intense academic debates was essential for doctoral students.
In addition to my classroom experiences, I also participated in out of classroom activities to broaden my perspectives. In one instance, I joined a large group for a field trip which included many teachers, classmates, and international students, who came for their internships and short courses. The Thais were so welcoming in often inviting me to join such outside activities, which enabled me to experience directly their culture, which emphasizes convivial group activity.
In short, with the variety of learning experience designed by the faculty of Chula, I realized that these active teaching and learning methods were effective in sharpening my mind to be a dedicated academic researcher. In addition to the diversity in teaching and learning methods, highly respected teachers shared with their students precious and special values of the university as well as of the country. I found that both colleagues and students bowed their heads low with praying hands when they met their teachers. This respected gesture helped me to understand more about the importance of respect, civility, and politeness of students in Thai higher education. Academic life in Thailand is highly personalized (Navaporn, 2019). I felt like I was part of a large family. We shared many ideas outside the classroom. Without their unwavering support, I would never expect to have such good results for my study. Their warm gestures helped me lessen my homesickness.
I found that studying in Thailand gave me the opportunity to interact with so many culturally diverse individuals, both Thais and others from the ASEAN region or Asia. I developed a new appreciation for peoples such as the Khmer and Thai, with whom we have had much historical “bad blood.” And previously I was unaware that Thailand had so much cultural and linguistic diversity. While at Chula, I developed a new ASEAN identity (Jie, 2018). I became exposed to Thai history, the development of ASEAN, the unique Thai philosophy and culture, and its friendly welcoming people. Besides, the learning experience also helped me to see everything with a new lens and opened my eyes to the world around me. In fact, I learned deeply from my teachers, friends, and local people about going beyond being motivated by self-interest, to become concerned for the welfare of others, different from myself. I developed what Appiah terms the “cosmopolitan ethic” (Appiah, 2006). Those are the most valuable lessons that I never learned in the classroom but in the rich natural multicultural/multilingual laboratory of Thailand. It required exposing myself to a new situation filled with new people and experiences and it also taught me how to live well in another country with so many people different from myself.
By choosing to continue my doctoral work in Thailand, I clearly chose a multilingual rather than a narrow monolingual English path. Though my studies were in the vehicle of global English, to navigate both my university and personal life in Bangkok, it was essential for me to learn some basic Thai. Since both Thai and Vietnamese have similar tonal and grammatical structures, it was relatively easy for me to pick up conversational practical (not academic) Thai.
Now when I’m back at my university in Vietnam, I see things with a new lens as studying in Thailand opened my eyes to the world around me. This is the most valuable lesson that I never learned in the classroom. It is my sincere hope that other international students will be able to experience valuable further studies in Thailand with this kind of transformative intercultural and multilingual learning.
Discussion and policy recommendations
Comparison across cases
All three universities have been quite successful in increasing their number of international students. Assumption and Chulalongkorn University also have demonstrated flexibility in responding to the special needs of international students, particularly those who may be working either in Thailand or in their home countries. These students on all three campuses have found a positive welcoming environment. They become part of a convivial intercultural community and experience the generally high level of happiness associated with university studies in Thailand (Fry et al., 2024; Fry and Rosarin, 2018). Interestingly a major motivation of Chinese students for coming to Thailand is to find social and cultural contentment of the kind reflected in the Vietnamese autoethnography (Sivarin, 2022). Their study in Thailand is truly transformative in that they shift from being in a highly competitive stressful culture to a more relaxed cooperative one. At all three campuses they appreciate the caring mentoring that makes them feel like part of a family. The literal Thai meaning of the word student, luksit, means “child.” Such bonding with their mentors is an integral part of their lived experience studying in Thailand. Finally, all three of these universities have beautiful attractive campuses with world-class facilities. For decades, AIT (“The MIT of Asia”) has been well known for its outstanding computer services.
In terms of differences, Chulalongkorn University, perhaps because it is a Thai-language university, has far fewer international students than either AIT or AU. Costs also vary with AIT and AU being much more expensive than Chula. Most international students at AIT and Chulalongkorn University receive some kind of scholarship support, while most students at AU are privately funded. Most students at both Chula and AU are Thai, while Thai students are a minority at AIT. AU is the only university that attracts large number of undergraduate international students. Nearly all Asian students at Chula and AIT are pursuing graduate degrees.
These three positive cases provide strong empirical evidence that Thailand has the potential to transcend the mediocrity associated with much transnational education.
Thailand’s potential and advantages as an international education hub
The previous three cases serve to inform in important ways the analysis that follows, supplemented by the in-depth interviews of 11 Thai international education experts. This concluding section is, thus, based on a synthesis of these multi-faceted triangulated data. It is a response to the fundamental critique of the lack of quality in Thai higher education and debates about the nature and direction of the internationalization of Thai higher education and its future potential. What advantages does Thailand have that might help offset these critiques? And what actions can it take to enhance its potential as an international education hub and transcend these critiques and become an attractive alternative to study in the West and Global North.
Thailand is extremely fortunate to be geographically located in the center of both Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. It is surrounded by three of the four most populous countries of the world: China, India, and Indonesia. India has just passed China to have the world’s largest population. Many international students we interviewed or surveyed mentioned that Thailand’s close proximity to their home was a major positive in choosing Thailand for further study. With China’s One Belt One Road initiative, travel to Thailand will be even more convenient.
Low costs in Thailand, both living and tuition fees, is also an important advantage (Navaporn, 2019). Average annual tuition in Thai universities is only about $3700 per year, which is a real bargain in higher education. Despite such low tuition, international students have access to some world-class attractive campuses such as that of Assumption University-Suvarnabhumi, Mae Fah Luang University in Chiang Rai in the North, Chulalongkorn University, and AIT. And these campuses provide for residential living fostering much intercultural interaction outside the classroom.
Thailand is a society which for decades and centuries has warmly welcomed outsiders and the Thais are noted for inviting outsiders to join their extramural activities and field trips. Also, these days in an era of the new experience economy, young people welcome opportunities for adventure. In this arena, Thailand has many attractive natural and cultural sites. It has, for example, 1,430 beautiful tropical islands and much bio and cultural diversity. Its Red Lotus Lake in the Northeast is considered one of the world’s most attractive natural destinations (Morelli, 2019). Sunset beach at Lipi island was recently ranked as one of the world's top six beaches. And Phuket and Isan (Northeast of Thailand) were just ranked as two of the top 50 places on the planet. Also interestingly Phuket and Pattaya have become the “Hawai‘i of Russia” (Fry, 2024),
The availability of low-cost but high quality, tasty food is also an attraction. Thai cuisine represents a creative eclectic blend of Indian, Chinese, and indigenous elements (Rosarin and Fry, 2018). Thai university cafeterias offer a wide array of diverse low-cost, tasty food.
Thailand is also known for the quality of its health care, currently ranking sixth in the world, in terms of quality and affordability. Its famous Bumrungrad International Hospital is ranked ninth in the world. International students have access to low-cost health care provided by Thai university hospitals, or quality reasonably priced private hospitals.
Obstacles facing Thailand in becoming an international education hub
Thailand’s most glaring obstacle relates to the quality issue in general and higher education in particular (Chinda 2004; Mounier and Phasina, 2010, 2018; Prompilai, 2018). Of special concern is the lack of qualified faculty to teach in English. Universities such as AIT, Assumption, and DPU have primarily dealt with this issue by employing international faculty (Burford et al., 2020). Thailand does have an impressive number of international programs offered in English (over 900), but the question is the quality of these programs, if faculty are not adequately qualified to teach and students to study in English. The result can be mediocrity (Phan, 2017). Contributing to the low rankings of Thai universities is the problem that many faculty are unable to publish in English. If Thailand is to achieve quality in terms of English programs offered at many institutions, then it is imperative that Thailand make significant investments to improve the quality of English instruction in basic education, particularly at the secondary education level. In 2021, Thailand ranked a dismal seventh out of eight ASEAN countries in English language proficiency (Royal Court Review, 2021). For Asian students who decide to study in places such as the UK or the USA, English proficiency of host institutions is, of course, not an issue. But study in such places is much more culturally challenging than opting for study within the Asia-Pacific region.
Some of these programs such as the SASIN Institute of Business Adminstration (at Chula), the International College of Mahidol (Burford et al., 2020) the English Economics program at Thammasat, and the culinary arts program at the International College of Silpakorn University (valuable links with France) are clearly of high international quality, but many are not.
Parents of Asian students are often concerned about rankings of universities. In this regard, Thailand does not fare well (Bangkok Post, 2020). Unlike Japan, China, Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore, it does not have universities that are highly ranked internationally in academic fields, though several universities have achieved high rankings in areas such as impact and having green campuses. This primarily relates to Thailand never having been a colony and, therefore, faculty members lacking capacity to publish in top English language journals. Thailand has now introduced incentives to enhance faculty research productivity, but it will probably need to recruit actively more international scholars to improve this situation significantly.
Though there is some funding for international students through the Thailand International Development Agency (TIDA), the scholarships of the Princess, and the universities themselves, it is inadequate. Many of Thailand’s Chinese students are privately financed (Panu, 2019).
Finally, special insights were provided by experts interviewed such as Dr Sorasin, Dr Wasana, and Dr Wiwat who have a nuanced understanding of the Chinese motivations for study in Thailand
Policy recommendations: What then must be done? A new architecture for Thailand as a study abroad destination
This concluding section derives primarily from an analysis of the interviews of 11 leading Thai international educators and our three university case studies. The pause in international student mobility caused by the COVID-19 crisis gave Thailand time to rethink its strategy for becoming an international education hub and how it can develop a distinctive approach to the internationalization of higher education. The important new architecture concept was suggested by our expert, Dr Supang Chantavanich. Prior to the current crisis, Thailand really did not have a national coordinated strategy, but each Thai university had its own plan and approach to internationalization (Porntip and Chotima, 2018), resulting in ineffective outcomes. It is imperative that Thailand develop a national strategy to promote itself as an international education hub. Following the 1999 Thai education reform, a number of new special public organizations were created to facilitate implementation of the reform. With their extensive experience in fostering international collaboration, experts interviewed such as Porntip (Fulbright) and Chantavit (SEAMEO) stressed that a new well-funded independent public organization must be created to implement a new architecture for enhancing Thailand’s opportunity to become a major international education hub in the Asia-Pacific region. This organization must be freed from the vicissitudes of impermanent Thai politics and rigid bureaucracy. This entity, similar perhaps to the British Council or Institute of International Education (IIE) might be called the Institute for Thai Internationalisation (ITI). Its funding should be primarily from the Thai government, but it should also have substantial support from diverse sources. AIT provides an excellent model for the funding of this new public organization. Also, this new organization should work closely with the private sector in developing Thailand’s internationalization strategies (PPP, public-private partnerships) and promoting dual education. Companies like the CP Group have extensive and valuable experience in effective and dynamic internationalization particularly in China, but across the globe and could also provide valuable internship opportunities (Fry, 2023).
Examples of potential niches in which Thailand has special advantages.
Another activity would be to offer incentives for Thai universities to collaborate in offering innovative programs and to diversify programs to go beyond traditional degree programs. In addition to degree programs, there should be programs of shorter duration which could be part of academic programs in their home country with credit transferability, a goal of SEAMEO-RIHED, and attractive non-credit short-term experiential programs such as the International Cooperative Learning Project (Tomita et al., 2000).
Related to cross-university collaboration, 1-year Master’s programs related to Thailand’s special niches and strengthening individuals’ capabilities for the 4.0 economy, could be developed in an innovative way. These programs might involve study at two different Thai universities, a valuable internship, and a capstone seminar in a neighboring country. A student, for example, might do one semester at Mae Fah Luang University in the North and a semester at Assumption University in the Bangkok area and while in Bangkok do an internship with the CP Group, a dynamic Thai business conglomerate. Then they might do a concluding capstone seminar in Pagan, Myanmar, with related field trips. This could be quite an attractive and distinctive option.
One strategy to promote Thailand as a hub is to develop on-line videos showing the many benefits of choosing Thailand as a study abroad destination. Actually this has been done and even systematically evaluated (Kraus and Burford, 2020). The videos examined unfortunately were found to overemphasize the benefits to Thailand resulting from having more international students. Instead, the videos should emphasize distinctive niches in which Thailand is strong and the many benefits accruing to international students in Thailand identified in this research. Thailand actually has excellent potential in developing highly creative and dynamic digital material to promote itself as an international education hub. Both Dr Darika and Dr Krasae emphasized the great potential of marketing targeted to Chinese students seeking international lower cost destinations.
In addition to developing such promotional materials, this new public organization should develop an endowment to provide more sustainable funding for students from the region. A precedent for this is HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s special scholarship program for Cambodian students at Chula. Also, Chiang Mai University has an endowed program to support Southeast Asian students to join its regional development program. The U.S. could become reengaged with the region and be a source of funding to support students from poorer countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Timor L’este with scholarships to study in Thailand. This kind of “third-country” strategy was once promoted by the Ford Foundation in this region (Volkman, 1997) with $25 million of funding.
In the past two decades Thailand has done well, as shown in our case study data, in increasing student flows from China. In the decade ahead, in line with SEAMEO-RIHED priorities (RIHED, 2020), Thailand should focus on developing increasing streams from ASEAN countries in close proximity such as Myanmar and Vietnam, which have large populations and great long-term potential.
As mentioned in our introductory context section, Thailand has achieved an extremely low fertility rate, meaning labor shortages in many areas now and in the future. As part of this new architecture, Thailand needs to make more open its visa process to allow and encourage talented international students to remain and work in Thailand (“brain gain”) (Sivirin 2022). Dynamic innovative Silicon Valley in the USA is highly dependent on former international students, particularly from India and China. This can be a strong rationale for private sector support for ITI.
As Thailand has designated nine key universities as research ones, this new organization should do the same for internationalization. Special funding should be provided for these institutions to recruit outstanding diverse international teachers and scholars to 1) increase the quality of international programs and 2) to enhance the academic ranking of Thai institutions. An impressive example of potential in this area was Thailand's hosting in March of 2023 the annual conference of the Asia Pacific Association of International Education (APAIE, 2023). Seven Thai universities such as Chulalongkorn, Mahidol, and Thammasat, collaborated effectively to host this major conference which attracted several thousand participants from the Asia-Pacific region and the world. This provided Thailand an excellent opportunity to showcase its potential as an attractive international education hub.
Conclusion
The diverse research data (case studies, surveys, in-depth interviews, and testimonial) presented provide a focused analysis of the key intellectual questions posed. Overall, Asian students have a highly positive experience in Thailand and find it an attractive study destination. Thailand also clearly has many positive advantages as a study abroad destination, but at the same time faces serious challenges such as the English language proficiency issue highlighted. The in-depth interviews of prominent experts have provided valuable insights and visions related to both the current status and future potential of Thailand as a destination.
By creating this new creative architecture for study abroad in Thailand, the nation has the potential to become a leading international higher education hub in the Asia-Pacific and ASEAN region. This will not only enrich the culture and vibrancy of Thai higher education and to help solve its current enrollment crisis but even more importantly bring the world to Thailand and Thailand to the world.
Footnotes
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.