Chanita Rukspollmuang
Short Biography & Significant Contribution
Professor Chanita Rukspollmuang, Ph.D., is one of the pioneers in the field of Comparative and International Education in Thailand. She started her career as an education officer in the Division of Policy and Comparative Education, Office of the National Education Commission. In 1981, she was asked to join the Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, as a faculty member in the country’s first graduate program in the Foundations of Education in which one major is Comparative Education. Dr. Chanita has taught courses in theories and practices in comparative education for more than 30 years. Her textbooks, researches, and publications are widely used in the academic arena. During her career at Chulalongkorn University, she was appointed Chairperson of the graduate programs in Foundations of Education and Development Education, and later was elected Dean of the Faculty of Education. Dr. Chanita has served twice as elected President, Comparative Education Society of Asia (CESA), a member organization of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES). She is also appointed Vice-President of the Thailand Comparative and International Education Society (TCIES) and is active in the Research and Development Committee, House of Representatives and Sub-Committee of Educational Law Reform of both House of Representatives and Office of the National Education Council. Her present position is Assistant President at Siam University, Thailand.
Dr. Chanita received her bachelor degree in Law (with honor) from Thammasat University, Thailand and graduated from Michigan State University, USA, with a Doctorate in Socio-Philosophical Foundations of Education. Her areas of specialization include Development Education, Comparative and International Education, Sociology of Education, Teacher Education, and Educational Law, as well as Education for International Understanding (EIU), Global Citizenship Education (GCE), and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). She was a visiting researcher at Tsukuba University, Japan from September to October 1989, and a visiting scholar at Michigan State University during April to May, 1992.
Dr. Chanita is an internationally-recognized expert in Education, Development Education, Comparative Education, Sociology of Education. She received numerous grants and awards both at the national and international levels including the Distinguished Research Award at Chulalongkorn University’s Rachadapisek Research Fund (1984 and 2006), Thammasat University’s Distinguished Alumni Award (2003) and Recognized Alumni Award (1996); and the Japan Comparative Education Society’s Hiratsuka Memorial Award in 1985.
Educational Background
LL.B. (Hons.) Thammasat University (1975)
M.A. (Socio-Philosophical Foundations of Education), Michigan State University (1976)
Ph.D. (Socio-Philosophical Foundations of Education, Michigan State University (1980)
Professional Background
Education Officer, Division of Policy and Comparative Education, Office of National Education Commission (presently Office of the National Education Council), Bangkok, Thailand. (1980-1981)
Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. (1981-2015)
- Assistant Secretary, Research Division (1987-1988)
- Director (Social Sciences and Humanities), Research Division (1992-1994)
- Head, Department of Foundations of Education (2002 – 2004)
- Head, Department of Educational Policy, Management, and Leadership (2005 – 2012)
- Member, Chulalongkorn University Council (2010-2012)
- Dean, Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University (2012- 2014)
- Director, System Assessment Research and Development (SARD), Faculty of Education (2014-2015)
Assistant President, Siam University (November, 2015 until present)
Affiliations (associations, organizations, institutions)
President, Comparative Education Society of Asia (CESA) (2012-2016)
Vice-President, Thailand Comparative and International Education Society (TCIES) (2012 – present)
Member, Research and Development Committee, House of Representatives (2006 – present)
Consultant, Sub-committee on Educational Reform, House of Representatives (2015– present)
Member, Sub-Committee of Educational Law Reform, Office of the National Education Council (2015– present)
Selected Publications
Chanita Rukspollmuang (2007), “Current Situation of EIU in South-East Asia: Thailand”, in Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU), Situational Analysis on Education for International Understanding in South-East Asia, pp. 121-144.
Chanita Rukspollmuang (2010), “Thailand National System of Education”. In: Penelope Peterson, Eva Baker, Barry McGaw, (Editors), International Encyclopedia of Education. Volume 5, pp. 847-857. Oxford: Elsevier.
Chanita Rukspollmuang. (2014). “Comparative and International Education: Implications for the Policy and Practice and Implications for Teacher Education and the Teaching Profession”. International Perspectives on Education and Society, Annual Review of Comparative and International Education, Emerald Group Publishing Ltd., Volume 25, 73-85.
Chanita Rukspollmuang. (2014). Paradigms of Development Education. Bangkok: Winyuchon Publication House Co., Ltd. (in Thai)
Chanita Rukspollmuang. (2014). Rights and Freedom in education: Social and Legal Foundations of Education. Bangkok: Winyuchon Publication House Co., Ltd. (in Thai)
Chanita Rukspollmuang, et al. (2015). “Internationalization and the Changing Thai Academic Profession”, in Jennifer Olsen, Heidi Biseth, and Guillermo Ruiz (editors), Educational Internationalisation: Academic Voices and Public Policy, The World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES), Sense Publishers, pp. 25-42.
Jutarat Vibulphol, Jyrki Loima, Sornnate Areesophonpichet & Chanita Rukspollmuang (2015). “Ready Contents or Future Skills? A Comparative Study of Teacher Education in Thailand and Finland”, Journal of Education and Learning; Vol. 4, No. 4; 2015, Canadian Center of Science and Education. Online Published: November 9, 2015.
Chanita Rukspollmuang. (2015). “Situational Analysis of Education for International Understanding in Thailand”. International Perspectives on Education and Society, Comparative Sciences: Interdisciplinary Approaches, Emerald Group Publishing Ltd., Volume 26, pp. 215-242.
Chanita Rukspollmuang, Somwung Pitiyanuwat, Rungsan Maneelek, Fuangarun Preededilok,
Suwithida Charungkaittikul. (2015). Present State and Future Needs of Thai Basic Education Teachers: Production, Recruitment, and Professional Development. Research report funded by the Teachers' Council of Thailand. (in Thai)
Chanita Rukspollmuang, Fuangarun Preededilok, Suwithida Charungkaittikul, Sornnate Areesophonpichet. (2016). “Transnational education policy and trends in the globalized age: Thailand as a case study” in Roberto Dillon and Lee Ming Tan (editors), Teaching and Learning with Technology: Proceedings of the 2015 Global Conference on Teaching and Learning with Technology (CTLT), World Scientific Publishing, pp. 12-34.
Created: 28/06/2016
Updated: 28/06/2016
Contributed By: Suwithida Charungkaittikul, Chulalongkorn University
