Browsing by Subject "Scholar: -- AU Graduate School of Education Journal -- 2010"
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    An action agenda for educational leaders in response to marketing orientation of higher education institutions in Thailand
    (Assumption University, 2010) Xiaoxia, Wei ; Assumption University. Graduate School of Education
    The objectives of this research are: 1) to identify the major challenges in higher education (HE); 2) to explore the application of marketing-oriented activities in HE; 3) to ascertain the perception and attitudes of educational leaders towards marketing orientation (MO) in higher education institutions (HEIs), Thailand; and 4) to propose an action agenda regarding MO for educational leaders of HEIs, Thailand. Qualitative research methods, i.e. the content analysis and semi-structured interview were employed. One hundred eighty books related to HE were chosen for content analysis. Assumption University, Ramkhamhaeng University, King Mongkut‘s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, and Chulalongkorn University were selected as the sample universities representing private, open, autonomous, and public universities respectively. Four presidents or vice presidents from the above universities were interviewed by employing semistructured interviews. The major findings are 1) the influences of MO and external drives have changed the context in which HEIs exist and therefore it calls for a strong and visionary leadership which can apply strategic long-term planning based on a business platform. 2) The practice of MO in HE showed a) HEIs were committed to create a good image in order to attract perspective students; b) HEIs focused on increasing the satisfaction of their niche markets; c) in order to design excellent programs, reforms in curriculum were conducted to satisfy the practical demand-driven context; d) self-accountable entrepreneurial and academic activities were employed to enlist financial support. 3) The leaders of HEIs, Thailand were aware of the importance of applying marketing techniques and strategies in HE; nevertheless, such techniques and strategies were only applied at a superficial level and certain areas, rather than at a strategic and holistic level. 4) Therefore, the action agenda proposed calls for a strategic perspective towards the application of MO by employing a holistic approach in HEIs, Thailand, which covers the levels of 1) Government 2) The public 3) The industry 4) The university and 5) Leadership. The significance of the study is the action agenda can be referred by all the stakeholders of HE in order to effectively respond to MO.
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    Application of task-based learning in teching business Chinese reading in Thailand
    (Assumption University Press, 2009) Xu, Ping ; Assumption University. Graduate School of Education
    Task-Based Learning (TBL) has been attracting the attention of researchers and language teachers for many years. However, far less research has been carried out as to whether TBL works for teaching Business Chinese Reading. This study aims to offer a unique contribution by integrating a discussion of TBL pedagogical principles with descriptions of their application to teaching Business Chinese Reading. This study uses the basic principles and main ideas of TBL as the foundation and combines the specific characteristics of Business Chinese Reading. Integrating both quantitative and qualitative approaches, this study examines the knowledge and application of TBL among Assumption University students who study Chinese as a second language. To testify TBL is more effective than traditional teacher-center instruction, an experimental study is carried out in the research. The research subjects consisted of 54 senior students in Business Chinese Department of Assumption University. Students in both experimental group and control group received a pretest during the week before instruction began, and they also received a post-test during the week after instruction concluded. From the analysis it is easy to get the conclusion that TBL used appropriately in teaching Business Chinese Reading is helpful in improving students' reading skills.
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    The culture conundrum : classroom challenges in the Asian millennium
    (Assumption University Press, 2010) Srinath Ramnath ; Assumption University. Graduate School of Education
    "Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own." Johann W. Goethe. This study will aim to highlight the importance of learning, understanding and assimilating cross cultural awareness and developing tolerance towards other cultures and cultural mores in the context of a technological explosion through the use of cyber-media and globalization. Firstly the importance of cultural understanding in an era of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and how institutions and organisations will need to reinvent themselves will be discussed. This is necessary in order to become more competitive in order to survive in a world dominated by the emergence of Asian Economies as Powerhouses, given the economic recovery in Asia, much faster than in the West with more V shaped countries; which has led the west to use the term, Asian Millennium and the significance of the G 20 summit rather than the G8 of the past. The next focus will be on how the paradigm shift in business models has morphed, the example of "Lenovo" and "Siemens" models will be highlighted, where business no longer happens to be a brick and mortar industry where money alone matters. What matters more now is how businesses can realign their models to become more competitive as the challenges of globalization pose more demands on businesses and their ability to adapt to cross cultures and tune themselves. This study will argue that understanding cultures better and developing business models based on cross cultural awareness and tolerance will be the keys for both educational institutions and global corporations alike to succeed in the Asian Millennium and for the west to be aware of Asian cultures now! "No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive." Mahatma Gandhi In fundamental ways, the forces of globalization challenge the previous approaches and theories of development. In the minds of some observers, globalization is an exaggerated form of global capitalism; in the view of others, it is a wake-up call to look for alternate forms to the new social and cultural contexts which dictates the era of globalised education, primarily dominated by the use of technology where cultural arrangements are being spontaneously generated by the advent and reality of globalization.
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    A development of stategies to enhance educational leadership roles of English newspapers
    (Assumption University, 2010) Kanog-on Rungrojngarmcharoen ; Assumption University. Graduate School of Education
    This research was focused on developing strategies for enhancing the roles of English newspapers. The researcher determined the roles of English newspapers from documentary research, questionnaire and focus groups. The results were synthesized to develop strategies for enhancing the roles of English newspapers in sharing educational leadership knowledge. The expected roles of newspapers were categorized into ten groups. The results were ranked as following: 1. to inform people about political, economic and social conditions, 2. to provide useful and helpful information for people‘s everyday lives, 3. to provide people with information on the ultimate meaning and significance of events, 4. to transmit values and social norms to the public, 5. to create awareness and educate people about various aspects of both material and social innovation, 6. to create awareness among people about the significance of ongoing and lifelong learning, 7. to crate linkage in joining different elements of society, 8. to motivate and inspire people on favorable aspects, 9. to entertain audiences with entertainment news and stories, 10. to communicate and influence people to accept or adopt certain messages or ideas. From the analysis of English newspapers‘ content, it was found that most of the content concerned fostering the learning and teaching followed by the content promoting the knowledge in community, providing knowledge on performance improvement for working people, instilling moral & value and presenting research findings and theories, respectively. The opinions of newspaper readers towards the current content of English newspapers showed that they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. The three areas of content considered knowledgeable were on effective methods and strategies in terms of problem solving, ethical and critical reasoning for performance improvement, providing knowledge of successful management and career accomplishments, and providing guidance, success criteria and effective strategies for personal development and self-enrichment. Another three interesting areas were the features on how to learn and share knowledge among people in a society, sharing knowledge and methods to improve teaching and learning and supporting and encouraging the concepts of building up a learning society. The proposed strategies for newspapers to improve their content in order to achieve the roles of educational leaders were as follows: 1. newspapers should develop themselves from within by strengthening their strong positioning and get their editorial and sales & marketing teams must work closer and share ideas openly among themselves; 2. adding a new section for providing content based on knowledge base in educational leadership was believed to be a crucial value added for the newspapers. Yet the style of presenting the knowledge content must be practical and creative in order to draw attention from a new group of younger readers; 3. Inviting readers to engage in developing and sharing content. Engaging audience could be both on-line and print media in order to facilitate readers to participate easily and freely; 4. Collaboration among all possible parties involved: media firms, educational institutions, private sectors, government, and the community, should be developed so as to be an active part in building up learning and knowledge sharing community.
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    A study of leadership competency of student leaders paticipating in extra-curricular activities, Assumption University of Thailand
    (Assumption University, 2010) Tana Kaipunlert ; Assumption University. Graduate School of Education
    This study was conducted to assess leadership competency of student leaders who participate in extracurricular activities throughout experiential learning approach provided by Assumption University of Thailand (Au). This study involved a sample of 242 student leaders of Au for the academic year 2008 taken from a population of 613 student leaders and in fact, there were 244 respondents who returned completed assessment using purposive random sampling technique. The instrument content was based on literature reviews and related researches. Assessments were used to identify two parts: demographic information and leadership competency in 5 dimensions of the Wagner‘s Leadership Competency Model (LCM) (2004), which apportions as follows: SelfManagement, Leading Others, Task-Management, Innovation, and Social Responsibility as equally sustaining variables. The research found that the level of leadership competency of student leaders was at a strong level in all dimensions of Wagner‘s LCM.