Abstract

The fact that Thailand is a culturally diverse country has been recognized more often recently. The phrase such as “multicultural society” has been used to describe Thailand, especially the southernmost provinces where Muslims congregate. The education in the southernmost provinces of Thailand has long been a challenge because of the sharp contrast between school culture which represents “national” culture and the culture of students. The challenge is increasing with the resurgence of violence. This paper describes the result of a study that examined how schools in the southernmost provinces of Thailand provide education to culturally diverse students in terms of religions and ethnicities. The researcher used ethnographic methods such as interview and observation to study three primary schools in Pattani province. The three schools share certain practices and vary in others. Although the schools use the term “multicultural education” to describe their policies concerning school rules, regulations and instruction, what the schools did was trying to adjust the curriculum, activities, and practices to suit students of each culture but fail to create mutual understanding among them. Moreover, the instruction in the schools was mostly test-driven and rarely connected to students’ lives and cultures.