How Chinese Teachers in Thai Public Vocational Colleges Perceive Cultural Teaching and Navigate Practical Dilemmas : A Qualitative Study

Main Article Content

Ruiming Li
Kanokporn Numtong

Abstract

Cultural teaching is widely recognised as central to communicative development in international Chinese language education, yet it remains difficult to sustain in Thailand’s vocational colleges, where time, assessment visibility, and employability relevance shape what teachers can realistically do. This study interviewed 24 Chinese language teachers in Thai public vocational colleges using semi-structured in-depth interviews and a constructivist grounded theory approach. The findings show that cultural teaching functions as a vocationally situated and institutionally embedded practice, while teachers’ dilemmas converge into three structural gaps: legitimacy, resource, and governance. In response, the study proposes an Integrated Support Framework and a staged pathway of legitimation, consolidation, and deepening to support more sustainable cultural teaching in vocational education.

Article Details

How to Cite
Li, R., & Numtong, K. (2026). How Chinese Teachers in Thai Public Vocational Colleges Perceive Cultural Teaching and Navigate Practical Dilemmas : A Qualitative Study. University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce Journal Humanities and Social Sciences, 46(1), 122–153. retrieved from https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/utccjournalhs/article/view/292241
Section
Research Articles

References

Aarons, G. A., Hurlburt, M., & Horwitz, S. M. (2011). Advancing a conceptual model of evidence-based practice implementation in public service sectors. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 38(1), 4–23.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-010-0327-7

Aldiabat, K. M., & Le Navenec, C.-L. (2018). Data saturation: The mysterious step in grounded theory methodology. The Qualitative Report, 23(1), 245–261. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.2994

Baker, T., & Nelson, R. E. (2005). Creating something from nothing: Resource construction through entrepreneurial bricolage. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(3), 329–366. https://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.2005.50.3.329

Baker, W. (2012). From cultural awareness to intercultural awareness: Culture in ELT. ELT Journal, 66(1), 62–70. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccr017

Baker, W. (2015). Research into practice: Cultural and intercultural awareness. Language Teaching, 48(1), 130–141. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444814000287

Baker, W. (2022). Intercultural and transcultural awareness in language teaching. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108874120

Biggs, J. (2003). Teaching for quality learning at university (2nd ed.). Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.

Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language teachers think, know, believe, and do. Language Teaching, 36(2), 81–109. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444803001903

Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Multilingual Matters.

Byram, M. (2020). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence: Revisited. Multilingual Matters.

Chalamwong, Y., & Suebnusorn, W. (2018). Vocational education in Thailand: Its evolution, strengths, limitations, and blueprint for the future. In G. W. Fry (Ed.), Education in Thailand: An old elephant in search of a new mahout (pp. 163–187). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7857-6_7

Chalapati, N., & Chalapati, S. (2020). Building a skilled workforce: Public discourses on vocational education in Thailand. International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training, 7(1), 67–90. https://doi.org/10.13152/IJRVET.7.1.4

Chametzky, B. (2022). Coding in classic grounded theory: I’ve done an interview; now what? Grounded Theory Review, 21(2), 22–32. https://groundedtheoryreview.org/index.php /gtr/article/view/416

Chan, J., Woore, R., Molway, L., & Mutton, T. (2022). Learning and teaching Chinese as a foreign language: A scoping review. Review of Education, 10(3), e3370. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3370

Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. SAGE Publications.

Chen, X., Jantharajit, N., & Thongpanit, P. (2025). Enhancing analytical reading and writing skills in vocational education: The role of collaborative and task-based learning. Journal of Education and Learning, 14(2), 150–158. https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v14n2p150

Corbett, J. (2022). An intercultural approach to English language teaching (2nd ed., Vol. 36). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/CORBET8618

Corbin, J. M., & Strauss, A. L. (1990). Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qualitative Sociology, 13(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988593

Damschroder, L. J., Aron, D. C., Keith, R. E., Kirsh, S. R., Alexander, J. A., & Lowery, J. C. (2009). Fostering implementation of health services research findings into practice: A consolidated framework for advancing implementation science. Implementation Science, 4, 50. https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-4-50

Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241–266. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315306287002

Duangmanee, K., & Waluyo, B. (2023). Active learning and professional development: A case of Thai Chinese teachers. Social Sciences, 12(1), 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12010038

Gong, Y., Hu, X., & Lai, C. (2018). Chinese as a second language teachers’ cognition in teaching intercultural communicative competence. System, 78, 224–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.09.009

Gong, Y., Gao, X., & Lyu, B. (2020). Teaching Chinese as a second or foreign language to non-Chinese learners in mainland China (2014–2018). Language Teaching, 53(1), 44–62. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444819000387

Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X05279903

Heggernes, S. L. (2021). A critical review of the role of texts in fostering intercultural communicative competence in the English language classroom. Educational Research Review, 33, 100390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100390

Jiracheewewong, E. (2022). Does higher education enhance employability skills enough for today’s graduates? STOU Education Journal, 15(2), 1–20.

Kallio, H., Pietilä, A.-M., Johnson, M., & Kangasniemi, M. (2016). Developing a framework for a qualitative semi-structured interview guide. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 72(12), 2954–2965. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13031

Koç, E. (2021). Intercultural competence in tourism and hospitality: Self-efficacy beliefs and the Dunning–Kruger effect. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 82, 175–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2021.04.003

Liddicoat, A. J., & Scarino, A. (2013). Intercultural language teaching and learning. Wiley Blackwell

Lu, B., Shao, X., Ge, L., & Wu, J. (2025). Challenges and opportunities in implementing intercultural education in higher education: The perceptions and practice of foreign language teachers in a Chinese university. Language and Intercultural Communication, 26(1), 87–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2024.2425972

Ma, X., Gong, Y., Gao, X., & Xiang, Y. (2017). The teaching of Chinese as a second or foreign language: A systematic review of the literature 2005–2015. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 38(9), 815–830. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 01434632.2016.1268146

Malterud, K., Siersma, V. D., & Guassora, A. D. (2016). Sample size in qualitative interview studies: Guided by information power. Qualitative Health Research, 26(13), 1753–1760. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315617444

Meier, G., & Styger, E. (2025). Language socialisation in vocational education and training (VET): New directions for language education. Research Papers in Education, 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2025.2571972

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2021). Vocational education and training in Thailand. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/cc20bf6d-en

Oppi, P., & Eisenschmidt, E. (2022). Developing a professional learning community through teacher leadership: A case in one Estonian school. Teaching and Teacher Education: Leadership and Professional Development, 1, 100011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tatelp.2022.100011

Öztürk, G., & Gürbüz, N. (2017). Re-defining language teacher cognition through a data-driven model: The case of three EFL teachers. Cogent Education, 4(1), 1290333. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2017.1290333

Sakdapat, N. (2024). Approaches for sustainable professional skill development for vocational education students in Thailand. F1000Research, 13, 401. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.146802.1

Scarino, A. (2009). Assessing intercultural capability in learning languages: Some issues and considerations. Language Teaching, 42(1), 67–80. https://doi.org/10.1017/S02614448 08005417

Scarino, A. (2010). Assessing intercultural capability in learning languages: A renewed understanding of language, culture, learning, and the nature of assessment. The Modern Language Journal, 94(2), 324–329. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2010.01026.x

Sellberg, C., & Lindwall, O. (2025). Simulation-based training in professional education: Learning, participation, and instructional design. Instructional Science, 54, 9. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s11251-025-09763-2

Sercu, L., & Bandura, E. (2005). Foreign language teachers and intercultural competence: An international investigation. Multilingual Matters.

Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Zeng, M. (2023). Research on Chinese language education policy and Chinese language education development in Thailand (Master’sindependent study). Chulalongkorn University. https://digital.car.chula.ac.th/chelated/10524/