Evaluating the alignment of Thailand’s early childhood education policies with tadika institutional policies and their implementation practices

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the extent of alignment between the national early childhood education (ECE) policies of Thailand and the TADIKA policies and how these policies are implemented into the local context in the southern region of Thailand. TADIKA (Taman Didikan Kanak-kanak) is an early childhood education institution based on Islamic teachings and operates in mosque areas or Muslim communities in the southern regions of Thailand. This study is rooted in the need to understand the relationship between the direction of the national policy and the reality of implementing TADIKA policy in institutions with unique religious and community characteristics. Emphasis is placed on the key dimensions in the 3A2S theoretical framework; Accessibility, Accountability, Affordability, Social Justice, and Sustainability which form the basis for analyzing national policy, TADIKA institutions, and its policy implemented as practices in the field. Furthermore, Institutional Theory is utilized to highlight the dynamics and factors of practice in TADIKA institutions. A qualitative approach utilizing three processes is used in this study. First, separate structured interviews with: six TADIKA principals, the TADIKA association director, and the NGO director. Second, we also conducted direct observation of the program implementation in one TADIKA from each region. And finally, this study analyzed policy documents from the national ECE of Thailand and government documents concerning TADIKA. Triangulation methods are used to ensure data consistency and to strengthen the credibility of the findings. Data analyses uses a thematic approach based on the 3A2S framework, with the help of coding from DNA (Discourse Network Analyzer) and visualization from Vis-one tool. Findings report the accountability and sustainability dimensions are dominant across all data collection methods. At the same time, the dimensions of affordability, accessibility, and social justice are seen to receive less attention in policy implementation, in terms of planning at the institutional level. In addition, there are good practices occurring at the TADIKA institutional level that offer local community resilience which is appropriate to the needs of their communities. Furthermore, in terms of alignment, there is a mismatch between the content of the national policy and its implementation at the institutional level, despite efforts from the central government to provide a comprehensive ECE policy. In particular, the value of accessibility and social justice is often limited due to weaknesses in terms of capacity and support for non-contextual policies. In addition, the results of the study show that these dimensions are still receiving less attention, which could be improved by strengthening the dimension of sustainability through long-term planning and comprehensive policies. This study also recommends that national early childhood education policies be formulated with a more flexible approach and sensitivity to local cultural contexts, to have mutual understanding and cooperation between the government and local communities.