Confucian Educational Values as Interpretive Pedagogical Resources in Cross-Cultural Higher Education: Chinese Teachers in an International Program in Southern Thailand

บทคัดย่อ

This research consists purposes were 1. to identify the Confucian educational values emphasized by Chinese teachers in the International Program, Faculty of International Studies, Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus and 2. to investigate how these values were enacted through the dimensions of hierarchy, silence, discipline and teacher role in classroom practice. The study employed a qualitative interpretive case study design. Five Chinese teachers were purposely selected for their educational backgrounds in China and direct teaching experience in a Thai international program. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and document analysis and were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results found that 1) teachers focused on respect for teachers, propriety, self-discipline, effort, responsibility and integrity, but these were understood broadly rather than as rigid cultural rules and 2) Hierarchies were negotiated, silence indicative of contemplation, uncertainty or anxiety, discipline constructed through institutional and relational practice and the role of teachers oscillated between transmission of knowledge and moral guidance. This study suggests that the international higher education classroom in Thailand demonstrates a hybrid pedagogy in which Confucian educational values are interpreted and adapted as pedagogical resources through intercultural interaction. The findings add to scholarship on Confucian Heritage Culture and intercultural pedagogy and have practical implications for teacher development and international program design in Southern Thailand.