New Zealand versus Thailand

To gain an insight into the relationship between the educational context and students' achievement in science, Richard Coll from New Zealand, and Chanyah Dahsah and Chatree Faikhamta from Thailand have worked together to examine common factors in their two countries.¹  

There are several similarities in education policy between the two countries. Both have undergone massive educational reforms as part of a strategy to improve the economy. Both have a constructivist, learner-centred curriculum with an emphasis on the nature of science and inquiry-based pedagogy. However, the performance of the students in the two countries in the PISA tests is significantly different, with New Zealand students outperforming Thai students.