The Mediating Role of Pre-service Teachers in Local Development Activities: An Ethnography of Learning in Multicultural Communities of Northeastern Thailand, A Case study of Ubon Ratchathani Rajabhat University

Abstract

This ethnographic study aimed to: 1) explore the communication experiences of pre-service teachers
in local development activities, 2) analyze the factors facilitating and obstructing their mediating role, and 3)
develop a mediating role model for pre-service teachers in multicultural contexts. The study employed a
qualitative approach grounded in an interpretive framework. Forty-two purposively selected informants
participated across three groups: 33 pre-sevice teachers, 5 supemising lecturers and instructors, and 4
community leaders and local experts in multicultural communities of north-eastern Thailand, ,he principal site
was the Bru ethnic community of Ban ,ha Long (Khong Chiam District), with additional sites at Ban Chi Thuan
(Khueang Nai District), Ban Chang Mo (Warin Chamrap District), and Ban Si Than (Yasothon Province). Data
were collected between October 2024 and October 2025 using open-ended questionnaires, in-depth
interviews, participant observation, reflective journals, and field notes, continuing until theoretical saturation
was reached.

Regarding the first objective, the core experience of pre-sevice teachers was contextualcommunication: adjusting register and language variety for different interlocutor groups to reduce status distance and build trust. Second, facilitating factors included cultural understanding, the ability to translate academic knowledge into everyday language, and structural cooperation from the community and institution. Obstacles involved linguistic and cultural differences, misinterpretation, managerial constraints, and
psychological factors. Third, the study developed a mediating role model structured as a four-stage process:
1) access and rapport building, 2) message transfer and reception, 3) negotiation and application, and 4)
reflection and data return, The model indicates that obstacles serve as learning spaces rather than failures,
helping pre-service teachers transition from simple message senders to cultural interpreters. This
development occurred on two levels: pre-service teachers gained intercultural competence in knowledge,
skills, and attitudes, while communities received innovations and media produced through joint work.
Ultimately, the model provides a practical framework for designing teacher education curricula and local
development activities in Rajabhat University contexts.