Problems in Participatory Agricultural Based Instruction for Cambodian Students in Border Areas of Chanthaburi Province

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to study the problems in Participatory Agricultural Based Instruction for Cambodian students who have studied in the schools around the border areas of Chanthaburi Province. The sample groups were selected from Ban Laem School, Ban Plang School, Ban Pho School, and Ban Jang Wang School in Chanthaburi Province. The criteria used to select the particular schools were consisted of 1) teachers, students, or local intellectuals volunteering for the research project and parents 2) school had an agricultural farms. The research instruments were interview forms and focus group discussions.

The research findings were as follows: Most schools focus on early childhood programs through the 6^th grade. The social structure includes workers who are from Cambodia and have moved to Thailand’s border areas in Pong Nam Ron District where is full of longan gardens. Most of the Cambodian workers earn their living by being longan pickers. As a result, the Cambodian workers need to send their children to schools in the border areas for their kids can gain knowledge and apply all the learning back in Cambodia or in their way of life. The instruction has based on knowledge transfer to students.  Also, teachers lack of synthesis in academic knowledge. The teachers mostly participated in many different training courses; nevertheless, they have no idea how to apply the knowledge to their classes and authentic learning situations. Moreover, the past training courses were different from school and teacher contexts. With these situations, the students do not show any learning improvement. The teacher development, learning management based on Self-Sufficiency Economy Theory, instructional material and learning innovation development, constructionism based instruction, and practically participatory moral and ethics promotion are required in these schools.