FORESIGH 2024-2034: THE FUTURE LANDSCAPE OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT IN THAILAND'S VOCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

This research aimed to: (1) investigate prospective scenarios of educational technology and communications management in Thai vocational schools for the period 2024-2034, and (2) offer policy recommendations for their advancement utilising the Ethnographic Delphi Futures Research (EDFR) approach. The study had three phases: 1) Conduct a literature research and analysis utilising the AECT (2012) framework, focusing on pertinent theories and documents. The AECT (2012) framework includes five fundamental standards: content knowledge, content pedagogy, learning settings, professional knowledge and skills, and research. 2) employed the EDFR technique with a panel of 22 experts, comprising five senior management officials from the Office of the Vocational Education Commission, three university lecturers specialising in educational technology and communications, two educational supervisors, college administrators, six instructors, and one representative from an educational technology enterprise. There are three rounds in the EDFR method. Semi-structured interviews were done in Round 1. In Round 2, a questionnaire was designed based on the expert interviews and disseminated to the same cohort. In Round 3, experts were provided with statistical feedback, comprising percentage values, median, and interquartile range (IQR), in conjunction with their prior responses. They were thereafter requested to validate or amend their responses. 3) The results identified five developing trends in content knowledge, four in content pedagogy, six in learning environments, eleven in professional knowledge and skills, and four in research. Twelve policy proposals were presented to direct the advancement of educational technology and communications management in Thai vocational schools during the upcoming decade (2024-2034).