Western Civilization; Teacher Education IDENTIFIERS Thai People; *Thailand

This paper provides information for the study of civic development in relation to education in Thailand. The author has spent the last 35 years as a student of Thailand. The paper is based on personal socio-anthropological observations as well as a review of literature as it pertains to value systems, civic and moral development, and education. The paper places Thailand under the following definition of civic education: societies with established organized religions will emphasize religious instruction in the curriculum. It illustrates how civic development is infused throughout Thai educational life in both formal and informal ways through the vehicle of the established Buddhist faith. The paper concludes that as Western ideas and approaches are implemented within the educational system, the Buddhist emphasis on the individual and the traditional acceptance of a hierarchical social structure might well come in conflict with Western intellectual curiosity and social mobility. Contains 22 references. (BT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Civic Development in Thailand: A Beginning Look at It