The development of a school network mobilization program in using a communal forest and folk wisdom as local sustainable learning resources for preschool instruction
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to develop a school network mobilization program in using communal forest and folk wisdom as local sustainable learning resources for preschool instruction. The case study was Ban Makhamku School located in communal forest, Ratchaburi Province. The school networks consisted of 1) within school, 2) community and 3) outside-community The research findings were as follows: 1. In school network mobilization, questions were used in seeking answers to the recurring process of planning, action and reflection. 2. The preschool children used the communal forest and folk wisdom as local sustainable learning resources which related to their real life, created sources for thinking skill practice, stimulated diversed perspective taking and supported understanding of past-present-future time continuity. 3. The preschool teachers used the communal forest and folk wisdom by providing the children with self discovery learning process in real life, changing their roles from resource people to learning condition facilitators, seeking insight into natural law as basis for teaching, and cooperating with older children, other teachers and parents to further create learning networks in and outside the school. The school network mobilization program was a development program which provided short term and long term guidlines for planning, action and reflection to answer the questions brainstorming by the school networks. Based on equality of all the school networks, every group took part in asking questions and selecting activities to find the answers. The program operation was highly flexible to network members ways of life.