School libraries and their roles in rural Thailand: Perceptions of public primary school principals

Background: Thailand continues to face a serious long-term problem developing effective school libraries, particularly in rural small public primary schools. Even though the Thai government has developed school library standards and supports many projects to help all schools establish effective libraries, most rural small public primary schools still struggle to improve their libraries enough to reach even the minimum criteria of the standards (Thailand Knowledge park 2011). Thai government and policy makers appear to overlook the special management, guidelines and standards challenges for libraries in rural small public primary schools. The lack of expenditure in Thailand on research and development of rural small public primary school libraries has led to a minimum of related primary data and studies, giving very little indication of ways to improve the quality of those libraries effectively.

Objectives and Methods: This research, which aims to explore principals' perceptions of public primary school libraries, library characteristics and effectiveness, employs a research method using questionnaires to survey 375 school principals in 6 regions in Thailand. Survey part 1 requested basic information about principals, their schools and their school libraries. Survey part 2 asked principals to illustrate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and limitations of their school libraries. Survey part 3 was a semantic scale for principals to rate their perceptions about the impact of the school library on students' academic achievement. Both quantitative and qualitative data are used in this research: quantitative data were analysed through 3 analysis techniques including descriptive, cluster and multiple regression; qualitative data were analysed through thematic analysis.

Findings: This research found that in general small public primary school libraries lack resources for their collections, physical facilities, and staff. Of the 6 regions surveyed, libraries located in the North and Northeast regions face the greatest lack of resources. Principals participating in this study perceive the necessity for an effective administration, sufficient staff and sufficient library physical facilities to overcome the limitations of their libraries. Most principals understood very well the impact that school libraries have on students' academic achievement, particularly in enhancing students' literacy levels. The research also found that principals aged younger than 51 years tended to have more positive perceptions about this impact of libraries on students' academic achievement.

Recommendations: At a policy level, the Thai government should urgently equip the small schools in rural areas with Information and Communications Technology (ITC). It needs to reauthorise and modernise the National Education Act 1999 to mandate the importance of the pedagogical role of school libraries and school librarians. Clear library policies are required for both school libraries in general and for the provision of library services in rural small public primary schools. Moreover, the Thai government should assign the Thai Library Association to develop new national school library standards. The Thai government should also acknowledge the role of parents and local community participation in education development. The Thai government should conduct and support research on existing barriers to developing effective education and learning resources in rural small public primary schools.

At a practitioner level, principals, teacher librarians and school library stakeholders are crucial for developing effective libraries. Principals need to know and understand the school library standards and the policy related to learning resources development; they also need to be prepared to convert traditional school libraries into modern libraries by integrating ICT in library administration, collections, services, activities and staff. Importantly, principals need to support teacher librarians and staff, enhancing their knowledge and skills in library and information fields; equally, they need to collaborate with school library stakeholders, in both internal and external school communities, to develop effective libraries and to promote and enhance their capacity.

Conclusion: This research identified a much-needed foundation for developing an effective library in rural Thailand. Although principals have an important role in directing and managing change in libraries, collaboration among library stakeholders is also a significant factor leading to the development and enhancement of effective school libraries. In the light of this research, the researcher recommends for the Thai government and school library stakeholders pay more attention to and to prioritise dealing with school library issues. The researcher also expects that this research will help build international cross-cultural understanding beyond the school libraries of small public primary schools in rural Thailand, to developing countries more widely. Such knowledge would be beneficial to the Thai government, and to school library communities and stakeholders, both in Thailand and internationally, to establish and develop effective school libraries that lead to educational success.