The Enhancement of Social Engineer Potential for The Sustainable Development of Local Communities

Abstract

   This research aims to enhance students’ social engineering skills to analyze and make connections between the reasons, causes, and effects of events to apply the skill to create innovations for local community development through participatory action research. The samples for quantitative study were 130 students. For the qualitative study, the samples included the experts in education field and lectures in total of 35 and local leaders and local people in total of 50. The research tools were questionnaires, interview forms, observation forms, and group discussion recordings. Quantitative data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation and content analysis and thematic analysis were used to analyze qualitative data.

   The results included: 1. the development of students’ social engineering skills to analyze and connect reasons and causes of things, showed that they had knowledge and understanding of social engineering equipment at a high level and had satisfaction with the training at the highest level; 2. the employment of the skills to create innovations for local community development, showed that the participants effectively practiced using social engineering equipment and techniques to collect in-depth data to create innovations through a systematic thinking process. The innovations were: 1. Coconut wafer, Ban Sam Klew 2. playground for children with special needs 3. elderly’s foot massage pathway 4. goat manure compost 5. PaWai Housewives Group’s puffed rice 6. Pa Wai Thung Housewives Group’s minced fermented fish 7. small herbal massage compressor 8. Ban Pa Tan's Thai classic-style embroidered fabric 9. Ban Pa Tan’s DIY brush-dyed fabric and 10. knowledge of Lao Wiang's fire-lying after childbirth, Ban Pa Tan, and 3. the success factor of social engineer development was that the participants had  a chance to learn from real practices. With this, they gained knowledge and skills in doing the fieldwork to help develop innovations for the local community. The success factor in creating innovations was due to the cooperation and participation of people and local government organizations in the communities.