FROM EVALUATION TO EMPOWERMENT: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES FOR BORDER-SCHOOL ECOSYSTEMS IN THAILAND
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v22.n4.3630Keywords:
Educational Ecosystem, Sustainable Human Resource Management, Teacher Empowerment, Capacity Building, Multicultural EducationAbstract
This study examines how External Quality Assessment (EQA) outcomes might be strategically utilized to improve Human Resource Development (HRD) in primary school environments throughout Thailand's national borders. The research uses a step-by-step approach that combines different methods, including analyzing needs, mapping the context with SWOT–PEST, getting expert feedback, and surveying stakeholders, to find important gaps between how things are currently done and how they should be done with EQA data. Findings indicate a systemic underutilization of External Quality Assurance (EQA) in developing Human Resource Management (HRM), highlighting inadequacies in teacher professional development, leadership planning, and data-driven decision-making. This study highlights the strategic potential of EQA as a catalyst for inclusive, context-sensitive HRD, in contrast to previous material that emphasizes compliance-based uses. Seven comprehensive initiatives are recommended, encompassing teacher upskilling, collaborative curriculum co-design, equity-centered planning, and the establishment of educational information systems. A comparative review of ASEAN border education models illustrates the importance of culturally sensitive and participative methodologies, while disparities in digital readiness and policy alignment elucidate variations in implementation efficacy. The paper provides an empirically based, policy-relevant paradigm for data-driven human capital development in unstable education systems by contextualizing the findings within global HRD theory and regional border dynamics. It provides pragmatic recommendations for ministries, accreditation organizations, and regional educational authorities to include EQA in long-term HRD planning, transforming evaluations from mere compliance instruments into catalysts for educational resilience and equity in marginalized learning contexts.
References
Akdere, M., & Egan, T. (2020). Transformational leadership and human resource development: Linking employee learning, job satisfaction, and organizational performance. Human resource development quarterly, 31(4), 393-421. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21404
Allan, J., & Artiles, A. J. (Eds.). (2017). World yearbook of education 2017: Assessment and learning. Routledge.
Asian Development Bank (ADB). (2020). Education by 2020: A Sector Operations Plan. https://www.adb.org/documents/education-2020-sector-operations-plan
Brown, M., Altrichter, H., Shiyan, I., Rodríguez Conde, M. J., McNamara, G., Herzog Punzenberger, B., & Sánchez, L. (2022). Challenges and opportunities for culturally responsive leadership in schools: Evidence from four European countries. Policy Futures in Education, 20(5), 580-607.
Chalofsky, N. E., Rocco, T. S., & Morris, M. L. (Eds.). (2014). Handbook of Human Resource Development. John Wiley & Sons.
Chantarasombat, C. (2020). Study of school quality development using the growth curve model for external school quality assessment and developing internal school quality assurance policies at the basic education level [Doctoral dissertation, Srinakharinwirot University]. DSpace Repository. https://ir-ithesis.swu.ac.th/items/72c9c5ad-636b-4c26-91a0- 66d80f8bcee3
Chen, D. J. Q., & Su-Yen, W. (2016). ASEAN and the AEC: Challenges and opportunities for human resource management. Asia pacific human resource management and organisational effectiveness, 17-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100643-6.00002-6
Clardy, A. (2008). The strategic role of human resource development in managing core competencies. Human resource development international, 11(2), 183-197. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678860801932998
Coleman, M. V. (2012). Educational disparities of ethnic minorities in Lao PDR with comparative cases from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.
Crawford, E. R., Aguayo, D., & Valle, F. (2022). Culturally responsive leadership for Latinx immigrant students: Advocacy in a US–Mexico border alternative school. Journal of School Leadership, 32(6), 586-611.
Crocco, O. S. (2021a). Developing Human Resources in Southeast Asia. Springer International Publishing.
Crocco, O. S. (2021b). Introduction: The Dynamic Region of Southeast Asia. In Developing Human Resources in Southeast Asia: A Holistic Framework for the ASEAN Community (pp. 3-31). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030- 79697-6_1
Crocco, O. S., Nguyen, L. A., & Tkachenko, O. (2021). Vietnam and regional human resource development in ASEAN. In Human resource development in Vietnam: Research and practice (pp. 97-117). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-51533-1_4#citeas
Crocco, O. S., & Tkachenko, O. (2022). Regional human resource development: The case of Southeast Asia and ASEAN. Human Resource Development International, 25(1), 40-58. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2020.1858261
Dabrowski, A., Ahmed, S. K., Goundar, P., Wong, D., & Spink, J. (2024). Supporting out-of- school girls and children and youth from marginalised groups in the ASEAN region: A review of promising practices.
Danquah, J. K., Crocco, O. S., Mahmud, Q. M., Rehan, M., & Rizvi, L. J. (2023). Connecting concepts: bridging the gap between capacity development and human resource development. Human Resource Development International, 26(3), 246-263.
Darmawan, I. G. N., Maadad, N., & Ben, F. (2025). Twenty-five Years of PISA in Southeast Asia: Cross-national Studies of Student Performance in Mathematics, Science, and Reading (2000-2025). Taylor & Francis.
Done, E. J., & Murphy, M. (2018). The responsibilisation of teachers: a neoliberal solution to the problem of inclusion. Discourse: Studies in the cultural politics of education, 39(1), 142- 155. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2016.1243517
Eriksson, M., Wimelius, M. E., & Ghazinour, M. (2019). ‘I stand on my own two feet but need someone who really cares’: Social networks and social capital among unaccompanied minors for becoming established in Swedish society. Journal of Refugee Studies, 32(3), 372-396.
Ferguson, M. R. (2019). International education and the cultivation of social capital in a divided Thailand: a narrative study [Doctoral dissertation, Northeastern University].
Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). Teachers College Press.
Gallagher, P. T., Wolfson, M. A., Reilly, G., & Mathieu, J. E. (2023). Managing unit human capital resources: Integrating insights from human resource management and unit leadership literatures. Journal of Applied Psychology, 108(12), 1998.
Galvão, A., Marques, C., & Ferreira, J. J. (2020). The role of entrepreneurship education and training programmes in advancing entrepreneurial skills and new ventures. European Journal of Training and Development, 44(6/7), 595-614. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD- 10-2019-0174
Garavan, T. (2023). Learning And Development Practitioners in Organisations: Organising, Belonging, Learning And Performing Tensions. Irish Journal of Management, 42(2), 88- 103.
Garavan, T. N., McGuire, D., & Lee, M. (2015). Reclaiming the “D” in HRD: A typology of development conceptualizations, antecedents, and outcomes. Human Resource Development Review, 14(4), 359-388. DOI: 10.1177/1534484315607053
Garavan, T., Wang, J., Matthews-Smith, G., Nagarathnam, B., & Lai, Y. (2018). Advancing national human resource development research: Suggestions for multilevel investigations. Human Resource Development International, 21(4), 288-318.
Ghiaţău, R. M., & Mâţă, L. (2015). Exploring the students’ perceptions regarding unethical practices in the Romanian educational system. International Journal of Educational Development, 44, 1-10.
Golunov, S., & Bitabar, A. (2025a). Bridging Borders: Central Asian Cross-Border Cooperation in a Comparative Global Perspective (p. 119). Springer Nature.
Golunov, S., & Bitabar, A. (2025b). Overview of Global Cross-Border Cooperation Experience. In Bridging Borders: Central Asian Cross-Border Cooperation in a Comparative Global Perspective (pp. 7-70). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
Gyi, S. S., & Waters, T. (2023). Schooling, identity, and nationhood: Karen mother-tongue-based education in the Thai–Burmese border region. Social Sciences, 12(3), 163. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12030163
Justino, P. (2014). Barriers to education in conflict-affected countries and policy opportunities. Paper commissioned for fixing the broken promise of education for all: findings from the global initiative on out-of-school children (UIS/UNICEF, 2015). Montreal: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).
Kaewkumkong, A. (2019). Analyzing Thai border school policy formation in the ASEAN community era. IKAT: The Indonesian Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 2(2), 181–202.
Kaewpanya, N., Mangkhang, C., Phuwanatwichit, T., & Jaengaksorn, N. (2025). Developing Thai Society and Culture Learning Innovation to Enhance Global Literacy of Cross- Cultural Families Students in the Global Society. Journal of Practical Studies in Education, 6(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.46809/jpse.v6i2.96
Keawsomnuk, P. (2017). Management of basic education for ethnic groups in highland and border regions of Thailand. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 38(2), 97-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kjss.2016.11.004
Khamratana, S., & Adunyarittigun, D. (2021). Critical pedagogy for transforming literacy education at border schools in Thailand. Journal of Mekong Societies, 17(3), 100-120.
Kitchanapaibul, S., Apidechkul, T., Srichan, P., Mulikaburt, T., Singkhorn, O., Udplong, A., & Kosonen, K., & Person, K. R. (2014). Languages, identities and education in Thailand. In Language, education and nation-building: Assimilation and shift in Southeast Asia (pp. 200-231). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137455536_11
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1988). Criteria for Assessing Naturalistic Inquiries as Reports. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED297007.pdf
Lopez, A. E. (2015). Navigating cultural borders in diverse contexts: Building capacity through culturally responsive leadership and critical praxis. Multicultural Education Review, 7(3), 171-184.
Maber, E. J. (2018). Cross-border transitions: Navigating conflict and political change through community education practices in Myanmar and the Thai border. In Education, Conflict, and Globalisation (pp. 48-63). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2016.1175923
Maitreephun, W. (2019). Preparing public school leaders for culturally, linguistically, and religiously diverse communities: An exploratory multiple-case study of faculty in Thailand [Doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri-Columbia].
Naraian, S. (2021). Making inclusion matter: Critical disability studies and teacher education. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 53(3), 298-313. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48078- 6_13
Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA). (2017). Manual for external quality assessment of basic education (3rd cycle). https://www.onesqa.or.th/upload/download/201506181030483.pdf
Oh, S. A., Walker, M., & Thako, H. (2021). Karen education and boundary-making at the Thai- Burmese borderland. Journal of Borderlands Studies, 36(4), 637-652.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2021). Education at a glance 2021: OECD indicators. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/19991487
Prabowo, H., Indrayani, E., Rusfiana, Y., & Sinaga, O. (2022). Development of local government capacity in managing Indonesia-Malaysia border area (Study on Sebatik Island). The Croatian International Relations Review (CIRR), 28(90), 117-134.
Rana, S., & Ardichvili, A. (2014). Cambodia and the ASEAN economic community: Opportunities, challenges, and implications for human resource development. Reconsidering development, 3(1).
Risal, S., Irawanto, I., Hergianasari, P., Rahma, A. A., & Pramudiana, I. D. (2022). Border Development Model on the Human Development Aspects for Sustainable Community. Jurnal Borneo Administrator, 18(2), 125-138. DOI: 10.24258/jba.v18i2.971
Sapphasuk, W., & Nawarat, N. (2018). Cultural Citizenship In Thailand-Lao PDR Border School. In ASEAN/Asian Academic Society International Conference Proceeding Series (pp. 166-171).
Sen, L. (2025). WHO GETS LEFT BEHIND? The Unequal Outcomes of Post-Conflict Educational Reforms in Cambodia.
Storen, I. C. (2024, July). Governance and duty in global refugee education: a Kantian perspective. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 9, p. 1384243). Frontiers Media SA. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1384243
Sugianto, H. A. R. T., Akiang, M., & Rendra, G. (2019). Strengthening of Dayaknese Youth Social Capital to Improve Economic Resilience in Border Areas. Management and Sustainable Development Journal, 1(1), 68-76.
Tavares, M. C., & Vaz, M. (2025). Rethinking Performance Evaluation: Strategic Alignment in the Service Sector Through a Case-Based Framework. Administrative Sciences, 15(10), 390. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci15100390
Tkachenko, O., Crocco, O. S., Nguyen, L. A., & Jonathan, V. (2022). Regional human resource development in ASEAN: An institutional theory perspective. Human Resource Development Review, 21(2), 225-248. https://doi.org/10.1177/15344843221083190
Treve, M. (2025). Pluralism and the culture of education in Thailand: A bibliometric analysis. Policy Futures in Education, 14782103251323089. https://doi.org/10.1177/14782103251323089
Ubaque-Casallas, D. (2025). Enunciative Practices in English Pedagogy. Profiling the Literature from a Border-Perspective. HOW, 32(1), 160-185. https://doi.org/10.19183/how.32.1.799
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2022). Global education monitoring report 2022: Gender report, deepening the debate on those still left behind. UNESCO Digital Library. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381329
Wardeh, M., & Marques, R. C. (2021). Sustainability in refugee camps: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sustainability, 13(14), 7686. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147686
Wongnuch, P. (2022). Status of the stateless population in Thailand: How does stigma matter in their life?. PloS one, 17(3), e0264959. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264959
Yeo, S. S., & Gagnon, T. (2020). Schooling for a stateless nation: The predicament of education without consensus for Karen refugees on the Thailand-Myanmar border. Asian Journal of Peacebuilding. doi: 10.18588/202005.00a111
Yeo, S. S., & Yoo, S. S. (2022). Is refugee education indeed educational? The Freirean perspective to refugee education beyond humanitarian, rights, or development rationale. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 54(13), 2203-2213. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2022.2081545
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
I (we) submit this article which is original and unpublished, of my (our) own authorship, to the evaluation of the Veredas do Direito Journal, and agree that the related copyrights will become exclusive property of the Journal, being prohibited any partial or total copy in any other part or other printed or online communication vehicle dissociated from the Veredas do Direito Journal, without the necessary and prior authorization that should be requested in writing to Editor in Chief. I (we) also declare that there is no conflict of interest between the articles theme, the author (s) and enterprises, institutions or individuals.
I (we) recognize that the Veredas do Direito Journal is licensed under a CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE.
Licença Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
