Civic Education in Thai Social Studies Teacher Education Curriculum of Rajabhat University Group

บทคัดย่อ

This study examined how civic education was integrated into the social studies teacher education curricula of Rajabhat Universities in Thailand. Using qualitative thematic and lexical frequency analysis, the research analyzed course titles to assess the integration and emphasis of civic-related content. The methodology involved a purposive selection of 17 Rajabhat Universities based on their established social studies teacher education programs. The findings revealed that these institutions offer an average of 5.41 civic-related courses per university, with a predominant focus on moral education, national identity, and civic responsibility, which aligned closely with the Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551. Furthermore, lexical analysis confirmed a dominant emphasis on the term "Thai," whereas democratic and participatory language remained significantly underrepresented. The thematic analysis identified five key trends, ranging from a strong emphasis on national identity to an emerging but inconsistent attention to global citizenship. These results suggest that while Rajabhat curricula effectively uphold civic and moral values, there is a critical need to broaden the scope to encompass democratic literacy and active civic engagement to meet contemporary education goals.