The Participatory Local Curriculum Development on Crab Bank in the Southern Border Provinces

Abstract

This study prioritized the development of the local curriculum on the Crab Bank under the research project on participatory management of the crab bank to restore blue swimming crab resources, add more crabs' value, and develop a local curriculum for schools in the southern border provinces of Thailand that recognized the importance of local curriculum and the cost of knowledge about the crab bank to the communities and schools, leading to the development of local curriculum for primary schools in the 3 southern border provinces. This study employed document analysis with participatory action research among higher education institutions, schools, and communities. The findings suggested that the basic knowledge of the crab bank that corresponded to primary school students consisted of 6 key contents: 1) gathering of groups and volunteers for the crab bank, 2) necessary crab bank models and necessary public utility systems, 3) the origin of mother berried crab or crab eggs, 4) crab hatching and nursery, 5) releasing baby crabs into natural water sources, and 6) performance evaluation. The content of the crab bank was consistent with the Social Studies Course's indicators in the Department of Economics and Geography, including the Occupation and Technology Course. Moreover, the local curriculum produced value and space use as well as sustainability in education, community economy, and society.