#Educationpolicy

A newly publicized education reform plan that called for ethical AI use in schools is now at the center of a credibility crisis. The document, prepared for a Canadian province, reportedly contains at least 15 fabricated citations. The revelations come as officials and educators wrestle with how to balance ambition for AI-enabled learning with the need for trustworthy research. For Thai readers, the episode is a timely reminder that policy making in the age of artificial intelligence must be anchored in transparent sourcing and rigorous review, not only bold visions.

A study involving 231 students in an object-oriented programming course has found that more frequent use of AI chatbots correlated with lower academic performance. The researchers emphasize that the result is not proof that AI harms learning, but it raises questions about how students use AI tools and how teachers should guide this new technology in the classroom. In particular, the study notes that many students turn to AI for solving programming tasks such as debugging code and understanding examples. The surprising twist is that the more these tools were used, the poorer the measured outcomes tended to be. This pattern prompts a careful look at whether AI is serving as a learning aid or simply a shortcut that impedes the development of core skills.

In a world where birth rates are trending downward in many advanced economies, a fresh economic perspective points to a surprisingly simple lever: the role of men as more engaged, practical partners in parenting. The latest research, highlighted by a prominent economist, argues that when men share childcare and household duties more equitably, couples may decide to have more children. The implications are urgent for societies like South Korea, where fertility remains the lowest in the world, and aging demographics threaten long-term social and economic stability. Even as the study focuses on Korea, the findings resonate with broader concerns across Asia, including Thailand, where families face similar pressures from housing costs, work demands, and evolving gender norms.

A new survey found that 64% of young people feel anxious about the future.
This anxiety links to online safety fears, the rising cost of living, and job insecurity (Samsung UK).

This finding matters for Thai families.
Thai adolescents already show high rates of psychological distress and depressive symptoms in recent studies (Bangkok high school study; Thai adolescent depression study).

The Samsung survey interviewed 1,000 UK children aged 11–15.
It found 64% felt anxious about the future and 61% worried about the cost of living (Samsung UK press release).

Students across Bangkok rush from regular classes to evening tutorial centers, their backpacks heavy with textbooks and dreams of university admission. This familiar scene may soon face disruption as Thailand watches America dismantle the very public education system that once inspired educational reformers worldwide. New research reveals that recent U.S. policy shifts toward privatization and budget cuts could herald a global retreat from universal education—with potentially devastating consequences for developing democracies like Thailand.

Sixteen-year-old Natthaya sits at her bedroom desk, university brochures in view, while her parents discuss rising education costs downstairs. Her worry isn’t unique. A global survey by Samsung UK found that 64% of teenagers experience anxiety about their future, with concerns ranging from economic stability to digital safety and job prospects.

For Thai families, these findings carry urgent implications. Local studies from Bangkok hospitals and national mental health surveys show that Thai adolescents already experience high levels of psychological distress, with nearly four in ten teenagers screening positive for risk factors associated with depression.

A quiet student dawns into Bangkok classrooms, then in the evening heads to a tutoring center, chasing university dreams. This scene speaks to a global concern: could shifts in the United States away from universal public schooling reshape how nations—including Thailand—think about education as a public good and a driver of democracy?

Researchers from leading U.S. universities warn that reductions in federal education workforces and proposed budget cuts could threaten decades of progress toward inclusive schooling. The warning notes that public funding moving toward private alternatives risks eroding equity, particularly for students with disabilities, minority groups, and families with fewer resources. For Thailand, where education has long been a pillar of social mobility, these findings carry practical implications as policymakers weigh reforms.

Sixteen-year-old Natthaya sits at her bedroom desk, staring at university brochures while her parents discuss rising education costs downstairs. She’s not alone in her worry. A groundbreaking survey by Samsung UK reveals that 64% of teenagers experience debilitating anxiety about their future, with concerns ranging from economic instability to digital safety fears and uncertain job prospects.

For Thai families, this global trend carries particularly devastating implications. Recent medical research from Bangkok hospitals and national mental health studies paint an alarming picture: Thai adolescents already demonstrate some of Southeast Asia’s highest rates of psychological distress, with nearly four in ten teenagers screening positive for clinical depression risk factors.

A recent analysis argues that public schools remain essential for democracy and the economy. (The authors warn that policy shifts could harm civic life and widen inequality.) (The Conversation)

The study links historical public investment to broad social gains. (The authors cite Horace Mann and the GI Bill as pivotal examples.) (The Conversation)

The authors say that public education builds a skilled workforce. (They say this workforce fueled U.S. innovation and prosperity over 150 years.) (The Conversation)

A growing body of research identifies a third path to well-being beyond happiness and meaning: psychological richness. This dimension describes a life dense with novel, perspective-shifting experiences that can be uncomfortable but also generate memorable stories and cognitive growth. For Thai readers making choices about work, family, education, and community roles, psychological richness reframes trade-offs as the possibility of combining routine care with deliberate encounters, intellectual surprises, and personal narratives. The following revision highlights the evidence, contrasts with other well-being pathways, and offers practical steps for families, schools, and health services to help people craft three-dimensional lives.

A growing body of psychological research proposes a third path to a “good life” alongside happiness and meaning: psychological richness — a life dense with novel, perspective-shifting experiences that may bring discomfort but also memorable stories and cognitive growth. New reviews and studies argue this dimension explains why some people value adventurous, complicated lives even when those lives are not consistently joyful or conventionally purposeful. For Thai readers facing choices about work, family, education and community roles, the idea reframes familiar trade-offs: routine comforts and social duties can coexist with deliberate efforts to build a life of fresh encounters, intellectual surprises and personal narratives. This report explains the evidence for psychological richness, contrasts it with established well-being pathways, explores implications for Thai society and offers practical steps families, schools and health services can use to help people craft three-dimensional lives.

A major new study of secondary schools in England finds that banning smartphones on school grounds or at break times does not, by itself, produce better grades, healthier sleep or improved mental wellbeing among pupils — a result that shifts the debate from banning devices to reducing total screen time and reshaping how young people use digital technology. Researchers compared student outcomes across schools with different phone rules and found that the single strongest predictor of worse academic and health measures was the amount of time pupils spent on smartphones and social media, rather than whether schools imposed on-site bans. The finding matters for Thai educators and parents because it suggests policy and cultural interventions beyond simple exclusion are needed to protect learning, mental health and social development in a country where young people are highly connected.

A large study of secondary schools in England shows that banning smartphones on school grounds or at break times alone does not automatically boost grades, sleep quality, or mental wellbeing. The findings shift the focus from device bans to reducing total screen time and reshaping how young people use digital technology. Researchers compared outcomes across schools with varying phone rules and found that the strongest predictor of poorer academic and health metrics was the amount of time students spent on smartphones and social media, not whether schools restricted devices. This matters for Thai educators and parents, highlighting the need for policy and cultural approaches beyond exclusion to safeguard learning, mental health, and social development in a highly connected youth culture.

The dream of studying in the United States is under siege as a visa processing breakdown threatens to derail thousands of Thai families’ plans. The U.S. State Department’s stalled processing and new security measures could keep many international students, including Thai scholars, from starting university this fall.

The human impact is immediate. In Bangkok’s education hubs, anxious families clutch acceptance letters while wondering if their children will reach campus on time. Estimates from national and international education groups indicate a substantial share of international students may miss the fall term due to backlogs, visa appointments running weeks or even months late, and heightened screening requirements.

A brief, classroom-friendly burst of high-intensity exercise — nine minutes of high-knee marching, jumping jacks, lunges and squats performed as 30-second activity/30-second rest intervals — improved children’s scores on a standardized verbal comprehension test and reduced brain signals linked to fixation on mistakes, according to a new pilot study. (Psychology of Sport & Exercise abstract) (Newsmax report). The findings suggest a low-cost, low-disruption strategy that Thai teachers could embed in classrooms to sharpen attention before high-stakes testing.

Groundbreaking study reveals brief classroom movement breaks improve verbal comprehension and reduce anxiety-related brain patterns

In Thailand’s intensely competitive educational environment, where O-NET scores determine student futures and school reputations, teachers constantly seek advantages that might boost academic performance. New research from the University of North Carolina provides a surprisingly simple solution: nine minutes of classroom-friendly exercise before testing can significantly improve student performance while reducing brain patterns associated with test anxiety.

A simple 9-minute movement break before tests may improve Thai students’ verbal comprehension and reduce anxiety-related brain patterns, new research suggests. The study, conducted with children aged 9-12, found that brief in-class high-intensity intervals improved performance on verbal tasks while decreasing neural signals linked to worry over mistakes.

Researchers from a leading university conducted six bodyweight exercises—such as high-knee marching, jumping jacks, air squats, and lunges—for 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, in a typical classroom setting with no equipment. After the movement, students completed verbal comprehension tests while EEG monitored brain activity. Results showed faster, more accurate responses and lower error-related negativity, a brain marker associated with attentional lapses and anxiety during testing.

Japanese students are increasingly turning their sights to Asian study destinations such as Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines as inflation and a weakened yen make traditional Western options more costly. This shift is visible in recent outbound volumes and agent surveys showing both a rebound in overall numbers and a marked rise in short- to mid-term programmes in Asia, a change that creates new opportunities — and new responsibilities — for Thai universities and the broader education and service sectors in Thailand (Japan Times report).

A quiet education shift is reshaping where Japanese students study abroad. With rising living costs and a weaker yen, many are moving away from Western destinations toward Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, and Taiwan. The aim is high-quality education at a fraction of Western prices.

In 2024, over 70,000 Japanese students studied abroad, bouncing back to about 90% of pre-pandemic levels. Yet the destinations have shifted. Asian nations now hold a larger and faster-growing share of the market than Western leaders since 2020, according to the Japan Association of Overseas Studies.

A rigorous longitudinal analysis conducted by Education Datalab, published in Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, exposes a troubling pattern in Thailand’s educational landscape. Brilliant children from low-income families show parity with their wealthier peers through primary school, but during the critical transition to secondary education, their engagement, behavior, mental health, and exam performance deteriorate sharply. By the end of compulsory schooling, the gap widens markedly: gifted students from poorer households are significantly less likely to achieve top mathematics grades or English excellence than their affluent counterparts, even after accounting for other factors.

Strong parental demand for holistic learning is fueling a global shift toward classical education, a movement now echoing in Thailand as educators seek ways to combine intellectual rigor with virtue and character development. A Catholic school in New Jersey illustrates how Socratic dialogue, Latin study, and exposure to great philosophical works can reinvigorate institutions facing enrollment and engagement challenges. The experience is drawing attention among Thai teachers and policymakers exploring innovative, value-centered approaches to education.

Student mental health has become a central concern for universities around the world. Experts, families, and students are debating how much responsibility institutions should bear for psychological wellbeing. New research, high-profile cases, and growing demand for support are prompting reforms abroad and in Thailand. The key question is what an effective duty of care looks like in higher education and how it can be sustained.

A recent UK analysis highlighted gaps in campus mental health resources. A student with anxiety described being shuffled between services after seeking counseling. She said she felt like she was being passed from one service to another. Another student criticized a one-size-fits-all approach, where support sometimes amounted to clickable links rather than practical help. This narrative resonates beyond borders and underscores the need for robust, accessible support.

Student mental health has become a pressing issue at universities worldwide, prompting critical debate over how much responsibility higher education institutions should bear for their students’ psychological wellbeing. Recent research, high-profile court cases, and unprecedented demand for support services are driving reforms both abroad and in Thailand—yet students, parents, and experts alike continue to wrestle with what “duty of care” means in practice and how it can be sustainably achieved.

A sustained drop in U.S. public school enrollment is accelerating, signaling broader shifts in how families choose education. New figures from the National Center for Education Statistics show K-12 public enrollment peaking at 50.8 million in autumn 2019 and projected to fall to about 46.9 million by 2031, a 7.6% decrease. The trend invites Thailand to reflect on its own education system amid changing birth rates and urban migration.

The decline is most visible in several states, with Virginia reporting a 2.9% drop from 2019 to 2023. Nationally, elementary and middle grades experience the steepest reductions. The year 2020 saw a 3% single-year contraction—the sharpest since the post-World War II era—highlighting a profound shift in how families view schooling options.