The Development of Teaching Pattern for Promoting the Building up of Character Education Based on Sufficiency Economy Philosophy in Thailand

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a teaching pattern that promotes the building up of desirable character based on the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy in Thailand. The study employed Delphi Technique and with help from experts who voluntarily verified the teaching pattern that had been constructed from the beginning to the end. The collected data were systematically analyzed to ensure an effective teaching pattern fitting for teachers and educational offices to use or make appropriate application. The target group of experts for the verification of the teaching pattern consisted of 31 educators in the northeastern parts of Thailand, i.e.7 school administrators, 6 educational supervisors and 18 teachers. These experts have been officially recognized as Master Teachers before. A questionnaire (constructed in accordance with the Philosophy of Efficiency Economy for the building up of desirable character, i.e. hard work, thriftiness and be satisfied with what one has got) was used to elicit the experts’ opinions in which they were asked to answer the same questions for three times until a consensus was reached. A review of the first consensus revealed that no less than 90% of the respondents agreed on every point. The present researcher then made several adjustments accordingly in order to be in line with the aim of the research project. The adjusted questionnaire was then sent to the experts for a second round of verification. This time the respondents made a “High” level of opinion in favor of every point (the lowest X being 4.67). The questionnaire, as opined by the respondents showed a median of 5 on every point and all the points were consistent with one another, and, therefore, suitable for using as a research instrument. In the third round a consensus was reached by the experts.from the affirmation of their opinions in the second round. The experts’ affirmation was within the inter-quartile range of 0 which made every point on the questionnaire more consistent with one another.The finished teaching pattern for the development of desirable character in Northeastern students in accordance with the principles of Sufficiency Economy Philosophy consists of 3 steps. The first step is to prescribe learning unit by using student development activities as the basis for analyzing the main principles of the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy, to set criteria for analyzing desirable character in line with the development of school curriculum, to prescribe course descriptions, to prepare integrated mind-mapping indicators, and to organize backward learning unit. The second step is for designing learning activities and lesson plans based on project-based learning and utilization of community resources. The third step of application is for the teachers of each level to try the pattern on the students during their developmental activities. The teachers will be expected to collect data and to prepare a report on the results of the experiment for further publication.