THAI CULTURE, THAI LANGUAGE AND THE PROFESSIONAL CODE OF ETHICS FOR NON-THAI TEACHERS

One of the requirements for new foreign teacher applicants is to take a 20-hour training program on Thai culture and teacher professional code of ethics.

The Teacher and Educational Personnel Council Act (BE 2546) stipulates that  the teaching profession shall be a regulated profession. Thailand’s Teachers' Council created the training program to equip foreign teachers teaching in schools in Thailand with knowledge and understanding of Thai culture and teacher professional code of ethics.

This certificate is a gentle first step in the registration and regulation of all teachers in Thailand. It is a necessary first step in processing their work permits and Non Immigrant B visas and making a central register of all teachers in Thailand.

It would be naive to think that a 20 hour course is going to teach Thai culture and the code of ethics for non-Thai teachers. However, if it is viewed as the first step in a continuous "in-service" professional development programme and to heighten awareness of Thai society, then it makes sense.

From this point the foreign teacher starts their process of training and enters a profession which is a licensed profession under the National Educational Act and whose details and progress can be accessed from a single register held in Bangkok. This alone will make renewing visas, workpermits and changing schools a much simpler process.