Strategizing Extralocal Teacher of English Recruitment in Thai Secondary Schools: A Pathway to Equitable Education and Sustainable Development

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis dissertation examines the recruitment of extralocal teachers of English (ETEs)—foreign educators whose ethnicity or nationality differs from the local community—in Thai secondary schools. Despite strong English proficiency among many ETEs, systemic inequities shaped by native-speakerism, commodification, and policy ambiguity continue to privilege candidates from native English-speaking countries over those with pedagogical expertise and intercultural competence. These biases undermine instructional quality and obstruct Thailand’s progress toward inclusive and sustainable education. A convergent mixed-methods design was implemented across six stages: (1) analysis of formal recruitment policies, (2) review of online job advertisements, (3) a PRISMA-guided systematic literature review, (4) discourse analysis of stakeholder perspectives on X, (5) statistical analysis using the Weighted Sum Method (WSM), and (6) a three-round Delphi study to validate recruitment criteria. Findings reveal a persistent overemphasis on nationality, frequent conflation of nativeness with whiteness, and inconsistencies between stated qualifications and actual hiring decisions. Market-driven models further marginalize qualified non-Western and non-native English-speaking educators. The dissertation proposes a merit-based recruitment framework emphasizing pedagogical legitimacy, linguistic diversity, and ethical alignment. Contributions include a Delphi-validated recruitment model and policy recommendations aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), promoting the recognition of ETEs as legitimate educators and the adoption of standardized, equitable recruitment criteria.Keywords: Commodification; development education; English teacher recruitment; extralocal teachers of English (ETEs); native-speakerism; sustainable development