The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of background knowledge on Thai teachers-college students' reading comprehension in relation to topic familiarity, reading ability in English as a Foreign Language, and the amount of time required for reading familiar and unfamiliar passages.

The increased number of disabled students in Higher Education (HE) means that they have increased opportunities for study. This means that universities in many countries, including Thailand, must provide Disability Support Services (DSS) for such students. The experiences of disabled students with DSS have been the subject of international research for many years. Although DSS were founded in universities in Thailand over a decade ago, there is little research on DSS and most of this research has focused on large universities in the capital city. This thesis, therefore, seeks to address this gap in the research by investigating the experiences of disabled students in 21 universities in all of the regions of Thailand that have DSS for disabled students attending university. The aim of this study is to explore and analyse the perspectives of disabled students on their experiences with DSS in HE in Thailand. The research objectives include the examination of disabled students’ conceptualisations of DSS, the exploration of disabled students’ experiences of access to DSS, and the exploration of their views on the advantages and disadvantages of DSS. To achieve these objectives, the study uses a mixed-method research approach formed of two stages. In the first stage, a questionnaire was conducted online via a web survey for disabled students with over 203 responses. In the second stage, the study adopted a qualitative approach and data was collected by means of individual in-depth interviews with four disabled students. The research finds that disabled students know about DSS in HE. Some disabled students were familiar with DSS before commencing their studies at university and others only knew about DSS after having commenced their studies at university. In terms of disabled students’ experiences of access to DSS, the findings show that most disabled students use DSS. In particular, they use DSS for help with induction, registration, and enrolment services. In terms of the exploration of disabled students’ experiences of access to DSS, this research shows that the 2 students undertook different procedures for accessing DSS. There are also different time lines for providing services to the students. Additionally, there is dissimilarity between non-open universities and open universities in terms of the services provided by the DSS centre, the learning system, the method of providing services, and the means of the implementation of the services. Regarding the advantages and disadvantages of using DSS, disabled students identified the advantages of DSS in various ways, specifically which DSS are useful for helping them access financial support from their university and for helping them learn and enjoy university life. In addition, some of the students did not experience the advantages of DSS as they did not use the services. They are able to learn without such assistance.

The primary purpose of this study was the development of a model graduate program leading to a master's degree in physical education which could be used in Thailand and provide suitable guidelines for Thai colleges and universities interested in establishing such a program. A secondary purpose was to develop a systematic approach for student admission and a retention plan which would be compatible with the current trends and administration of higher education in Thailand. Following a review of the literature that included the history of general education, higher education, and physical education in Thailand as well as graduate study in physical education in the United States, a research instrument was devised to elicit responses from chairpersons of physical education departments in 156 U.S. institutions of higher learning and from a professional panel of five physical educators in Thailand concerning four aspects of master's degree programs in physical education: patterns and organization, curricular concepts, admission and retention requirements, and core course requirements. The return rate for the chairpersons surveyed in the United States was 85 per cent. The responses received from the U.S. and Thai professionals revealed a consensus between the two groups with regard to a number of the items in all four of the topic areas covered by the questionnaire. Based upon the survey results, guidelines were suggested for a model master's degree program in physical education in Thai colleges and universities. In addition, recommendations for further research were made, notably a review of master's programs in physical education in other countries which could provide valuable information for further modification of the model and systematic evaluation of the model program as implemented within a university setting.

The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the teaching of history in teachers colleges in the Metropolitan region and other regions in Thailand. Variables examined in this study include the following: salary, teaching experience, degrees held, the number of graduate credit hours in history, the number of graduate credit hours in education, attendance at professional meetings, the number of publications, membership in professional organizations, the number of hours devoted to course preparations, teaching load, and teaching behaviors. The comparison is based on geographical location of the teachers colleges by region. The survey instrument, after intensive review and validation by selected faculty both in Thailand and the United States, was distributed to the 180 history instructors in the teachers colleges in the six major regions of Thailand. The total number of responses was 138, or 76.7 per cent. The statistical procedures used in the analyses of data include frequency and percentage of responses, a chi square test of independence, t test, the Yates* correction for continuity, and Fisher's Exact Probability Test (2-tailed). The data findings from this study indicate that there is a high degree of similarity between the respondents from the Metropolitan region and other regions' history instructors in Thai teachers colleges with respect to the majority of the criteria. Although some significant differences were found, it would be difficult to state that there is a difference between history instructors in the Metropolitan region and other regions groups. Recommendations are made for the history instruction programs in Thailand based on the responses from both groups and the information gathered from a review of the literature.

The purpose of this study was to investigate job satisfaction among full-time faculty members of nursing colleges in Thailand, by using the Faculty Job Satisfaction /Dissatisfaction Scale developed by Olin R. Wood. The investigation was based on the ten factors of job satisfaction selected from the Herzberg Motivation-Hygiene theory as follows: achievement, growth, interpersonal relations, policy and administration, recognition, responsibility, salary, supervision, work itself, and working conditions. The questionnaire consisted of 68 items, using a six-point rating scale for ten factors of job satisfaction. The population consisted of 621 full-time nursing faculty members in twenty-one nursing colleges across the country of Thailand. A total of 408 nursing faculty members or 65.70 percent of the population participated in this study. Frequencies, percentage, one-way ANOVA, two-way ANOVA, regression analysis, and coefficience of concordance W. were used in the follow-up investigation, with the level of significance at .05.

The purpose for choosing this study was to compare the perceptions of the role of presidents in teachers colleges in Northeastern Thailand. The study groups included the presidents, the administrative staff, and the teaching faculty within these colleges.