Abstract:

In Thailand, due to the rapid economic growth, unskilled labor has become necessary in the last 20 years. The domestic labor market could not response to the need; therefore, there have been many laborers from the three neighborhood countries; namely, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, entering illegally and getting work. Not only are there problems for the laborers, themselves, due to their unstable status, there are also problems faced by their children. The main issue is a lack of access to education, which involves many factors such as resident status living status and poverty. At the present in Thailand, there are many international organizations, international non-government organizations (NGOs), government agencies and local NGOs concerned with this problem and trying to support the affected children. This study was conducted to investigate the partnership among those stakeholders in supporting migrant children’s access to education and also the roles of each organization. Moreover, the problems occurring within this collaboration are also investigated. The study was held in a province called Ratchaburi. It is a place that is next to the border of Thailand and Myanmar. In Ratchaburi, the local NGO has been working collaboratively with a public school for almost two years. It is an interesting case that should be studied as a model. This is a qualitative study; the author used interviews and participant observation in collecting data. The result of the study is introduced by a model of collaboration in educational provision between a local NGO and a school. The roles of each stakeholder, the local NGO, the school, an international organization and an international NGO are also discussed. Finally, the problems regarding collaboration are discussed to find out what lessons can be learned and then used as suggestions in further expansion.

Keywords:

migrant children, thailand, collaboration.