From policy to practice supporting students with diverse needs in Thailand: critical issues and implications

A commitment to maximizing learning outcomes for all students is an axiom of most educational systems around the world. However this goal is sometimes compromised by factors that can be complex and difficult to address. Student behavior problems are one of the major issues challenging educators in many countries including Thailand. Recently, laws and policies have been established to strengthen behavior support systems in Thailand. Corporal punishment has been banned in all Thai schools and Positive Behavior Support (PBS) has been introduced as a framework that schools can employ. However, there are still several gaps between the various existent policies and actual educational practices in many Thai schools. This paper discusses current policies related to Thai behavior support systems, the challenges of translating them into practice and introduces a prospective research agenda designed to close this gap and improve the uptake and the effectiveness of positive behavior support in Thai schools.