Sustainability of Sufficiency-Based Schools
751
In 2008, the National Basic Education Core Curriculum in Thailand placed desired
characteristics of Sufficiency in learners as objectives for the first time. In order to
cultivate sufficiency mindsets and characteristics that enable students to live in accordance with SEP, a whole-school approach has been implemented. The approach is
to involve all functions and activities in the school, including school management,
learning activities, and community relations, in a fostering the process. School management has to integrate SEP to model sufficiency behaviors in both school duties and
personal lives, as well as promoting stakeholder participation. In terms of learning,
enabling environments are crucial. The physical environment includes learning stations, which are separate areas set aside inside or outside the classroom, specifically
designed for group interactive/action-based learning. A learning culture including
learning techniques, such as questioning and reflection, extra-curricular activities,
and role modeling are also critical. Finally, the student environment at home and in
the community also needs to be considered, involved, and changed in order to create
sufficiency-inducing surroundings to cultivate and sustain sufficiency mindset for
students.
Thai sufficiency-based schools are part of a global movement toward incorporating
sustainability into education. Examples of similar movements include sustainable
schools in New Zealand, Sweden and China (Henderson and Tilbury 2004), and
a governmental sustainable school framework in Britain (Scott 2009), and the UN
Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) during 2005–2014 (Wals
2012). The United Nations’ Global Action Program on Education for Sustainable
Development continues the work of the DESD under the aegis of Agenda 2030.
Currently, of Thailand’s approximately 40,000 primary and secondary schools,
some 21,000 have been certified as having integrated SEP into their teaching, and
there are now some preliminary results. The first accreditation level was initially
co-designed and used in 2007 by the Sufficiency School Center and the Ministry of
Education, with the Ministry managing accreditation since that time. SEP-accredited
schools can further qualify to become the next level of Sufficiency Education Learning Centers (SELCs), which offer advice, mentoring and coaching to applicant
schools to help them become SEP-accredited. In 2018, 205 schools have been accredited as SELCs. SELC accreditation is managed by the Ministry of Education. In
addition to the two formal certification levels, the Sufficiency School Center, Foundation of Virtuous Youth, developed a “best-practice” status, which has served to
help sufficiency-based schools at the initial certification level to improve and sustain
their quality of learning activities and management. There are currently 742 best
practice sufficiency-based schools.
Change Management approaches used in implementing sufficiency schools are
also important. Generally, the educational policy, projects and activities are generated
from the Ministry and communicated to schools. The sufficiency school movement
(driven by a committee) and a special unit within the MoE coordinated with all units
and levels within the Ministry to support and monitor systems. The objectives of the
movement, aligned with the 2008 National Basic Education Core Curriculum, used a
bottom-up approach. That is, the process started from human development, focusing
on developing competency of school principals, teachers, and student leaders through
751
In 2008, the National Basic Education Core Curriculum in Thailand placed desired
characteristics of Sufficiency in learners as objectives for the first time. In order to
cultivate sufficiency mindsets and characteristics that enable students to live in accordance with SEP, a whole-school approach has been implemented. The approach is
to involve all functions and activities in the school, including school management,
learning activities, and community relations, in a fostering the process. School management has to integrate SEP to model sufficiency behaviors in both school duties and
personal lives, as well as promoting stakeholder participation. In terms of learning,
enabling environments are crucial. The physical environment includes learning stations, which are separate areas set aside inside or outside the classroom, specifically
designed for group interactive/action-based learning. A learning culture including
learning techniques, such as questioning and reflection, extra-curricular activities,
and role modeling are also critical. Finally, the student environment at home and in
the community also needs to be considered, involved, and changed in order to create
sufficiency-inducing surroundings to cultivate and sustain sufficiency mindset for
students.
Thai sufficiency-based schools are part of a global movement toward incorporating
sustainability into education. Examples of similar movements include sustainable
schools in New Zealand, Sweden and China (Henderson and Tilbury 2004), and
a governmental sustainable school framework in Britain (Scott 2009), and the UN
Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) during 2005–2014 (Wals
2012). The United Nations’ Global Action Program on Education for Sustainable
Development continues the work of the DESD under the aegis of Agenda 2030.
Currently, of Thailand’s approximately 40,000 primary and secondary schools,
some 21,000 have been certified as having integrated SEP into their teaching, and
there are now some preliminary results. The first accreditation level was initially
co-designed and used in 2007 by the Sufficiency School Center and the Ministry of
Education, with the Ministry managing accreditation since that time. SEP-accredited
schools can further qualify to become the next level of Sufficiency Education Learning Centers (SELCs), which offer advice, mentoring and coaching to applicant
schools to help them become SEP-accredited. In 2018, 205 schools have been accredited as SELCs. SELC accreditation is managed by the Ministry of Education. In
addition to the two formal certification levels, the Sufficiency School Center, Foundation of Virtuous Youth, developed a “best-practice” status, which has served to
help sufficiency-based schools at the initial certification level to improve and sustain
their quality of learning activities and management. There are currently 742 best
practice sufficiency-based schools.
Change Management approaches used in implementing sufficiency schools are
also important. Generally, the educational policy, projects and activities are generated
from the Ministry and communicated to schools. The sufficiency school movement
(driven by a committee) and a special unit within the MoE coordinated with all units
and levels within the Ministry to support and monitor systems. The objectives of the
movement, aligned with the 2008 National Basic Education Core Curriculum, used a
bottom-up approach. That is, the process started from human development, focusing
on developing competency of school principals, teachers, and student leaders through