DEVELOPMENT OF AN ADDITIONAL COURSE IN ELDERLY CARE TO ENHANCE OLDER ADULTS’ QUALITY OF LIFE IN FOUR DIMENSIONS AND STRENGTHEN SOCIAL COMPETENCE AMONG LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) develop an additional course, “Elderly Care for Enhancing the Quality of Life of the Elderly in Four dimensions and Promoting Social Competence among Lower Secondary school Students” and 2) examine the effectiveness of the developed course. This study employed a research and development design consisting of three phases. Phase 1 involved a study of basic information and needs assessment. The target group consisted of 25 elderly people living in Mueang District, Phetchabun Province, selected through purposive sampling. A semi-structured interview was used to collect the data. Phase 2 involved curriculum development and quality validation. The target group consisted of five curriculum experts who evaluated the appropriateness of the course using a curriculum evaluation form. Phase 3 involved curriculum implementation and evaluation of the developed course. The sample, selected stratified random sampling, consisted of 30 lower secondary school students in Grades 7–9 at Ban Tok School. The research instruments included a curriculum implementation manual, a knowledge and understanding test on elderly care, a social competence assessment form, and a student satisfaction questionnaire. The item-objective congruence indices of the research instruments ranged from 0.60 to 1.00, and the knowledge and understanding test had a reliability coefficient of 0.86. The data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, content analysis, and dependent samples t-test.
The research findings were as follows:
1. The needs assessment indicated that elderly people required support in four dimensions: physical, psychological, social, and economic. Overall, the level of appropriateness of the course was high (M = 4.13, S = 0.77).
2. The effectiveness of the implementation of the course showed that:
2.1 Students’ knowledge and understanding of elderly care after the implementation of the course was significantly higher than before the implementation at the .05 level. The mean score before the implementation was 14.79 (S = 2.81), while the mean score after the implementation was 26.61 (S = 1.87) (t = 28.94, p < .05). 2.2 Students’ social competence after the implementation of the course was higher than the specified criterion (M = 32.45, S = 2.10).
2.3 Students’ overall satisfaction with the learning activities in the course was at a high level (M = 4.38, S = 0.74).