When Learning Becomes a Burden: Thai Teachers’ Work Lives and the Culture of Lifelong Learning in Small Schools

Abstract

This study aims to understand the culture of lifelong learning among Thai teachers in small schools through their working lives and lived contexts, and to synthesize approaches to promoting lifelong learning that support the development of their teaching and learning practices. Using a qualitative micro-ethnographic approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and field notes involving 34 key informants, including teachers and school administrators from three small schools. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis guided by the research framework, complemented by group discussions to reflect on and validate the meanings of the findings. The findings show that teachers in small schools work under severe constraints in resources, personnel, and budgets, while also carrying substantial responsibilities beyond teaching, including administrative, project-related, and reporting tasks. Under these conditions, the culture of lifelong learning is shaped by overlapping workloads and resource limitations. As a result, teachers’ learning often takes the form of learning for survival, embedded in everyday work, immediate problem-solving, and learning through practice rather than professional development. The study also finds that promoting lifelong learning among teachers in small schools requires improving working conditions, reducing non-teaching workloads, recognizing the value of practice-based learning, and designing learning opportunities that respond to teachers’ lives and specific contexts. These approaches can transform learning into a resource for the sustainable development of teaching and learning rather than an additional burden.