ASEAN Studies Instruction Integrating Folk Dress Culture to Promote Students’ Product Creation in the Special Economic Zone

Abstract

This research aimed to (1) develop instructional guidelines for an ASEAN Studies course that uses folk dress culture as a basis for creative learning and (2) examine students’ satisfaction with the developed ASEAN Studies instruction in the context of the Chiang Rai Special Economic Zone. This development and evaluation research was conducted with a sample of 38 Grade 9 students (Mathayom 3.5) at Samakkhi Witthayakhom School, Chiang Rai Province, in the second semester of the 2025 academic year, selected through purposive sampling. The research instruments comprised (1) a set of learning activities designed in five steps: stimulating experience and setting learning issues, exploring folk dress culture, designing creative product concepts, creating the work, and presenting, sharing, and reflecting; and (2) an 18-item, five-point rating scale satisfaction questionnaire. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and descriptive statistics. The results revealed the following: (1) The developed instructional guidelines consisted of the five steps described above. They enabled students to learn about ASEAN through familiar cultural dimensions, connect local identity with the concept of the creative economy, and develop creative product concepts. (2) The students’ overall satisfaction with the instruction was at the highest level (  = 4.82, S.D. = 0.32). When considered by aspect, learning management had the highest mean (  = 4.85, S.D. = 0.29), followed by learning content (  = 4.82, S.D. = 0.43), and benefits from practice and career application (  = 4.80, S.D. = 0.39). These findings indicate that this instruction is appropriate for the educational context of the border area and the Chiang Rai Special Economic Zone.