Multicultural Content in Thai Textbooks

Abstract

This article presents the result of an examination of social studies and history textbooks used in primary schools in Thailand. The author examined 30 textbooks issued according to the B.E. 2544 (2001 C.E.) and B.E. 2551 (2008 C.E.) curriculum to find how contents about multiculturalism are presented. The results show that textbooks in the B.E. 2551 (2008) curriculum have more multicultural content than those in the previous curriculum. However, the multicultural content focuses on visible aspects of culture, such as food, dress, and festivals of people who live in different regions in Thailand. The inequality between people from different cultures and their problems are not mentioned.