Implementation of “Elderly School” Policy for Quality of Life Improvement in the Southern Region

Abstract

Owing to the increase in the elderly population worldwide and in Thailand, government policies play a vital role in determining directions for improving their quality of life. “Elderly School” is one of those policies which has been put into practice in several areas of Thailand and was considered an issue of this study which aimed to investigate the implementation of “Elderly School” policy for quality of life improvement in the southern region, success factors, problems and barriers of the policy implementation as well as to formulate a policy proposal. Data were gathered through documents,
in-depth interviews with 18 individuals involved with elderly school operations in the southern region. The data were analyzed using content analysis and were then validated using triangulation. The findings revealed that 1) quality of life improvement among elderly in Thailand concretely began in 1982 through activities, long-term plans for the elderly, Thai Elderly Declaration, Elderly Person Act, with the development of government policies up until now. 2) Elderly schools in the southern region carry out their operations, based on different area contexts, according to the Department of Older Persons’ operational framework including group, committee, regulation, activity, and funds. Success factors of elderly schools consisted of 1) transformational leadership, 2) clear goals, 3) participatory process, 4) strong partnership network, and 5) knowledge sharing and study visits. Major problems uncovered included 1) not being subject to any governmental authority, 2) meager budget, and 3) shortage of next generation operators.