The Necessity of ASEAN Community in Producing Pilots

The main objectives of this study are to identify the reasons for the shortage of pilots; the necessity of producing Pilots and the obstacles and problems faced by ASEAN Community in producing pilots. The study is conducted by official documents, observations, in-depth interview from personnel who are working for Airports Authority of Thailand, Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Ltd., Civil Aviation Training Center, The Aviation Training Units, Airlines Administrative College and people who have passed in their flight training courses and are waiting for their Pilot Licenses as a whole. Primarily, there are 30 respondents who have given the required information. The study has found that: 1) the shortage of pilots is because of the growth of Low-Cost Carriers, due to the increase of its routes, increase in number of passengers who fly in and out of the country, the increase in aircraft producing process and pilot resignations. 2) There is necessity to produce more pilots, because of few institutions that offer pilot programmes. Besides, there are not too many students who opt to undergo the programme of Multi Crew Pilot License (MPL), usually this program takes at least 1 to 3 years to complete. 3) The obstacles and problems in producing pilots in ASEAN countries are the expensiveness of the teaching equipments, the high tuition fees and the stress encountered by most trainees in clearing tests. Keywords: producing pilots; shortages; obstacles; ASEAN Community

Quality of Work Life and Organizational Climate of Schools Located along the Thai-Cambodian Borders

The purpose of the study is to measure the Quality of Work Life and Organizational Climate of Schools located along the Thai-Cambodian borders. The study intended to measure the relationship between the two underlying variables quality of work life and organizational climate. Simple random sample of 384 respondents were administrators and teachers of drawn from various schools along the border area. The research instrument was constructed by the researcher and tested for reliability, which holds good reliability. The statistical tools used for the study are Mean, T-Test and Pearson’s Simple Correlation. The result of the study indicates that there is an evidence for the existence of quality of work life and organizational climate in schools at high level. Whereas the items safe environment/health promotion and risk/acceptance of risks gained low scores, means it must be given more emphasis by schools. The result of correlation analysis reveals that there is strong positive association found between Quality of work life and Organizational climate at .759, but the association among the individual dimensions of QWL and organizational climate are moderate/weak. Only few dimensions have strong positive association among them. Further to probe, importance should be given to address the weak factors and eliminate the discrepancies to improve the relationship between QWL and Organizational climate. Keywords: Quality of Work Life (QWL); Organizational Climate, Schools, Thai-Cambodian Border

Linking Work Integrated Learning and Competency of Graduates pursuing Graduate Diploma in Teaching Profession

The objective of this research was to study the level of work integrated learning (WIL), and the competency of the teaching profession based on the standards of knowledge of the graduates at St. Theresa International College. The study group consisted of 115 graduates pursuing Graduate Diploma in Teaching Profession Program. The questionnaire was constructed by the researcher and tested for validity, which evidenced that it holds good reliability. The statistical tools used for the study were descriptive statistics and Pearson’s simple correlation moment. It is found that the work integrated learning (WIL) and competency of graduates pursuing Graduate Diploma in Teaching Profession is at high level. It is also found that the relationship between work integrated learning and competency of the graduates in teaching profession is at moderate level .505, with a statistical significance value of .01. Hence, strong relationship was not found between the individual dimensions. Further measures should be taken to reduce the gaps. Recommendations are presented for the further study. Keywords: Work integrated learning, competency of graduates, teaching professio

Developing Basic Mathematical Skills of Pre-School Children by using Plasticized Clay

The main objective of this research was to study the development of basic mathematical skills in preschool children by using plasticized clay. A pre-test and post-test design was adopted for the study to compare the difference before and after the art activity. The experimental group of 15 preschool children of 3-4 years old, attending kindergarten 1 during the school year of 2015; were selected based on their low grade in basic mathematical skill. The assessment was done by using the measurement tool created by the researcher. The experiment was conducted by using plasticized clay in art activities for 6 weeks, 3 days per week or totaled to 18 times. The study covers all the 6 basic skills in mathematics viz. observation, categorization, comparison, classification, order arrangement and measurement, which consists of 3activities per skill, totaled to18 activities, as per the activity table. The same set of test has been conducted to test the basic skill in mathematics by pre-test and post-test design. To compare the difference between the points, paired sample T-Test was done. The research findings indicate that, the art activities’ using plasticized clay is highly effective to develop basic mathematical skills in pre-school children. And the children in this research exhibited a higher level of development in mathematical skill after participating in the activities. Conclusion and Recommendations are also presented for further research. Keywords: basic mathematic skills; pre-school children; art activities’; plasticized clay

Assessing the Effectiveness of STAD Model and Problem Based Learning in Mathematics Learning Achievement and Problem Solving Ability

The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of teaching methods in improving Mathematics Learning Achievement and Problem solving ability of students at an international college. This is a Quasi-Experimental Research which was done the study with the first year students who have registered to study Mathematics subject at St. Theresa International College of Thailand. The experiment was conducted in the first semester of the academic year 2015 in two classes; each classroom consisted of 25 students was chosen using Cluster Random Sampling. The statistical tools used for the study were Mean, Standard Deviation and One-Way ANCOVA a covariance analysis. The study results revealed that, among the 2 teaching methods, the students groups taught through STAD model of cooperative learning have secured high scores in the post-test conducted to measure mathematics learning achievement and problem solving ability. Hence there is a significant difference between the teaching methods, mathematical learning achievement and problem solving ability. However, both the methods have improvement in post-test, further it is evidenced that STAD model of cooperative learning is effective compared to problem based learning for improving students in mathematics. Keywords: STAD model of cooperative learning; problem based learning; Mathematics learning achievement, problem solving abilit

Shortage of Mathematics Teachers in Thai Basic Education Level

The objective of this study was to identify the reasons for shortage of Mathematics teachers at Thai Basic Education level. This research is both quantitative and qualitative in nature. For the purpose of study, survey was conducted with senior high school students, in order to find out their willingness to pursue mathematics in Bachelor of Education. Further, in-depth interviews was conducted with Teachers’ Council personnel, The Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology, Office of the Basic Education and other persons’ who are in the position of Dean or Deputy Dean of higher educational institutions from both governmental and private institutions that have B.Ed. Mathematics programme. The sample was chosen from 4 regions of Thailand and it has been contributed to 400 samples. The descriptive statistics is used to identify the frequency. Based on the qualitative results, it is found that the shortage of mathematics teachers exists at both primary and secondary level. Further, substitutions were not made for retirements, and capable people were moved to administrative jobs; also those who work in both primary and secondary schools were not from mathematics background. Quantitative results revealed that the only 12.2% of the students are interested to pursue faculty of education, in that only 6.1% are willing to choose mathematics in bachelor of education. Majority of the students are interested to teach general science subjects after their graduation; and willing to teach in normal classes. And most of the students are willing to teach in Thai, after their graduation. The reasons behind the shortage of mathematics teachers are only few students’ show interest to study mathematics due to the difficulty in mathematics, lack of good mathematicians, low pay, etc., hence proper motivation and guidance should be given to students. Finally, the guidelines were suggested based on in-depth interviews for producing mathematics teachers in 21st century. Conclusion and recommendations are presented for further study to address this issue. Keywords: Senior high school students; shortage of Mathematics Teachers; reasons; guidelines

Structural Empowerment and Organizational Commitment of Lecturers in Private International Educational Institutions at Thailand

The purpose of this research was to measure the level of structural empowerment and organizational commitment of lecturers at private international educational institutions at Thailand. Further to measure the relationship between structural empowerment and organizational commitment of lecturers. The target respondents of the study were lecturers from 4 private international educational institutions. And the sample size for the study was 165 respondents, chosen randomly by using Krejcie and Morgan table. The sampling method adopted for the study is stratified random sampling, stratification done based on lecturers’ research status. The study revealed that majority of the respondents were female, who have two or more than two research every year. And the major groups of the respondents fall under the age group of less than 35 years. Most of the respondents’ academic position was assistant professors and lecturers. The study revealed that level of structural empowerment and organizational commitment is at high. Among the dimensions, structural lines of power (in Structural Empowerment) and Affective commitment (in Organizational Climate) is at high level. The interesting fact is the relationship between these 2 dimensions is at moderate level, rather there is a high correlation between normative commitment and structural lines of opportunity at .676. However, in overall the relationship between structural empowerment and organizational commitment is highly correlated at .810, with the statistical significance value of P-Value .01. Hence, it is evident that structural empowerment leads to organizational commitment. Recommendations are presented for further research. Keywords: structural empowerment; organizational commitment, private international educational institutions, Thailand.

Coupling in situ synchrotron X-ray tomographic microscopy and numerical simulation to quantify the influence of intermetallic formation on permeability in aluminium–silicon–copper alloys

AbstractThe influence of the β-Al5FeSi intermetallic phase on permeability evolution during solidification in an Al–Si–Cu alloy with a columnar dendritic microstructure has been numerically studied at solid fractions between 0.10 and 0.85. The fluid flow simulations were performed on a semisolid microstructure extracted directly from a single solidifying specimen, enabling the first study of permeability variation on an individual microstructure morphology that is evolving in solid fraction. The 3-D geometries were imaged at the TOMCAT beamline using 4-D (3-D+time) in situ synchrotron-based X-ray tomographic microscopy. The results illustrate the major effect of intermetallic particles on flow blockage and permeability. Intermetallics that grow normal to the flow direction were found to have a greater impact on the flow field in comparison to intermetallics in the parallel flow direction. An analytical expression, based on the anisotropic Blake–Kozeny model, was developed with a particle blockage term that takes into account the effects of intermetallic particles on permeability. In the regime of primary-phase solidification, a good fit between the analytical expression and the simulation results is found