Abstract:
After the opening of free trade, Thailand was shaped step by step by the mercantile capitalist development. These developments at least in the beginning created the needs for personnels who need to know foreign languages and trade. King Rama 4 recognized this importance and hired western teachers to teach of royal familly children, whilst missionaries taught the orphan and the poor as well as children of Chinese traders. Later the government had developed the educational system for all common citizens, starting from commercial, technical skill and finally raised up to general educated. at as of today university level at as of today. The purpose of this thesis is to emphasize the political economy approach to investigate whether the development of educational process as a tool to boost capital growth and accumulation are responding to its need. Starting from the second half of the nineteen century which was the time of the mercantilist until the decade after 1960 of when industrial development began to take place. The study revealed that after opened for free trade in year 1855 no commercial curriculum was found this might be because traders just wanted personnel who had foreign language ability. In King Rama 5 era formal education was developed to respond to the need for civil servants, and passing burden to educate man power for trade to the traders themselves. After the 1932 revolution the Peoples Party declared the national educational plan to provide all citizens to receive education according to their ability and economic factors. In Piboonsongkrams era education was made to serve national capitalism in order to reduce influence of western capitalist. In 1960 the western capitalist returned after Thailand adopted the economic development plan from the World Bank. The commercial curriculum was aimed to support the growth and accumulation of capital as being witnessed at present to some certain extent until the industrial capitalist prevailed.