nstructional Model for News and Media Consumption of the Disadvantaged People in Highland Areas of Chiang Rai Province

Abstract

The aims of this study were: 1) to examine the circumstances, problems, and needs in the instructional model for news and media consumption of the disadvantaged people in highland areas of Chiang Rai province; 2) to investigate the causal factors influencing news and media consumption of the disadvantaged people in highland areas of Chiang Rai province; and 3) to develop the practical instruction model for the disadvantaged people in highland areas of Chiang Rai province. The sample group was 250 disadvantaged residents, living in the highland areas of Chiang Rai province, recruited by multistage random sampling. Recruited by purposive sampling, five experts were invited to develop the instructional model and the other 10 experts were employed to validate the developed instructional model. Research instruments were structured interview and questionnaires. Index of congruence was employed in validating the instruments and the IOC index was 0.66-1.00. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and path analysis using LISREL. Focus group discussion was conducted to draft and validate the instructional model for news and media consumption of the disadvantaged people in the highland area of Chiang Rai province.

1. Majority of the disadvantaged people in the highland area was male with their age range 36-45 years old. Their nationality was Thai and more than 50% had no formal education. Their career choice was employee and their income was 2,501-5,000 Baht/month. Majority did not hold any knowledge about media. For those who knew about media gained knowledge from their organization and self-study.
2. The circumstances, problems, and needs in news and media consumption of the disadvantaged people in highland area of Chiang Rai province, the findings showed that the main source of news and media for these people was television with an aim for following news & updates. The favorite types of news were entertainment and politics. The settings of news consumption was at home and during the night (18.00-24.00 hrs.).
3. The instructional management of the organization for news and media consumption of the disadvantaged people in highland area of Chiang Rai province, the findings showed that the main means of instructional management for news and media consumption was frequent informing important news to the disadvantaged people. Regarding the problems in instructional management of the organization for news and media consumption was the lack of competent personnel in managing information system about the disadvantaged people. For the needs in instructional management of news and media for the disadvantaged people in the highland area, the majority of the respondents needed the training in this regard so that they could consume/use the media correctly and appropriately. The training course should focus on knowledge and skills in manipulating the news and media which would correspond to the fact that the disadvantaged people in the highland area should hold knowledge and skills in news and media consumption.
4. The highest influential factor affecting the news and media consumption of the disadvantaged people in the highland area of Chiang Rai province was reliability of the news. The highest direct influential factor towards news and media consumption of the disadvantaged people in the highland area was reliability of the news, while the highest indirect influential factor towards news and media consumption of the disadvantaged people in highland area was attitudes towards the news and media. Problems in news and media consumption of the disadvantaged people in highland area was time constraint due to jobs obligation.
5. The developed instructional model for news and media consumption for the disadvantaged people in highland area of Chiang Rai province was NEWS  &  MEDIA which held the following components: Network (N) Establish networking instructional management , Environment (E) mInstructional management based on contexts and situations, Wake up (W) Activate consciousness in choosing and using appropriate news & media, Source (S) Manage news & media resources for convenient access,  Material (M)  Preparation of equipments for news & media consumption, Educate (E) Educate accurate means in consuming news & media, Development (D) Develop instructional management methods for consistent news & media consumption, Information (I) Develop information database for systematic learning of news & media, Advice (A) Provide advice, assistance, or dissemination of news frequently.