Secondary school social studies curriculum comparison for mutual understanding : cases of Thailand and Singapore

Abstract

The objectives of this reseach were to find out the specific contents for mutual understanding in secondary school social studies curricula and textbooks in Thailand and Singapore, and to compare the specific concepts of social studies curricula and textbooks contents in Thailand and Singapore. The research was documentary research, and curricula and textbooks were examined to analyze the contents concerning mutual understanding. In the case of Thailand, the research outcomes showed the specific contents for mutual understanding as follows: Buddhism and other religions, importance of the different beliefs, world peace, morality, good deeds and values, politics and governance system of Thailand and the world, foreign policies, international relationships, culture of Thailand and different regions, Eastern and Western cultures, world history and events, geographic features, and global environmental crises. The case of Singapore presented following contents: global competition, welcoming foreign talents, overseas ventures, world peace and stability, multi-racial society and harmony and different races, languages and religions, world events, different national types among India, Southeast Asian countries and China, geographic features, environmental crises and friendly relations with different races and religions. The common concepts found in Thailand and Singapore curricula were: creating peace, harmonious and friendly relations among differences, social and political systems of the world and foreign relationships, geographic features, current international problems, different regions and historical events, different religions and cultures in different regions. The differences were found that Thai curriculum presented concepts of important values in the society, religion as guideline for living in the society, religions; while Singapore presented concepts of benefits of maintaining relations with other countries, human activities at the global level, racial diversity and consideration to the differences.