IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2017) 8-2

Research articleerd

Development of Distance-Learning Curriculum Model on
Food Safety and Organic Agriculture Developed from theSufficiency Economy Philosophy for the ASEAN
Community
SINEENUCH KHRUTMUANG SANSERM*
School of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University,
Nonthaburi 11120, Thailand
Email: tukstou@hotmail.com

BUMPEN KEOWAN
School of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University,
Nonthaburi 11120, Thailand

BENCHAMAS YOOPRASERT
School of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University,Nonthaburi 11120, Thailand

NAREERUT SEERASARN
School of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University,
Nonthaburi 11120, Thailand
Received 28 December 2016

Accepted 29 Oct 2017(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract The Distance-Learning Model on Food Safety and Organic Agriculture Developed
from the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy for the ASEAN Community was designed by
selecting relevant topical video recordings and translating the contents into nine languages
mostly used in the ASEAN region. Which used to educate the farmers regarding food safety,
supply chain, and organic farming, and to promote the implementation of sufficiency
economy into the ASEAN region. The aims of this research were: 1) to develop a distancelearning curriculum model on food safety and organic agriculture following the sufficiency
economy philosophy for the ASEAN community, 2) to develop learning materials toaccompany the program, and 3) to evaluate the benefits and success of the learning program.
Research, development and evaluation were all administered. Both qualitative andquantitative data were collected. Seminars were organized to garner information from 10
qualified experts in model development processes and procedures. A questionnaire survey
was used to gather data from 70 participants of different nationalities to evaluate the learning
program. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data
were evaluated using content analysis. The findings were as follows: 1) one remarkablefeature of a distance-learning curriculum was the use of video recordings as a major tool in
the learning process, and learning by doing through group study by people living in adjacentcommunities, 2) the learning materials accompanying the program were available in nine
ASEAN languages (Thai, Lao, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Malay, Indonesian, Burmese,Chinese and English), and consisted of: (i) instructional videos covering 15 subjects including
Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, Paradigm Shifts, Food Security, The Way of OrganicFarming, Household Budget and Information Management for Planning, Knowledge
Management, Soil and Water Management, Genetics Management, Alternative Energy,Safety and Organic Food Production, Food Safety Assurance, Packaging Design, GroupManagement, Distribution Management, and Edutainment, (ii) curriculum documents,
handbooks and a list of selected media, and 3) the designated learning program was perceivedto be of the “highest” value. The learning materials were rated “highly” appropriate but withthe “highest” usefulness, and the designated learning program was perceived by the group tobe at a “high” level.
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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2017) 8-2

Keywords model development of distance-learning curriculum, distance-learningcurriculum, food safety, organic agriculture, sufficiency economy philosophy,
ASEAN community

INTRODUCTION
Data retrieved from the AEC Information Center (2015) indicated that most people in the ASEAN
region earn their living through agriculture. Gardening, farming, and fishery are the main occupationsof Malaysians while plantation, forestry, fishery, and animal farming are followed among
Indonesians. Eighty percent of Vietnamese people earn their livelihood from agriculture. In Laos,
Myanmar, and the Philippines agriculture is also the main occupation. However, workers in theagricultural sector are facing health problems and marketing constraints resulting from inappropriate
production methods involving the overuse of pesticides. The chemical contamination is transmitted
from the crops to the farm workers and thence to the consumers. To resolve these problems, severalcountries have implemented national policies to promote safety awareness in agriculture. In Thailand,
the government has attempted to control pesticide imports and the use of non-standard paraquats.
The system of chemical substance registration has been revised, and many hazardous substances are
now banned or have restricted use in several countries. The Thai Government has also controlledadvertising and selling which contravenes the ethically responsible dictates of the Food andAgriculture Organization. The use of organic substances has been promoted to improve the safety ofagricultural producers and consumers. However, unsafe crop practices are still widespread (Officeof Agricultural Economics, 2012).
Government sectors have implemented policies promoting learning to farmers; however, thecurriculum management seemed to fulfill the aims of organizations rather than the needs of learners.
In other words, the learning lacked integration regarding the contents and management. The
curriculum was often organized for short time periods of 3 - 4 days and this was not sufficient for
the learners to achieve meaningful results. In addition, there was no communication between thelearners, or networking to develop and sustain change within the community and society.
Therefore, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU) initiated the Center of DistanceLearning for Sufficiency Economy (2010) to provide community services by inculcating theSufficiency Economy Philosophy or SEP into real-life practices. SEP stresses the importance ofhuman development at all levels and value the need to strengthen community’s capacity to assure abalanced way of life and resilience, with the respect for environment. In 2014, the model of distancelearning on harmless and organic agricultural practices was developed following the sufficiency
economy ideals. The management at the center focuses specifically on learning, allowing learners tostudy by themselves. Furthermore, the distance-learning can be accessed by learners with diverse
backgrounds. The learning program is safe and can be used to increase learner knowledge regardlessof their previous educational levels (Keowan et al., 2015).
STOU realized that agriculture is the spine of the ASEAN region, and its people desperately
want to learn from each other to prepare for being a part of the ASEAN community and cooperateregarding agricultural safety. The university, therefore initiated The Distance-Learning Model onFood Safety and Organic Agriculture Developed from the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy for theASEAN Community by selecting relevant topical video recordings and translating the contents intonine languages mostly used in the ASEAN region: Thai, Lao, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Indonesian,Malay, Burmese, Chinese, and English. Moreover, the distance-learning model will be used toeducate Thai farmers and also farmers in neighboring countries with the knowledge and efficiencyof Thailand regarding food safety, supply, and organic farming, and to promote the implementationof economy sufficiency into the ASEAN region.
OBJECTIVES
The purposes of this research were as follows: 1) to develop a distance-learning curriculum model
on food safety and organic agriculture, following the sufficiency economy philosophy for theⒸ ISERD38

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2017) 8-2

ASEAN community, 2) to develop learning materials to accompany the program, and 3) to evaluate
the benefits and success of the learning program.
METHODOLOGY
Research, curriculum development, and curriculum evaluation were utilized for this research project.
Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected throughout three stages as follows:
1. Curricular Model Development Processes(1) collect, analyze, and synthesize the body of knowledge,(2) design the core structure of the curriculum, courses, and learning management, and(3) organize seminars to collate the information on model development procedure from 10 qualifiedexperts.
2. Learning Materials Development Processes Accompanying the Learning Program(1) produce and translate the contents of the video recordings into nine languages with 15 topics
available for each language, and(2) produce a set of curricular learning documents in each target language consisting of thecurriculum papers, teaching handbooks for management, and a list of the selected media.
3. Curricular Evaluation Processes
Data were collected from 70 research participants from diverse countries to evaluate theachievements of the designed curriculum model of the Distance-Learning Project on Food Safety
and Organic Agriculture Developed from the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy for the ASEAN
Community. A questionnaire was circulated and a seminar was organized for 10 qualified experts toassess the learning achievements of the curriculum. The experts aired their opinions on the working
processes both within and outside the countries regarding production procedure and curriculardevelopment.
The quantitative data was analyzed using percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Qualitative
data was assessed using content analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The model development of the distance-learning curriculum on food safety and organic agriculture
developed from the sufficiency economy philosophy was developed base on the notions of various
scholars. For instance, the ideas of Saylor, Alexander and Lewis (1981: 28-29) were as follows: (1)model development should initially determine goals, objectives, and domains of the curriculum, (2)curriculum design, (3) curriculum implementation, and (4) curriculum evaluation. The notions of
Chompoolong (2002: 53) on local curricular development consisted of (1) analyze basic information,(2) create a curricular draft, (3) examine the curricular draft, (4) implement curriculum sampling, (5)evaluate the curriculum sampling, and (6) improve and revise the curriculum. The notions of
Wongyai (1990: 19) on integrated curriculum development consisted of (1) drafting a curriculum,(2) curriculum implementation, and (3) curriculum evaluation. This research followed three stagesof model curriculum development as follows.
1. Model Development Processes of a Distance-Learning Curriculum on Food Safety andOrganic Agriculture Developed from the Sufficiency Economy PhilosophyⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2017) 8-2

1.1 Analyze and synthesize the body of knowledge: The body of knowledge was analyzed andsynthesized by organizing a meeting of the curriculum development committee and experts to define
and determine the aspects of the curriculum. The model development of this distance- learning
curriculum on food safety and organic agriculture developed from the sufficiency economy
philosophy was different from other typical formal educational programs. The differences were asfollows.
1) Videos were used as a major tool in creating the learning process which proceeded within budget
and achieved high levels of learning advancement. This success was because learners were able tolearn from the real-life experiences of individual models, groups, communities, and networks
regarding their agricultural practices. The villagers did not have to spend time on traveling, with theflexibility of managing and adapting their own learning schedules to their individual lifestyles andoccupations. In addition, the villagers were able to learn continually and gained knowledge inpacking. This was important and necessary for agriculturalists to solve their problems following thephilosophy and ideas of management, objectives, learning standards, and learning systems. Timemanagement for learning, evaluation, and achievement relied on the qualifications of both learners
and learning facilitators.
2) Focus on self-learning concentrated on gathering local people together to share their problems on
individual, family, and community scales to discover solutions through doing projects. Theselearning practices allowed learners to learn with happiness.
1.2 Design and draft the curriculum: The curricular structure and implementation of the learning
process were achieved by organizing meetings between the local committees and the experts.
Teaching documents were created. The first two documents created were (1) curriculum papers
comprising details such as curricular name, certificate name, responsible organization, philosophy
and notions in the learning process implementation, learning schedule, learning system, learning time
allotment, evaluation of learning achievement, learning facilitators, places and learning materials,resources and budgets, expectation from the curriculum, and learning curriculum, and (2) a handbook
for learning management and a list of the selected media included in the learning system and learning
allotment, evaluation and aims of learning, places and learning materials, learning facilitators, rolesof learning facilitators, implementation of learning facilitators, learning management plans, plans ofgroup seminars, memos of learning facilitators, facilitator’s opinions on the process of learning, anda list of selected media and evaluation of curricular achievements.
1.3 Organize a seminar for learning model development: A seminar for learning model
development was organized with the committees and the 10 experts. Based on the meeting, the draft
curriculum was approved together with 15 subjects including Sufficiency Economy Philosophy,
Paradigm Shifts, Food Security, The Way of Organic Farming, Household Budget and Information
Management for Planning, Knowledge Management, Soil and Water Management, Genetics
Management, Alternative Energy, Safety and Organic Food Production, Food Safety Assurance,
Packaging Design, Group Management, Distribution Management, and Edutainment.
2. Learning Materials Development Accompanying the Learning Program

The curriculum development committee created learning materials comprising (1) instructional
videos covering the 15 subjects and video recording for learning orientation of the curriculum, and(2) curricular documents including curricular papers, handbooks for teaching management, and a listof selected educational media. These curricular documents were originally written in Thai and latertranslated by the native language experts into the nine languages Thai, Lao, Cambodian, Vietnamese,Malay, Indonesian, Burmese, Chinese, and English.
3. Curricular Evaluation
Once the learning materials were created in each target language, the committee administered thematerials to 70 participants and then evaluated the curriculum of food safety and organic agriculture
developed from the sufficiency economy philosophy for the ASEAN community. For of the researchⒸ ISERD

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participants, 62.9 percent were male with average age 35.91 years. The participants evaluated thecurricular structure in the following areas.
3.1 The appropriateness of the designed curriculum: The participants perceived that thecurriculum was at the highest appropriate level (mean = 4.28).
3.2 The appropriateness of the learning materials: The participants perceived that the designed
learning materials were at the high appropriate level (mean = 4.24).
3.3 The usefulness of the learning materials: The participants rated the usefulness of the designed
materials at the highest level (mean= 4.24).
3.4 The satisfaction of students toward learning through the designed curriculum: The
participants were satisfied with the learning through the designed curriculum as a group at a highlevel (mean= 3.64).
CONCLUSION
The process of model development of distance-learning curriculum on food safety and organic
agriculture for the ASEAN community followed three stages as follows: (i) curricular model
development, including the analysis procedure, synthesize the body of knowledge, design and draft
the curriculum, and organize a meeting to develop the curricular model, (ii) learning materials
development accompanying the learning program, the committee developed the learningmaterials into nine languages, and (iii) curricular evaluation, the designed curriculum wasadministered to the participants from the determined countries. They perceived that the designatedlearning program was very highly appropriate and highly useful. They were satisfied with thelearning procedure during the designated learning program as a group at a high level.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The research team would like to thank Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University for the grants thatenabled the development of the model of distance-learning curriculum on food safety and organicagriculture developed from the sufficiency economy philosophy for the ASEAN community. Thanks
are also due to the relevant personnel who assisted and associated with the research including thecurriculum development committee, members of the organization, translators of all the languages,
and participants in the curriculum evaluation who ensured that the working procedures operated
smoothly.
REFERENCES
AEC Information Center. 2015. ASEAN Countries. http://www.thai-aec.com (retrieved).
Chompoolong, N. 2002. Procedures for school curricular development for local. Apichat Printed,
Mahasarakham, Thailand.
Keowan, B., Yooprasert, B., Thienhirua, P., Wechakit, D., Banchongsiri, S., Sanserm, S.K., Wattanawiggit, W.
and Potavanich, S. 2015. Model development of safety and organic agriculture upheld the sufficiency
economy courses through distance education. Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Nonthaburi,Thailand.
Office of Agricultural Economics. 2012. Thailand economic indicators for the year 2012. http://www.oae.go.th/download/prcai/Economicindicators55.pdf (retrieved).
Saylor, J.G., Alexander, W.M. and Lewis, A.J. 1981. Curriculum planning for better teaching and learning. 4thed., Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York, USA.
Wongyai, W. 1990. Integrated curriculum development. Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.

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