Competition and culture: the macroeconomic realities of critical thinking competencies for Thailand 4.0 and the ASEAN Economic Community

摘要

There is an international consensus that the global economy demands workers who possess creativity with excellent critical thinking and problem solving skills (NEA, 2018). Thailand's present educational system does not produce graduates adequately equipped for the knowledge economy. This paper will explore how competition from the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) could potentially motivate a uniquely Thai cultural reformation of the Kingdom's ossified educational system. Theoretical framework analysis and textual analysis of the findings of Hofstede (2011) and the Globe Project (n.d.) on national culture and Roger's (2003) work on adoption of innovation contrasted with Nguyen-Phuong-Mai's (2017) holistic and dynamic neuroscience-based model of cultural adaptation will be utilised to understand how change transpires in a Thai cultural context. A major finding of this study is that Thai cultural response to major crises is rooted in practicality. The implications of this research will give educational policy makers within the Kingdom an outside perspective on the various resources within their own culture for reform.