“Education for Sustainable
Development and the Well-being of Thai Communities”
By Paitoon Sinlarat
No one can use magic, create miracles, or use power
to create a happy and strong community. Happiness and wellbeing must be created by
and within a particular community by its members. Hence, community participation, in
education or any other development endeavors, is crucial and indispensable.
In the realm of education, we must manage it using our roots, our indigenous wisdom. This is what is known as ‘grassroots education’, which should be the principle underpinning any provision and administration of education for the well-being of the community. In the Thai context, first and foremost, it is prudent to base our educational development on our very own roots. This should be done before bringing in new ideas, and those new ideas must be well integrated with the existing ones. This educational model requires active participation of the community members as pivotal elements, followed by the support or participation from external elements. True education for the well-being of the community does not mean having the outsider or external elements as the center or organizer and assign or allocate peripheral roles to the community.
In the realm of education, we must manage it using our roots, our indigenous wisdom. This is what is known as ‘grassroots education’, which should be the principle underpinning any provision and administration of education for the well-being of the community. In the Thai context, first and foremost, it is prudent to base our educational development on our very own roots. This should be done before bringing in new ideas, and those new ideas must be well integrated with the existing ones. This educational model requires active participation of the community members as pivotal elements, followed by the support or participation from external elements. True education for the well-being of the community does not mean having the outsider or external elements as the center or organizer and assign or allocate peripheral roles to the community.
The above message is an excerpt
from “Grassroots Education: Community-Centered Educational Model – From Theory to
Practice” edited by Pinsuda Siritrungsree, Published by DPU Press (2014).
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