JultikaUniversity of Oulu repository

The motivation for this thesis is based on my experiences during the summer of 2014, during which I had the opportunity to participate in an educational export pilot project that took place between Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the Extension School of Oulu University (TOPIK) concerning in-service training for BMA teachers and administrators. In addition to providing an insight into the background to the projects from the perspectives of BMA and TOPIK, and introducing the main players involved, the main aims of this qualitative study are: to work in collaboration with the stakeholders in identifying the main issues and misunderstandings that were encountered throughout the projects from their perspectives, in addition to identifying and recording the main factors identified by respondents as being responsible for overcoming these and other obstacles and issues. In order to achieve these aims an action research methodology was adopted. Qualitative data used in this research was collected via face to face interviews with the main actors, with additional data obtained from the researchers own participation in the projects, in addition to observations and field notes based on numerous conversations with participants, and relevant documentation. During the thesis process, the author also had the opportunity to spend several weeks in Bangkok during which time additional data and observations were acquired, through interviews, meetings, and a variety of visits. Theories of intercultural communication establish that when dealing with cultures as far removed from each other as the Finnish and Thai cultures, there are always going to be a number of issues which would need to be addressed during these types of educational export pilot projects. While there were a host of minor obstacles and issues that needed to be dealt with on a continuous basis, the major issues identified by participants throughout the project process were: date and format changes, practical and ethical issues concerning ‘deliverables’ and goodwill, communication issues, issues related to payments, in addition to issues concerning contracts and documentation. The factors identified by participants as being the overriding factors in overcoming these, and indeed other issues and obstacles, can be summarized as being related to authority, local knowledge and trust.