The Equitable Education Fund (EEF) Thailand has joined the World Education Research Association (WERA), the world’s largest network of education researchers. This move aims to establish the Thailand Educational Research Association (THERA) to connect Thai research with international networks, thereby elevating education policy amidst the challenges of inequality, technology, and increasingly complex global crises.
Thailand has reached a significant milestone in developing education policy through evidence-based approaches. This follows the EEF’s membership in the World Education Research Association (WERA), the largest global network for education research, comprising over 79 member countries and connecting with 29 member organizations, 5 educational institutions, and 26 international research networks.
Joining WERA is not merely an “elevation of status” on the academic stage, but an enhancement of Thailand’s role in using “empirical research” as a foundation for formulating education policy. This comes amidst major challenges in the Thai education system, ranging from structural inefficiency and inequality in access to quality education to skilled labor shortages, the impacts of technological transitions and Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as complex and intensifying global crises.
Prof. Dr. Mustafa Yunus Eryaman, a professor of education at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University specializing in educational policy, philosophy of education, curriculum theory and research, critical pedagogy, and progressive education—who serves as President of the International Association of Educators and is a former President of WERA—stated: “The membership of the EEF from Thailand with WERA marks a strategic, vital bridge, signifying Thailand’s proactive step to formally connect its burgeoning education research efforts with a global body. This enables a two-way flow of knowledge, collaboration, and influence, opening up unprecedented opportunities.”
Over the years, empirical research has become a crucial part of elevating education quality, helping many countries discover significant findings regarding learner and teacher quality while serving as a guideline for designing practical policies. Joining WERA will provide teams of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners with access to knowledge through opportunities to conduct research at an international level, exchange diverse perspectives on education research development, access new research methodologies, and utilize comparative data to solve area-based problems effectively.
The EEF aims to push for the establishment of the Thailand Educational Research Association (THERA) to empower research networks in various fields, such as education policy, STEM, and AI, connecting them strongly with international projects. Thai scholars joining THERA will have the opportunity to establish or join International Research Networks (IRNs) to develop research with international experts from many countries. They will also co-create knowledge that addresses shared global challenges while considering local contexts. For example, research investigating why over 300,000 Thai children miss out on early childhood education opportunities is part of driving work under the key measures of the Thailand Zero Dropout policy.
WERA has a key mission to act as a knowledge broker and build researchers capable of producing reliable academic evidence for policymakers, covering levels from early childhood and higher education to literacy development. Furthermore, Thailand is in the process of being considered as the host for the WERA Focal Meeting 2029. This supports Thai researchers in playing a greater role in driving education research with international education researchers, such as operations with the European Union on higher education capacity building, and establishing an AI center to promote academic innovation in collaboration with Germany, Italy, Poland, Turkey, and Malta.
To support the establishment of THERA, from October 26–30, 2025, in João Pessoa, Brazil, Dr. Kraiyos Patrawart, Managing Director of the Equitable Education Fund (EEF) Thailand, and Associate Professor Dr. Prawit Erawan, Secretary-General of the Office of the Education Council and member of the EEF’s Subcommittee—as key partners in the establishment of THERA—attended the WERA Focal Meeting 2025. They exchanged guidelines for establishing THERA with the President and former President of WERA and presented research findings and policy recommendations from past EEF research. This included working with implementation partners on the topic “Beyond Average: Rethinking Per-Student Subsidies for Quality and Equitable Education in Thailand” to exchange and develop guidelines for budget allocation based on equity principles with education researchers from WERA member countries worldwide.
On this occasion, the EEF Managing Director, as a representative of an institutional member, also attended the WERA Council Meeting officially for the first time, alongside education partners and over 4,000 education researchers from 58 countries worldwide. Dr. Kraiyos Patrawart introduced the EEF’s role in developing knowledge and research to reduce educational inequality in collaboration with partner agencies. He also declared the intention to establish the THERA to join WERA as an association member. This will result in Thailand having a role in jointly determining the direction of global education research with WERA and driving policy-oriented research to elevate Thailand’s education system in the future.
