This year’s Puean Program Orientation Powerpoint
What is the Puean Program?
In the Puean Program, students from the Iwate University Faculty of Education participate in a teaching internship at Thai secondary schools. Three subjects are taught: English, Japanese, and Math. From January 2026, we will start Science.
The participating schools for the English and match subject are the Satri Wat Absornsawan School and the Wat Nuannoradit School. Siam University oversees the program with these schools. For math, the participating school is the SATIT School, which is attached to Panyapiwat Institute of Management (PIM). PIM acts as the intermediary between Iwate University and SATIT.
The Purposes of the Puean Program
- For the English and Japanese subjects, Iwate University, Satri Wat Absornsawan School, and Wat Nuannoradit School collaborate to help Iwate University student-teachers develop and teach innovative English and Japanese lessons which encourage students to think about global or cultural issues and acquire useful language.
- For the math subject, the purpose is for Iwate University to carry out Japan-style math lessons in Thailand and exchange innovative ideas for math lessons with teachers at the SATIT School.
- Faculty from Iwate University, Satri Wat Absornsawan School, Wat Nuannoradit School, and SATIT School faculty to have academic exchange.
- To promote friendship between students and faculty in Japan and Thailand.
A History of the Puean Program
In 2003, Prof. Tomoko Yamazaki, from the Faculty of Education at Iwate University, made contact with the Bangsai Witthaya School through Dr. Usanee and Dr. Prasert at Siam University. An agreement between Bangsai Witthaya School, Iwate University Faculty of Education, and Siam University was signed. Under this agreement, Iwate University would send students to Bangsai Witthaya School twice a year to undergo a two-week teaching practicum. The responsibility of Siam University was to make sure there were no misunderstandings between Bangsai Whittaya and Iwate University and be of assistance in case there was an emergency. This became known as at that time as the Puan Program, or Friendship Program (In 2013, we changed the spelling from “Puan” to “Puean.”)
In 2010, the Wat Nuannoradit School and the Satri Wat Absornsawan School also joined the program. In 2015, Mrs. Sureerat Kleebkomut, the long-time coordinator of the program at the Bangsai Witthaya School retired, and thus her school also stopped the program.
In 2018, a math teaching internship was started at the SATIT School (Panyapiwat Institute of Management Demonstration School).
Below are the numbers of Japanese student-teachers who have participated in the program since its inception.
| Bangsai Witthaya School （Coordinated by SIAM University） | Satri Wat Absornsawan School （Coordinated by SIAM University） | Wat Nuannoradit School （Coordinated by SIAM University） | SATIT School (Coordinated by PIM) | |
| 2003 | 2 | |||
| 2004 | 8 | |||
| 2005 | 9 | |||
| 2006 | 9 | |||
| 2007 | 10 | |||
| 2008 | 7 | |||
| 2010 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 2012 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 2013 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2015 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2016 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2017 | All 7 students visited for one day | 3 | 4 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2019 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 2024 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2025 | 4 | 4 | 4 |