Ruamrudee International School Parent Survey 2010 Final Report 20 December 2010

Ruamrudee International SchoolRuamrudee International SchoolParent Survey 2010Parent Survey 2010

Final ReportFinal Report20 December 201020 December 2010

Survey Overview

RIS Parent Survey - Overview The RIS Parent Survey 2010 was fielded using a web-based online survey data collection

system. All RIS parents with unique e-mail addresses were invited to participate. A total of 1488

parents were sent invitations to participate.

Parents could select either Thai or English as the language of the questionnaire.

The survey was open to respondents for 18 days from 12 to 29 November 2010 A total of 340 parents completed the survey - a response rate of 23%, somewhat lower

than the average seen for other parent surveys conducted in the past. About half (173) completed the Thai version and 167 the English version.

A total of 97 questions were asked as follows: 54 - Satisfaction questions on a 5 point satisfaction scale 1 - Meeting of Expectations question on a 5 point expectation scale 5 - Communications Effectiveness questions 20 - Perceptions of RIS questions on a 4 point agreement scale 10 - Open ended questions for Satisfaction, Improvements & Suggestions 7 - Demographic/Other

Average completion time was 21 minutes.

3 - RIS Parent Survey - 2010

RIS Parent Survey – About the Report

Some words have been shortened in order to make for easier viewing of the report: ES = Elementary School, MS = Middle School, HS = High School

Our judgments and comments within this report are based primarily on the analysis of data and responses from RIS parents. Responses to the RIS Parent Survey do not provide definitive answers nor specific solutions to school issues. However, they do offer valuable insights, from the point of view of the parents of RIS students, and some concrete starting points for addressing school policies and practices.

In some charts, the percentages do not add up to exactly 100% due to number rounding.

“Unsure /Don’t Know” responses are removed from the base for calculating percentages.

For most attribute measurements there is limited differentiation of opinion amongst the three parental sub-groups ES Parents, MS Parents and HS Parents. The same applies to subgroups based on Nationality, Parent type, and RIS employment status. Selected instances where significant differences exist are presented in the Detailed Findings.

All open ended verbatim responses were provided in a separate document.


Key Findings and Conclusions


Overall Satisfaction: A large majority (95%) of parents range from satisfied to extremely satisfied with RIS.

Expectations: All three schools, Elementary, Middle and High Schools, have met or exceeded the expectations of a majority of parents. However 18% of High School parents found the overall education and experience provided to their child as below expectations.

Overall Satisfaction by Area: Parents provided feedback on five broad areas of RIS with results as follows:

1. Academic Education: Relatively outstanding results with high levels of satisfaction amongst parents and low levels of dissatisfaction.

2. Teaching Staff: The second highest rated area with dissatisfaction levels at just 9%.

3. School Facilities: Rated similarly to Teaching Staff.

• School Culture & Environment: Rated marginally higher than Administration with 13% of parents dissatisfied.

• School Administration: With the highest levels of dissatisfaction (15%), this was the lowest rated area for RIS.



1. Academic Education: Of the 13 rated attributes, ranked by “top two box” ratings (Very to Extremely Satisfied), Mathematics, Humanities and Combined Science are rated highest. The most dissatisfaction was with IT Curriculum, Physical Education and Field Trips.

2. Teaching Staff: Of the 8 rated attributes, ranked by “top two box” ratings, Updates on your child’s progress in class is rated highest. The most dissatisfaction was with Appropriateness of homework your child receives.

3. School Facilities: Of the 11 rated attributes, ranked by “top two box” ratings, Quality of Library facilities is rated highest. All attributes related to school food received very high levels of dissatisfaction (particularly that menu items are changed regularly).

4. School Culture & Environment: Of the 6 rated attributes, ranked by “top two box” ratings, use of English as the formal instructional/academic language is rated highest. However, it is notable how polarized parents are on the use of English on RIS campus for informal social communication language, which receives the most dissatisfaction.

5. School Administration: Of the 10 rated attributes, Access to and helpfulness of school admissions & testing staff and the Principal are rated highest. High levels of dissatisfaction were expressed for Transparency of the school’s decision-making processes and the Appropriateness of decisions for future direction of the school.


Key Findings and Conclusions School Image: Of the 20 rated image attributes, most parents agree that RIS develops

and enhances academic achievement (94%), and over 90% agree RIS offers the appropriate experience & environment for Elementary School and High School students. Over half of parents disagree that RIS is a school that has a good “international feel” and that RIS is a school with an appropriate diversity of different student nationalities.

Communications Effectiveness: The most effective means of communicating with parents is SMS to mobile phones (73%) followed by e-mail (65%) as the second most effective method.

Reasons for Selecting RIS: Good reputation (57%) and good academic record (51%) were cited by a majority of parents as reasons for selecting RIS for their children. RIS’s reputation for English instruction (46%) and its location (44%) are also important factors. Amongst parents of Elementary school students, location (62%) is the number one reason for choosing RIS for their child.

Readership: Over half of RIS parents (53%) are regular readers of the Bangkok Post which has over twice the readership of the Nation (23%) .Thai publications Manager and Praew are regularly read by 23% and 20% of parents respectively.



Through quadrant analysis the area identified as the highest priority for action is School Administration which has the lowest satisfaction ratings of the five measured areas and the highest impact on parents’ overall satisfaction. The second priority area is School Culture and Environment. Key issues within the five areas were identified as priorities for action.

Specific issues to focus on improving:

Administration -The transparency of the school’s decision-making processes.

Administration - The appropriateness of decisions for future direction of the school.

Culture & Environment - Use of English on RIS campus for informal social communication.

Facilities - Variety of student food at RIS, quality ingredients used in the food , and nutritional content of student food.


Recommendations

Many of the key issues identified from the RIS parent survey are addressed by the RIS Accountability Plan, such as the Governance and Leadership Objective that RIS will clearly define and communicate the lines of authority and the decision-making process at RIS, ensure appropriate and transparent two-way channels of communication between levels of authority, and articulate the expectations and accountability for decision-making and communication. Transparent and appropriate decision-making are key drivers of parent satisfaction and it is important that these plans, objectives, and tasks get communicated to stakeholders and followed through effectively.

It is worrisome that over three-quarters of parents that are also RIS employees are dissatisfied with the transparency of decision-making at RIS. This key stakeholder group has yet to see results from the accountability plan regarding this issue.

Review homework loads on students and, if necessary, set guidelines for a maximum and minimum number of hours per week.


Recommendations If RIS is to achieve its goal “To Be the Top International School in Asia” then it must be

perceived as a truly international school. Measures should be implemented to maintain a healthy proportion of non-Thai and native English speaking students. If not already in place, the recruitment program should establish enrollment targets for non-Thai students. Perhaps staff recruiters should focus more on hiring expatriate teachers with school age children.

Encourage a language policy of “English-only” spoken on campus, particularly outside of the classroom. Also, a higher percentage of native English speaking students would help facilitate English as the language spoken outside of class.

Improve the nutritional quality and variety of the food served at the school canteen for which other issues such as cleanliness were raised by parents in open-ended verbatim responses. Perhaps RIS should establish or revise school food policies and guidelines through consultations with a dietician and improve monitoring and supervising canteen staff and food contractors.

Finally, to foster an environment of transparency and openness, this report or key findings from it should be distributed or made available for download to all RIS parents and other stakeholders.


Detailed Survey Results

Respondent ProfileParent Type

Which of the following best describes the main person who is taking this survey?


More mothers than fathers responded to the survey. (1488 total invites were sent with 53% to males and 47% to females).

Response Chart Frequency Count

Mother 57% 193

Father 42% 142

Guardian (Female) 1% 3

Guardian (Male) 0% 1

Other 0% 1

Responses 340

What is your nationality?

Respondent ProfileNationality


A large majority (73%) of parents are Thai and 17% are other Asian nationalities.


Thai 73% 247

Asian, non Thai 17% 57

North American 5% 17

Other 4% 12

European 2% 7

Responses 340

Are you employed at RIS (as teaching or administration staff)?

Respondent ProfileRIS Employment Status


A small minority of parents are employed at RIS.


No, I am not employed at RIS

91% 308

Yes, I am employed at RIS 9% 32

Responses 340

RIS Class Levels Enrolled

Please choose all of the following class levels that you currently have children attending RIS. (multiple choice)


Over half the parents have a child enrolled in High School.


Elementary School (PS to G5) 36% 123

Middle School (G6 to G8) 30% 102

High School (G9 to G12) 51% 173

Responses 340

Note: percentages/counts do not add up to 100%/340 as parents can have children in more than one school.

Overall RIS SchoolSatisfaction by Area & Meeting of Expectations

Overall Satisfaction by Area All Parents’ Responses

How would you rate your overall Satisfaction with the following areas, as provided to your child at RIS ..... School?


Overall, a large majority of 95% of parents are satisfied with RIS. The areas with the highest levels of satisfaction are Academic Education and Teaching Staff. The highest levels of dissatisfaction were expressed for School Administration and School Culture & Environment.

Quadrant Analysis is used to highlight two key elements of Parent Satisfaction:

1. The “correlation” of each factor against the overall “Satisfaction” score – this indicates the actual

Impact that each factor has on Overall Parent Satisfaction.

2. The Performance is based on “Satisfaction” rating of each factor – this indicates which factors are

scoring higher or lower, relative to the other measured factors in the questionnaire.

The results of each Quadrant Analysis allow RIS Management to identify and prioritise the Factors which are

most in need of improvement in order to increase Overall Parent Satisfaction.

The following slides contain Quadrant Analysis for each of the areas measured

Identifying the Impact of Factors on Overall Parent Satisfaction


Impact on Satisfaction

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High Satisfaction, High Impact

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Low High

High Satisfaction, Low Impact

Priority Area No. 2

MAINTAIN !

Priority Area “No. 1

IMPROVE !

Priority Area No. 4

MAINTAIN !

Priority Area No. 3

MONITOR ! Low Satisfaction, High Impact

Low Satisfaction, Low Impact

•Satisfaction scores for each factor are plotted onto the ‘Y axis’ and Impact of each factor (calculated against Overall Satisfaction) is plotted on the ‘X axis’.

•Below results are based on all parents from all of the three schools combined

•The Four Quadrants identify the Priority for each of the measured factors – for RIS the areas that are in most need of attention are firstly Administration and secondly Culture & Environment, followed by Facilities. There are very high levels of satisfaction with the Academic Education provided at RIS however these high ratings do not closely correlate with overall satisfaction scores.

Satisfaction by Area Key Drivers of Overall Satisfaction


n = 340 Total Parents

Meeting of Expectations by School

How would you say that your expectations have been met in terms of the overall education and experience provided to your child at RIS ....... School? Note: Parents could answer for more than one school


All three schools have met or exceeded the expectations of a large majority of parents however almost one in five High School parents (18%) found the overall education and experience provided to their child as below expectations.

RIS Elementary SchoolSatisfaction by Area & Meeting of Expectations

Satisfaction by Area Elementary School

How would you rate your overall Satisfaction with the following areas, as provided to your child at RIS Elementary School?


Overall, a large majority of 98% of parents are satisfied with RIS Elementary School. The areas with the highest levels of satisfaction are Teaching Staff and Academic Education. School Administration, Culture & Environment and Facilities have the highest levels of dissatisfaction.

Expectations Elementary School

How would you say that your expectations have been met in terms of the overall education and experience provided to your child at RIS Elementary School?


Seven in ten Elementary School parents had their expectations met. For the balance of parents, 17% had expectations exceeded and 13% found expectations unmet.


Far Above Expectations 2% 3

Above Expectations 15% 18

Met Expectations 70% 86

Below Expectations 13% 16

Far Below Expectations 0% 0

Responses 123

RIS Middle SchoolSatisfaction by Area & Meeting of Expectations

Satisfaction by Area Middle School

How would you rate your overall Satisfaction with the following areas, as provided to your child at RIS Middle School?


Overall, a large majority of 95% of parents are satisfied with RIS Middle School. Academic Education is the area with the highest levels of satisfaction. School Culture & Environment has the highest levels of dissatisfaction.

Expectations Middle School

How would you say that your expectations have been met in terms of the overall education and experience provided to your child at RIS Middle School?


Over three quarters of Middle School parents had their expectations met. For the balance of parents, 10% had expectations exceeded and 14% found expectations unmet.







Responses 102

RIS High SchoolSatisfaction by Area & Meeting of Expectations

Satisfaction by Area High School

How would you rate your overall Satisfaction with the following areas, as provided to your child at RIS High School?


Overall, a large majority of 93% of parents are satisfied with RIS High School. Half the parents are very to extremely satisfied with Academic Education. School Administration and School Culture & Environment have the highest levels of dissatisfaction.

Expectations High School

How would you say that your expectations have been met in terms of the overall education and experience provided to your child at RIS High School?


A majority of 64% of High School parents had their expectations met. The balance of parents were split with 18% having expectations exceeded and 18% not meeting expectations.







Responses 173

Academic EducationSatisfaction with Attributes

Academic Education Satisfaction (1 of 2)

Rate for each attribute how satisfied you are with RIS.


Ranked by “top two box” ratings (Very to Extremely Satisfied), Mathematics, Humanities and Combined Science are rated highest.

Academic Education Satisfaction (2 of 2)



Field Trips and Drama receive the fewest “top two box” ratings (Very to Extremely Satisfied), while IT Curriculum, Physical Education and Field Trips receive the most dissatisfaction.


Fac

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Low High


Priority Area No. 2

MAINTAIN !


IMPROVE !

Priority Area No. 4

MAINTAIN !

Priority Area No. 3



•Satisfaction scores for each factor are plotted onto the ‘Y axis’ and Impact of each factor (calculated against Academic Education Satisfaction) is plotted on the ‘X axis’.

•The Four Quadrants identify the Priority for each of the measured factors – for RIS the areas that are in most need of attention are High School and Middle School Educational Assessment (i.e. how RIS assesses the progress and performance of students).

Academic Education Key Drivers of Satisfaction



Academic Education Selected Verbatim Responses

(focusing on key drivers identified as priorities for improvement)

Please give us any additional comments or suggestions you may have on the above:.


“Report cards are too much...shorten length of the report card...”

Thai mother of Grades 4 & 6 students

Expatriate mother of Grade 7 student

“Too much assessment for middle school which sometimes is too soon to see the different or progress but the pressure.”

Expatriate mother of Grade 5 student & RIS employee

“It's almost frustrating whenever I receive my child's report card ever since she started RIS in 2006. It does not seem to personally communicate enough about my child's performance. The 'letter grade' assigned is not a problem but the comments teachers write for every subject seem to be just a 'click and done' thing. Some statements do not even have my child's name on it. Others have 2 different phrases that do not exactly match in the same sentence which makes it very obvious that the teacher just clicked 2 options and have not even read the resulting statement to at least make sense and personalize it to refer to "Child A". this is something that need to be tightened up. I am also a teacher and I know what is report writing all about and so it is extremely disappointing to see such all these time.”

Thai mother of Grade 12 student & RIS employee

“Some teachers don't provide timely feedback on assessments and the assessment instruments or process vary greatly from one teacher to another within the same courses..”

Teaching StaffSatisfaction with Attributes

Teaching Staff Satisfaction (1 of 2)



Teaching staff are rated very highly for “Updates on your child’s progress in class” with 43% of parents very to extremely satisfied .

Teaching Staff Satisfaction (2 of 2)



The “Appropriateness of homework your child receives” has the fewest “top two box” ratings (Very to Extremely Satisfied) and the most dissatisfaction.


Fac

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Low High


Priority Area No. 2

MAINTAIN !


IMPROVE !

Priority Area No. 4

MAINTAIN !

Priority Area No. 3



•Satisfaction scores for each factor are plotted onto the ‘Y axis’ and Impact of each factor (calculated against Teaching Staff Satisfaction) is plotted on the ‘X axis’.

•The Four Quadrants identify the Priority for each of the measured factors – for RIS the areas that are in most need of attention are Parent-teacher communication and Access to teaching staff. Although appropriateness of homework is not highly impactful on overall satisfaction with teaching staff, it does receive high levels of dissatisfaction and many open-ended comments from parents, and for this reason perhaps warrants some further attention.

Teaching Staff Key Drivers of Satisfaction



Teaching Staff Selected Verbatim Responses




“My son has got too many homework assignments for one evening with next day due date which deprived him time for reviewing lesson for test or quiz.”

Asian non-Thai father of Grade 9 student

North American mother of Grade 12 student

“More communication with parents on child's progress would help.”

Thai father of Grade 6 student

“It is difficult to contact teachers directly through email unless one knows their email address. Teachers with common names (David, Bob, etc.) are not always easy to contact, as they may go by a nickname. All teacher contact information should be available on the website.”


“The communication between teachers and parents should be more elaborate and open. Elaborate Plan of studies each semester should be sent by individual subject teachers to every parent and a broad guideline of the whole gamut of topics which would be covered during the 4 semesters of Grade 11 and 12 leading to IB or AP exams, so that parents feel satisfied and comfortable that there would be enough time and resources available to students from teachers to explain and cover each of the topics of the syllabus.”

“By comparing to other international schools, RIS somehow gives a lot of homework to high school students, children are always too busy doing there homework sparing no time for family at all, even on Sundays. Whereas children from other Int school of the same grade enjoys a lot more leisure time. Requesting very strongly to implement this point. Thank you.”


School FacilitiesSatisfaction with Attributes

School Facilities Satisfaction (1 of 2)



Ranked by “top two box” ratings (Very to Extremely Satisfied), Quality of Library facilities offered at RIS is the highest rated facility attribute. The quality of sports facilities receives relatively high levels of dissatisfaction at 17%.

School Facilities Satisfaction (2 of 2)



There are very high levels of dissatisfaction with RIS’s canteen and the food on offer.


Fac

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Priority Area No. 2

MAINTAIN !


IMPROVE !

Priority Area No. 4

MAINTAIN !

Priority Area No. 3



•Satisfaction scores for each factor are plotted onto the ‘Y axis’ and Impact of each factor (calculated against School Facilities Satisfaction) is plotted on the ‘X axis’.

•The Four Quadrants identify the Priority for each of the measured factors – for RIS the areas that are in most need of attention are the quality, variety and nutritional content of student food.

School Facilities Key Drivers of Satisfaction



School Facilities Selected Verbatim Responses




“The variety of food in canteen needs a lot of improvement. No need for fancy food, but we need more basic food (rice and meals) that can be taken during lunch. There are now too many fancy food but very little vegetables and quality of the food is problematic. My children are trained to eat health food with good combination of rice, meat and vegetables, and they do not get that kind of food in the canteen..”

RIS employee & expatriate mother of Grades 1 student

North American father of Grade 4 student

“The nutritional content and quality of ingredients in the food that the students HAVE to eat (My child is required to have the set lunch program) is horrible! In fact, the ES students have access to way too many unhealthy foods! Fried food everywhere...no good nutritional options.”

Expatriate father of Grades 5 & 7 students

“The canteen is the weakest aspect of the entire campus. It doesn't measure up to the quality of the rest of the school. The menus are inconsistent, the canteen itself is sometimes unclean, frequently floods during rainy season, and is not a pleasant space to have lunch in. The one bright spot about the canteen is the people working there are generally nice and provide good customer service.”

School FacilitiesVariety of Food from Different Cultures - Subgroup Analysis



A relatively higher proportion of Asian, non-Thais tend to be dissatisfied with the variety of food from different cultures.

Category % nThai 72.65 247Asian, non Thai 16.76 57North American 5.00 17Other 3.53 12European 2.06 7Total (100.00)340

Node 0

Category % nThai 78.92 176Asian, non Thai 11.21 25North American 4.04 9Other 3.59 8European 2.24 5Total (65.59)223

Node 2Category % nThai 60.68 71Asian, non Thai 27.35 32North American 6.84 8Other 3.42 4European 1.71 2Total (34.41)117

Node 1

What is your nationality?

[Topic: Variety of food from different cultures Question: Please read all of the below attributes on the left, then rate for each attribute how satisfied you are with RIS.

Please choose ONE answer only for each attribute, and make a choice for ALL attImprovement=0.0136

>Dissatisfied<=Dissatisfied

Classification and regression trees (CART) is a non-parametric Decision tree learning technique that produces either classification or regression trees, depending on whether the dependent variable is categorical or numeric, respectively.

32/57 = 56%

School Culture & Environment Satisfaction with Attributes

School Culture & Environment Satisfaction (1 of 1)



There are very high levels of satisfaction for the use of English as the formal instructional / academic language. However it is notable how polarized parents are on the use of English on RIS campus for informal social communication language. Bullying appears to not be a serious issue, although having 2% of parents extremely dissatisfied with a protective and safe environment may be 2% too much.


Fac

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Lo

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Low High


Priority Area No. 2

MAINTAIN !


IMPROVE !

Priority Area No. 4

MAINTAIN !

Priority Area No. 3



•Satisfaction scores for each factor are plotted onto the ‘Y axis’ and Impact of each factor (calculated against School Culture & Environment Satisfaction) is plotted on the ‘X axis’.

•The Four Quadrants identify the Priority for each of the measured factors – for RIS the areas that are in most need of attention are the use of English on campus for informal social communication.

School Culture & Environment Key Drivers of Satisfaction



School Culture & Environment Selected Verbatim Responses




“On break time, this is not an international school. It is a Thai school for the most part. Westerner kids can feel very left out with the other kids speaking Thai while not in class.”

“The children speak too much Thai, and their Thai become Thai-glish..”

Expatriate mother of Grades 8 student

Asian non-Thai mother of Grade 7 & 10 students

“Most of the students speak Thai despite being told several times that they should communicate in English. This leaves our child stranded because she doesn’t understand Thai. She ends up feeling left out and has only very limited friends.”

Expatriate father of Grades 5 & 7 students

“Use of English on campus is far short of what is found in other International Schools in Bangkok. This is a result of insufficient number of international students.”

Thai mother of Grade 8 student

School Culture & Environment Protective and Safe School Environment - Subgroup Analysis



A higher proportion of fathers tend to be very satisfied with the Protective and Safe School Environment.

n = 142 n = 193

School AdministrationSatisfaction with Attributes

School Administration Satisfaction (1 of 2)



Ranked by “top two box” ratings (Very to Extremely Satisfied), “Access to and helpfulness of” school admissions & testing staff and the principal are rated highest.

School Administration Satisfaction (2 of 2)



The transparency of the school’s decision-making processes and the appropriateness of decisions for future direction of the school receive the fewest “top two box” ratings (Very to Extremely Satisfied), while over one-third of parents are dissatisfied with the transparency issue.


Fac

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Priority Area No. 2

MAINTAIN !


IMPROVE !

Priority Area No. 4

MAINTAIN !

Priority Area No. 3

MONITOR !Low Satisfaction, High Impact


•Satisfaction scores for each factor are plotted onto the ‘Y axis’ and Impact of each factor (calculated against School Administration Satisfaction) is plotted on the ‘X axis’.

•The Four Quadrants identify the Priority for each of the measured factors – for RIS the areas that are in most need of attention are Transparency of the school’s decision-making processes and Decisions for future direction of the school.

School Administration Key Drivers of Satisfaction



School Administration Selected Verbatim Responses




“Never know what the future direction of the school is nor the transparency of the school's decision-making processes. This is one area that still needs improvement and effective communication. Would be nice to have quarterly assembly for parents so school can inform about future directions or projects.”

“Transparency is a problem with the school, especially recent financial problems. Too many rumors going around without any authoritative input from the board and/or administrators.”

Thai mother of Grades 5 and 7 students

Expatriate mother of Grade 12 student

“Administrative decisions on some items seem to be last minute, not always thought out.”

Expatriate father of Grades 5 and 7 students

“The biggest problem this school has is the lack of communication between the heads of the school and everyone else. Things get done secretly and out of sight so things go unnoticed.”

Expatriate father of Kg and Grade 2 students

“I feel RIS should communicate in a transparent manner it's current position. A particular good example is that about 1-2 years ago, there were rumours that RIS is in financial difficulties. The school published notices saying this is not so. It would have been much more convincing if RIS would then have disclosed is audited financial report and circularise these to parents to provide them with the necessary assurance on the school's position.”


School Administration Transparency of the school’s decision-making processes -

Subgroup Analysis



A total of 25 of 32 parents (78%) that are RIS employees are dissatisfied or extremely dissatisfied with transparency of the school’s decision-making processes.

n = 308 n = 32

School Communication Methods Effectiveness

School Communication MethodsEffectiveness

Please rate the following parental communication methods for keeping you informed?


SMS is seen as the most effective means of communicating with parents followed by e-mail as the second most effective method.

School Communication MethodsSelected Verbatim Responses



“Why is it 4 days planner, how about 5. It gets confused every beginning of the month..”

“On weekends or crisis times there doesn't seem to be web updates because nobody is at your school to make them.”

Expatriate father of Grades 7 student& RIS employee


“I and my wife both receive SMS messages for early dismissal of school, which I appreciate so much.”

Thai mother of Grade 4 student

“I don't check mail daily but my phone is always with me, so SMS is most effective.”

Thai mother of Grade 5 & 7 students

“At the HS level, at least, parents seldom have access to their kids' planners, so as a method of communicating with the parents, the planners are useless. The school website has had incorrect information on it for some time ~ for example, there was some confusion about early-release days in November. The website in one place said one date and in another place said another date.”

North American mother of Grade 12 student

School Image

Perceptions of RIS Sorted by Agreement (1 of 3)

We would like to understand how much you Agree or Disagree with the perceptions towards


Most parents (94%) agree that RIS develops and enhances academic achievement.


We would like to understand how much you Agree or Disagree with the perceptions towards:


Over 85% agree they would recommend RIS for Middle School and Elementary School years.


We would like to understand how much you Agree or Disagree with the perceptions towards:


Over half of parents disagree that RIS is a school that has a good “international feel” and that RIS is a school with an appropriate diversity of different student nationalities.

Perceptions of RIS


Perceptual map created with Correspondence Analysis, a statistical visualization method for picturing the associationsbetween the levels of a two-way contingency table.


Perceptions of RIS


There is little differentiation of the image of RIS amongst the parent’s of children in the three school groups. Middle School parents are somewhat less likely to agree that RIS is a school that has a good “international feel”.

There is little differentiation of the image of RIS amongst the parent’s of children in the three school groups. Middle School parents are somewhat less likely to agree that RIS is a school that has a good “international feel”.



Choosing RIS

Who was the main decision-maker in selecting RIS as the school for your child?

RIS Decision Maker


60% of the parents responding to the survey claimed to be the main decision-maker in selecting RIS as the school for their children. Other responses consisted of a joint decision, employers decision, a friends decision or their child’s decision.


Me 60% 199

Spouse 28% 93

Joint Decision 4% 14

Employer 4% 13

Other (please specify) 4% 14

Responses 333

Please tell us the reasons why you chose RIS for your child in the first place when your child joined. (multiple choice)

Reasons for Selecting RIS


Good reputation and good academic record were cited by a majority of parents as reasons for selecting RIS for their children. RIS’s reputation for English instruction and its location are also important factors.


General Reputation 57% 189

Good Academic Record 51% 170

Reputation for English Instruction

46% 152

Location 44% 147

Friend/Family Children Also Attend

33% 108

Recommendation 32% 105

Reasonable School Fees 21% 71

Good Sports Record 2% 7

Others, please specify 8% 27

Responses 332

Please tell us the reasons why you chose RIS for your child in the first place when your child joined. (multiple choice)

Reasons for Selecting RISSubgroup Analysis - By School


Amongst parents with children in Elementary School, location is the most cited reasons for selecting RIS for their children,

:

Which of the following magazines or newspapers do you regularly read in your household? (multiple choice)

Readership


Over half of RIS parents are regular readers of the Bangkok Post which has over twice the readership of the Nation.


Bangkok Post 53% 177

The Nation 23% 78

Manager 22% 74

Praew (Thai Magazine) 20% 66

Big Chili 0% 1

Others, please specify 39% 128

Responses 332

Contact Us for Further Information

Mr. Andy Gower Managing Partner

Phone : +66 2713 6070Fax : +66 2713 6074

Mobile : +66 81 551 4744

Email : [email protected]

Mr. Phoung VuthyAssociate Research Director

Phone : +855 23 21 20 22Fax : +855 23 21 20 22

Mobile : +855 12 610 677

Email : [email protected]

Thailand17th Floor, 42 Tower,

Sukhumvit Soi 42, Bangkok

Cambodia#134, Street. 430,

Khan Chamkhamorn, Phnom Phen,

Documents

Ruamrudee International School Parent Survey 2010 Final Report 20 December 2010