Scaling up for change refers to the process by which an innovation
implemented in a single classroom or school can be implemented on a broader scale.
As noted earlier, Thailand’s administrative structure has traditionally emphasized a
highly directive, top-down approach towards policy implementation. In recent years,
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recognition that this approach was inhibiting innovation led policymakers to take
steps towards decentralization of decision-making.
Nonetheless, rhetoric to the contrary, decades of institutional tradition as well
as cultural deference towards authority continue to make local initiatives on behalf of
students the exception rather than the rule. Thus, the process by which local reforms
can scale up within this emerging decentralized educational system is an issue of
broad interest among practitioners and policymakers in Thailand.
Scaling up Implementation of the IPM Curriculum
The process by which the IPM program in schools expanded evolved
organically over the years. The TEF’s strategies for encouraging use of the IPM
program in schools included developing pilot projects at the school level and bridging
the project to the institutional level (i.e., Ministry of Education) for support and
expansion of the program.
Numerous issues arose as potential obstacles to implementation of the IPM
curriculum in other schools. These included alignment of the curriculum content with
the nationally mandated curriculum, fitting these units into the teaching calendar,
developing teacher capacities to assess learning outcomes, and sustaining the program
in a rapidly changing educational context. The scaling-up process of IPM