Development of a Local Curriculum on the Topic of Nongkhai Special Economic Development Zone for the Social Studies, Religion and Culture Strand, Office of the Secondary Education Service Area 21

Abstract

This research aimed to: 1) study the needs for local curriculum development on the topic of Nongkhai Special Economic Development Zone; 2) develop a local curriculum on the topic of Nongkhai Special Economic Development Zone; 3) try out the local curriculum on the topic of Nongkhai Special Economic Development Zone, in order to 3.1) study the efficiency of the local curriculum, 3.2) compare the pre-learning and post-learning achievements of the students. The target group consisted of 49 grade 9 students in the 1^st semester of the academic year 2017 of Chumpholphonphisai School, Office of the Secondary Education Service Area 21, obtained through purposive sampling. The instruments were plans of organizing for learning,  a questionnaire on the needs for local curriculum development, and an achievement test. The analysis of data employed percentage, the mean and standard deviation, and t-test was employed in testing the difference between the pre-learning and post-learning achievements.

The results were as follows:

1. From the interviews with academic teachers, teachers of the Social Studies, Religion and Culture Strand, and the basic education institution committee members, they needed to have local curriculum development and they needed it because the context of the school was appropriate, the content was specific to Nongkhai Special Economic Development Zone, it promoted readiness for prospective changes, and it could be used in daily life.

2. The local curriculum that had been developed consisted of 16 components: introduction, vision, principles, purposes, learner’s main competencies, learner’s desirable characteristics, learning substances and standards, learning standards and indicators, course descriptions, learning objectives, organizing for learning, media and learning sources, structure, time allotted, measurement and evaluation, and learning units. The content consisted of 6 learning units, namely: Unit 1-History and Background of Nongkhai Special Economic Development Zone; Unit 2-Topography of Nongkhai Province; Unit 3-Economic System; Unit 4-Population; Unit 5-Society and Culture; and Unit 6-Immunity. The results of the local curriculum evaluation by experts revealed that the aspect of the local curriculum structure, the aspect of the learning unit, and the aspect of plans of organizing for learning, were at the most appropriate level. In addition, the evaluation of the plans of organizing for learning was also at the most appropriate level.

3. The results of the local curriculum tryout revealed that the grade 9 students who studied in the local curriculum on the topic of Nongkhai Special Economic Development Zone showed:

3.1 The efficiency of using the curriculum (E₁/E₂) = 81.37/85.10, which was in accordance with the criterion set;

3.2 The post-learning achievement score was higher than the pre-learning score, with statistical significance at the level of .05.