Public policy education in Thailand: from caged pedagogy to disciplinary Independence?

ABSTRACT

This study examines the state and development of public policy education in Thailand, including its dynamics over time, its institutional setting, and emerging forces acting upon it. It focuses on policy educational institutions, policy courses offered in universities, and national socio-political contexts that shape the academic profession. Policy education has heavily been developed and taught as a subset of public administration with predetermined specifications. However, it has potential to be an independent field. This study fills a notable research gap, as the topic has been largely neglected in international publications, especially works concerning the internationalization of policy education.

KEYWORDS:

• Public policy
• higher education
• political economy
• Thailand

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. http://www.info.mua.go.th/info/ (accessed 27 July 2021)

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Theerapat Ungsuchaval

Theerapat Ungsuchaval is a lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Mahidol University, Thailand. He obtained his PhD from the University of Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology, and Social Research (SSPSSR), UK. His research interests include public policy and governance, civil society and non-governmental organization, science, technology and society (STS), and health system development. Recently, he authored book and book chapters published by Routledge, Springer, and Policy Press.

Piyapong Boossabong

Piyapong Boossabong is an Assistant Professor at the School of Public Policy, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. He obtained his PhD from University College London, UK. He was also a Visiting Fellow at New York University, USA and University of Kassel, Germany. He has published in, amongst others, the following journals: Policy Studies, Critical Policy Studies, Comparative Policy Analysis, Asian Public Policy, Deliberative Democracy, and City, Culture and Society. He authored several book chapters, including in Oxford Handbook, Routledge Handbook, and Elgar Handbook.

Kris Hartley

Kris Hartley is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Asian and Policy Studies, Education University of Hong Kong. He researches power and knowledge in the policymaking process, with a focus on technology and environment. Kris is also a Nonresident Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Visiting Fellow at the Connected Cities Lab at University of Melbourne, and Affiliated Scholar at the Center for Government Competitiveness at Seoul National University. In 2020, Kris was a Fulbright U.S. Scholar in Thailand. He has authored books published by Cambridge University Press and Routledge Press, and journal articles published in Policy Sciences, Policy and Society, Resources, Conservation & Recycling, and others.