BANGKOK, Dec 11 – Thai students fare poorly in mathematics and science mainly due to the teaching method of rote learning rather than by comprehension and analysis, according to a senior educator.
Precharn Dechri, deputy director of the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology, said today that Thai students’ disappointing performances in the two subjects
were revealed in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) – an international assessment of the mathematics and science knowledge of fourth and eighth grade students worldwide – which was conducted in 2011, with the results only recently announced.
Thai students in Prathom 4 (fourth grade) and Matayom 2 (eighth grade) joined their colleagues from 63 countries in the assessment.
Thai students in Prathom 4 level ranked 34th in mathematics and 29th in science among their peers from 52 countries and seven states. In the eighth grade, Thailand ranked 28th in
mathematics and 25th in science among 45 countries and 14 states.
The top five achievers in both subjects are in South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan.
