![Information Education in Thailand Assoc.Prof.Dr. Kulthida Tuamsuk Information & Communication Management Program Khon Kaen University, Thailand email: [email_address] Presented at Sukhothai Thammatirat Open University 21 September 2009](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/inforeducationthailand-110204125733-phpapp01/85/information-education-in-thailand-1-320.jpg)
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Information Education in Thailand
- 1. Information Education in Thailand Assoc.Prof.Dr. Kulthida Tuamsuk Information & Communication Management Program Khon Kaen University, Thailand email: [email_address] Presented at Sukhothai Thammatirat Open University 21 September 2009
- 2. Current Situation of Information Education Bachelor Degree Professional entry level - Practitioner Master’s Degree Higher/Advanced level - Manager/Specialist Doctoral Degree Highest level - Researcher/Educator/Univ.Faculty
- 5. Doctoral Program in Information Studies at KKU Library science, Education, Computer science, Management science, Business administration, Public health, etc. I nformation M anagement T echnology R esearch Any environments/organizations Researcher, Educators, University Faculty, etc. subject areas of students’ backgrounds
- 8. Future? When we look at the future of information education the primary question before us is, how will library and information schools prepare themselves to meet those new challenges. In order to meet these changes it is necessary that library and information schools should look into their external and internal environments. Library / information educators of the future must have a good understanding of the coming situation of the 21 st century and beyond. Their students need to be equipped with knowledge and skills of technology and its usefulness to society as a whole. (Abdullahi, 2006)
- 9. Weir (2000) suggested that traditional library skills still have a place but we must also seek out and encourage other characteristics and skills. These include: . Adaptability – Information professionals must be able to cope with constant change . Creativity – resolving many changes will require ingenuity and lateral thinking . Willingness to take risks – Not a characteristic normally associated with librarians . Self-starters – Much of the responsibility for self-improvement will fall to the individual . Project management skills and change management skills – Both essential in today’s environment . Interpersonal and communication skills – Librarians are the ‘human face’ of technology for many people and, as we progress to be managers, we need good people skills to help both staff and clients adjust to the changes facing them . Sense of humor – Last but not least, this is as essential component of any jobs!
- 10. What are iSchool & CISAP?
- 17. CISAP was proposed as a forum for iSchools in the Asia-Pacific region to exchange ideas and information about participating schools and to provide a platform to launch collaborative activities across regions - collaborative research projects, students and faculty exchange, and distance education. The agreement was signed on November 1, 2008 Consortium of iSchools in Asia-Pacific (CISAP)
- 18. OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSORTIUM: 1. To promote the establishment and development of iSchools in Asia-Pacific • To foster the concept of iSchools and the iSchool community • To help define the identity of and establish the brand of iSchools • To evolve frameworks, guidelines and standards for iSchools. 2. To foster collaboration and exchange of new ideas for education and research at iSchools in the Asia-Pacific region • To exchange curriculum among iSchools • To develop student and faculty exchange programmes • To organize activities and events to strengthen the iSchools and iSchool movement in the Asia-Pacific. 3. To support the development of the global iSchool community Consortium of iSchools in Asia-Pacific (CISAP)
- 19. MEMBERS: Members of the Consortium are academic institutions and organizations interested and involved in education and research in the area of ‘information’. Consortium of iSchools in Asia-Pacific (CISAP) FOUNDING MEMBERS: 1. Computer Science and Information Management Program School of Engineering and Technology Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. 2. Division of Knowledge and Information, Hansung University, Korea 3. Information Management and Communication Program, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Thailand 4. International School of Information Management, University of Mysore, India 5. Library, Archives and Record-keeping Program, Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Australia 6. Division of Information Studies, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- 20. FOUNDING MEMBERS: 7. Department of Library and Information Science, National Taiwan University, Taiwan 8. Graduate Institute of Library and Information Studies, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan 9. School of Information Systems, Singapore Management University, Singapore 10. Department of Information Management, Peking University, China 11. Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia 12. Information and Knowledge Management Programme, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Australia 13. School of Informatics, University of Tsukuba, Japan 14. Graduate School of Library, Information and Media Studies, University of Tsukuba, Japan 15. School of Information Management, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand 16. Department of Computer Science, Waikato University, New Zealand (Alphabetical Order by University Names)
- 21. Thank You
Editor's Notes
- Good afternoon everyone, First, I would like to thank to the organizer, and Prof. Sugimoto for giving me the opportunity to participate in this panel discussion and share with you on what I think about iSchool and how can we collaborate our schools in the Asia and Pacific Region. After I was invited, I did a little bit of investigation to get an idea on how much the folks in the information profession in Thailand recognized about the term “I-school.” The responses to my simple question “Do you know about I-school?, were some “NO”, some “YES, but not so sure”, and some returned the question “What is i-school? I don’t mean to speak on behalf of information educators in Thailand, but I think the term “iSchool” has not been widely known among the Thai information profession. There was no evidence that we have had any concrete discussions about the idea of “iSchool” in Thailand. Even in the United States, the first conference about iSchool was organized at Penn State 5 years ago, the concept of iSchool is still not clear. There has been discussions on the web and in the literature about “What’s an identity of I-school”?.
- Library and information science education in Thailand can be traced to 1951 when the first formal library training program, a Diploma in Library was introduced. At present, the formal education in this professional areas can be divided into three levels: bachelor, master’s, and doctoral levels. The bachelor degree is a professional-entry degree for library and information professions. You must earn at least a bachelor degree in library science to be a professional librarian. Courses in the bachelor degree program mostly emphasized on theoretical and practical works in all library and information management and operations. The master’s degree originally was designed for those who held library science degree or had some library background. The courses are also in line with library and information management and operations, but put some advancements or emphasized in more specific areas, such as children services, media services, etc. The knowledge and skills in management and research were the essential competencies for the students of master’s program. Due to the national policy on strengthening research products in the country through doctoral study, the Corporative Research Network (CRN) Project was introduced by the commission of Higher Education, Thailand. Khon Kaen University has been selected to be the core university of the CRN in library and information science. Under this CRN Project, the study of the needs for development of human resources in library and information science at the doctoral degree level was conducted in 2002. Then, the first and only PhD program in information studies was opened at Khon Kaen University in 2003. This PhD program is a multidisciplinary-based and research-oriented, focusing upon advancing and disseminating new knowledge, both basic and applied, by preparing outstanding researchers, teachers and consultants of information services through an individually tailored course of study.
- Now, may I come back to the Bachelor degree programs. Among 24 public universities, there were 14 universities offered bachelor degree program in library science between 1959 to 1982. From 1983 until now, only one left and I think they did not have students for many years. The rest are 4 universities offer program in “ library and information science ”, 4 universities change to “ information science ”, 3 universities use “ information studies ”, and 2 universities use “ information management .”
- For the master’s degree program, from 1964-1989 there were 3 universities offered master’s degree program in library science, and 7 of them were library and Information science. From 1990 until now, only 4 universities offer program in “ library and information science ”, The others are quite varied. The names of the programs have been changed to “ information science ”, “ information studies ”, and “ information management .” And there are also programs in “ learning resources management ” and “ archive and record management .”
- The network decided to use the name “Information Studies” because it offers the opportunity to blend basic concerns for human needs for information with involvement in up-to-date and cutting edge technology and systems for creating, acquiring, storing, organizing, accessing and delivering information that can be of political, economic, social and technological value. The task of fitting information systems to human needs rather than requiring human needs to fit an information system is the critical function of the information professional, working with emerging technology from the human perspective The objective of the program in Information Studies is to prepare graduates for research contributions to, and creative leadership in, the field of information services. The program’s doctoral students will form a cadre of scholars prepared to conduct distinguished research and innovative teaching. They will assume roles as university faculty, administrators, technical innovators, consultants, research scientists and others who can define the principles of the field, lead organizations, and help design the next generation of information systems and technologies.
- As I mentioned earlier, although library educators claimed that the development of information technology was a major impact on changes in library and information science education, in the real situation there are many other threats that caused changes. Threats from the input side : there has been decreasing enrollments for many years. Fewer students perceive library and information science as an economically attractive profession. Expected beginning salaries balanced against the requirements in subject, language and technical skills have prompted many prospective candidates to enroll in other programs that promise them a greater return for their education investments, such as IT, ICT, MIS, etc. This also effect the quality of the inputs of the program. The numbers of students who decided to change program while they are in the second or third year also increase. Threats from the university side : because there is very high competition in higher education, managing educational program is not just for academic services any more. Those who can survive must be demand-sided, self-reliance programs. Otherwise, the programs can be closed down. Threats from the market side : although library is important for learning and education in any organizations and social settings, but there has not been so much markets for graduates in library and information science. Besides, some organizations hire employees who earn degrees in other fields to work in library or information centers. They said that librarians are not well-equipped with technological skills, and any one can do library jobs.
- This is why there is a few program in library and information science offered in Thailand. Programs have been changed by using new names, revising course’s contents, and introducing multi-disciplinary areas of study. These new changes have great impacts on the library and information science education: more potential applicants from different backgrounds, more job opportunities and broader job markets for the graduates, research in the fields are integrated with other fields, and program management goes beyond the boundary of the library science department.
- I think in most countries the situation of information education are not quite different. There are the recognition that the traditional disciplines of library and information science, computer science, and information technology are increasingly overlapping in today’s digital information age. That was Raymond von Dran said it was where the concept of I-School came from. This is true as we can see from the facts that : there are duplications in the courses’ contents. We will find that they all teach the same courses. Core courses are circled around information technology, information management, and system programming and development. The courses would be, for example- database design and development, system analysis and design, information system and technology, web authoring, even courses on impacts of information on society and the people. there are duplications in the research topics/issues. For example, you will find some research in digital libraries, ontology, e-Learning, web intelligence, knowledge management, information retrieval, etc. done by researchers from the computer science schools, and also from the library and information schools. there are faculty staff from a variety of fields in the schools. Because information education is interdisciplinary in nature. The schools will need to seek for faculty staff from different backgrounds. For example, those who have degrees in computer science, information system, MIS, cognitive psychology, art and graphic design, etc.
- The idea of merging into i-School should be good because it offers an opportunity for interdisciplinary education and research, and resource sharing. The challenging parts for us are how to merge them. Merging the different departments/schools in some countries can be easily done, but it is almost impossible in Thailand. And the more difficult challenge is how to establish the recognition of i-School in comparison of the recognition of library school, law school, nursing school, etc.
- I think in most countries the situation of information education are not quite different. There are the recognition that the traditional disciplines of library and information science, computer science, and information technology are increasingly overlapping in today’s digital information age. That was Raymond von Dran said it was where the concept of I-School came from. This is true as we can see from the facts that : there are duplications in the courses’ contents. We will find that they all teach the same courses. Core courses are circled around information technology, information management, and system programming and development. The courses would be, for example- database design and development, system analysis and design, information system and technology, web authoring, even courses on impacts of information on society and the people. there are duplications in the research topics/issues. For example, you will find some research in digital libraries, ontology, e-Learning, web intelligence, knowledge management, information retrieval, etc. done by researchers from the computer science schools, and also from the library and information schools. there are faculty staff from a variety of fields in the schools. Because information education is interdisciplinary in nature. The schools will need to seek for faculty staff from different backgrounds. For example, those who have degrees in computer science, information system, MIS, cognitive psychology, art and graphic design, etc.
- I think in most countries the situation of information education are not quite different. There are the recognition that the traditional disciplines of library and information science, computer science, and information technology are increasingly overlapping in today’s digital information age. That was Raymond von Dran said it was where the concept of I-School came from. This is true as we can see from the facts that : there are duplications in the courses’ contents. We will find that they all teach the same courses. Core courses are circled around information technology, information management, and system programming and development. The courses would be, for example- database design and development, system analysis and design, information system and technology, web authoring, even courses on impacts of information on society and the people. there are duplications in the research topics/issues. For example, you will find some research in digital libraries, ontology, e-Learning, web intelligence, knowledge management, information retrieval, etc. done by researchers from the computer science schools, and also from the library and information schools. there are faculty staff from a variety of fields in the schools. Because information education is interdisciplinary in nature. The schools will need to seek for faculty staff from different backgrounds. For example, those who have degrees in computer science, information system, MIS, cognitive psychology, art and graphic design, etc.
- I think in most countries the situation of information education are not quite different. There are the recognition that the traditional disciplines of library and information science, computer science, and information technology are increasingly overlapping in today’s digital information age. That was Raymond von Dran said it was where the concept of I-School came from. This is true as we can see from the facts that : there are duplications in the courses’ contents. We will find that they all teach the same courses. Core courses are circled around information technology, information management, and system programming and development. The courses would be, for example- database design and development, system analysis and design, information system and technology, web authoring, even courses on impacts of information on society and the people. there are duplications in the research topics/issues. For example, you will find some research in digital libraries, ontology, e-Learning, web intelligence, knowledge management, information retrieval, etc. done by researchers from the computer science schools, and also from the library and information schools. there are faculty staff from a variety of fields in the schools. Because information education is interdisciplinary in nature. The schools will need to seek for faculty staff from different backgrounds. For example, those who have degrees in computer science, information system, MIS, cognitive psychology, art and graphic design, etc.
- I think in most countries the situation of information education are not quite different. There are the recognition that the traditional disciplines of library and information science, computer science, and information technology are increasingly overlapping in today’s digital information age. That was Raymond von Dran said it was where the concept of I-School came from. This is true as we can see from the facts that : there are duplications in the courses’ contents. We will find that they all teach the same courses. Core courses are circled around information technology, information management, and system programming and development. The courses would be, for example- database design and development, system analysis and design, information system and technology, web authoring, even courses on impacts of information on society and the people. there are duplications in the research topics/issues. For example, you will find some research in digital libraries, ontology, e-Learning, web intelligence, knowledge management, information retrieval, etc. done by researchers from the computer science schools, and also from the library and information schools. there are faculty staff from a variety of fields in the schools. Because information education is interdisciplinary in nature. The schools will need to seek for faculty staff from different backgrounds. For example, those who have degrees in computer science, information system, MIS, cognitive psychology, art and graphic design, etc.