Intellectual conflict and the project to improve the professional qualifications of teachers Prof. 2017 Case study of graduate education course SWU.

Abstract

Teacher education was one of the most essential components in an educational system. However, it seemed that effort to equip teachers with knowledge and skills for the Thai teaching profession had been loosened lately. This was applied research which examined cognitive dissonance of English teacher students as well as teachers responsible for the education programs at Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) with regards to the new teacher qualification scheme in Thailand as of 2017 that reduced the former five-year education programs to four. The sampling group comprised 62 students of the Bachelor of Education Program in English at SWU based on purposive sampling. The research instrument was the cognitive dissonance questionnaire which was validated by three experts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on three responsible teachers of the program. The findings through descriptive statistics indicated that students demonstrated cognitive dissonance against some aspects of the revised teacher qualification scheme 2017 reporting 45.2% on insecurity about future employment, 30.6% on despair of benefits of their current degree, 74.2% demanding action against the new scheme, 77.4% protection from the new scheme and 56.5% unfairness of the new scheme. The interview results by teachers responsible for an education program indicated uncertainty in relation to future employment competitiveness and stability of remaining students of the five-year program.