An Evaluation of the Master of Arts Program in Human Resource Development (Revised A.D. 2018), Faculty of Education, Burapha University

Abstract

The purposes of this study were 1) to evaluate the curriculum of the Master of Arts Program in Human Resource Development (Revised Curriculum, B.E. 2561 (2018)), in the Faculty of Education, Burapha University, and 2) to provide guidelines for development and improvement of the Master of Arts Program in Human Resource Development (Revised Curriculum, B.E. 2561 (2018)), in Faculty of Education, Burapha University. The researcher used CIPPIEST model of Daniel L. Stufflebeam to assess the program. In this study, the mixed method approaches were applied. For quantitative research, questionnaires were used to collect data from stakeholders comprising lecturers, current undergraduate students, alumni, and employers or supervisors of the graduate students. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. In qualitative research, in-depth interviews were conducted with the experts, and the data gained from such interviews were analyzed with content analysis. 

The results of the research suggested that: 1) based on evaluation result from CIPPIEST Model, it was found that the scores of context evaluation, input evaluation, process evaluation, product evaluation, impact evaluation, effectiveness evaluation, sustainability evaluation, and transportability evaluation were at the highest level in all aspects; 2) regarding guidelines for development and improvement of the program, it was found that the curriculum should encourage the students to be practitioner in line with the fundamental theory, and the lecturers should ensure that the students understand and can apply the knowledge to their practice, and place emphasis on human capital development by providing important HRD knowledge in various aspects, and encourage the students to be HRD influencer and innovator. Regarding suggestions for curriculum improvement, the responsible lectures should consider the correspondence between the philosophy, importance and objectives and courses of the curriculum, and needs of the students and current social context to raise the attractiveness; update the content of the course; improve the process for preparing students before participating in the course; and provide resources and financial support to facilitate the learning of the students.