Local Youth Historical Research for Students Based Learning Reform, Northeast Thailand

Problem statement: The research problem of education came from school teachers who emphasized high grade-point average. The immediate social, Cultural aspects were overlooked. Students were drawn to consume media, internet and individual person to a greater extent. By taking up foreign culture. The students forgot, if not, ignored their own historical root. The purpose of the study was to study the learning activities historical to students and the changes brought to students and teachers from the learning activities historical. Approach: The research aimed to examine students’based learning on local history. Twenty secondary schools were chosen for this qualitative research using related research literature and field study. Eight-Five samples included 40 students (boys and girls), 20 teachers, 20 village-teachers and 5 villages-teacher historians. The study was presented in the form of descriptive. Results: The study found 4 Students’-based learning models: Learning from real experiences; happy learning; co-operative happy learning and self-help learning. Due to the study, the students were proud of themselves; the people generated their own local development process keeping up with changes brought by globalization; the young people were good, happy, co-operative, supportive, skill full thinking and analyzing; they were good members of the Thai society. Conclusion: The research project benefited the participant students directly especially their conscience and pride in their community. It was believed that the research results satisfied the government educational policy of 2001 and the 2008 central core curriculum that our society needed good and responsible citizens; the citizens that were happy, loved their community and its members. They themselves were the nation’s valuable human resources.


INTRODUCTION
The country's top-down development Strategy has led to economic crisis, confused politics and cultural decays. The Thai youth consumed whatever came through television, internet and people. The mistook rights from wrongs and forgot their own cultural or ethnic roots. The students did not pay much attention to local history or whatever that was or were close to them. Similarly, teachers did not push hard enough to guide students in to analyzing, giving own opinion or learning by themselves on their own pace. Students lacked learning ambition; they couldn't relate local knowledge and modern technology (Rittidet et al., 2009). The schools themselves were not able to promote local history learning due to a gap between schools and people's way of life. The two sides did not think and plan for learning process together. Students didn't learn or were trained to be patient, honest and polite. The students' morale, aesthetics were low. The government ethics and should improve education emphasizing interesting local history, tradition, local folk teachers, legends and famous folks. All these indicated that people were living together. They knew each other-their past, their present and what positions they were holding in the community.
Several schools, however, ran some activities for development of curriculum on local history using research-ased learning in the local youth Historical Research for students' based Learning, Mahasarakham province. The research project offered learning methods to students. Schools and communities participated in asking questions as well as arranging data that were interesting for them and related to changes taken place in the past, present and may happen in The future. It was appropriate, therefore, for schools to teach local history and give students to search for answers. (Bybee et al., 1991)

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study used quantities research method with the emphasis on oral history. The research tools used for the collection of data from 85 samples were structured interviews and focus-group discussions. The data analysis was done descriptively.

Management model of local history based-learning:
The arranging or managing of local history done by local youth historical teams of school involved in the project was assisted by advisors. The learning activities began by asking interesting questions on local history. To get the answers, students needed to ask several people in their community. There were 4 learning models: learning from experiences. Happy learning; cooperative learning and self-help learning.
Learning form experiences this learning model suited the students' needs the most. The Students, coming from 20 schools, were assisted to use scientific method from real situations and related to students' life. The teacher-advisors all gave necessary advices to students who had to rely on out of class room sources for their learning. Such method of learning was similar to Bybee. Bybee et al. (1991) on future thinking. Once the students achieved what they wanted to learn, they then got to know their own learning capacity. The students' project on million baht of Isan potatoes at bureau provided unless opportunities for learning. They might have not achieved everything they wanted to learn, but with their positive thinking they developed all along towards study or application of knowledge in real life. All these could exceed what they expected prior to joining. The research project.
Happy learning: Learning together as a group of local youth historical research with support of teacheradvisors, provincial and national co-coordinators' form Rama kitti Institute and office of support research fund and local historical experts arranged for relaxing and independent classes where individual differences and choices for self-learning were provided. Be happy as learning model allowed the students to learn with full capacity with the acceptance and applauses or friends.
With full support from friends and teachers, the students were able to meet problems or learn what they should learn creatively. Team members were happy every time they went out to collect research data using interview guides. Some collected documentary data of legends or oral history from monks or key informants. By leaving problems and anxieties behind, the students learned with enjoyment. They never got bored. Their lessons were interesting and drawn from surrounding environment and were ready to expand to the wider world matching up the educational reform that our society needed responsible citizens who were happy, loved their society and environment and were ready to help other people (Rittidet et al., 2009).
Co-operative learning: The co-operative learning was derived from group process learning from which each group member was treated equally. The members needed each other for the success of their learning activities. They studied very closely together. The group learning process brought the students from 20 schools to study and shared learning behavior together. The Mahasarakham youth historical research team advisors and folk teachers all had problems. As for the students, hardly anyone had ever done research before. They also had a lot of school study to be done and handed to their teachers before the semester ended. They had to spare their after school hours for discussion and planning for the research project. Although some students might have not understood the meaning and the importance of research, what they had learned all along a bout group learning process, learning from experiences and without classrooms. Meeting new faces; using what they had learned in everyday life; note taking and knowing about their communities through legendaries told by folk-teachers. Some of the stories included father Srinakhon Tao, the disappearance of water buffaloes, the history of bureau salt and Ban Kood Kan Kham Poo creek.
This learning model accepted the fact the students participated the research project were quite different from one another in terms of school grades and learning capacity, but all were provided with equal time and opportunity to study the same topic-local history. They were happy to share experiences, learnand solve problems together. The result found was similar to Khammanee. (Khammanee.2010) that what the students received from the project was self-learning, cooperation and studing together as a team leading to coordinating process, thinking skills, new knowledge seeking and problem solving. All team members agreed that what they had learned the most was studyingtogether process and problem solving skills.
Self-help learning: Self-help learning is done due to self-interest and self-desire. In this case or our case, teachers arranged for learning environment. Students were to examine for themselves so that they could manage their own learning activities and/or their future learning activities. From studying with students from 20 school, it was found that the students were bored with the research project mainly because they did not know what or how to do research. Some did not like to study local history. As soon as they began studying with advisors and team members collecting research data, meeting new friends, observing various activities, such as, potato planting, silk weaving, pot making or ever Sorapanya or local singing, they all realized that their learning was fun. They had chances to learn from each other, to look at the world in different dimensions, to ask open questions as well as think for the answers of such questions.
Learning from real experiences using questions and answers all led to self-learning. The students learned to analyze, observe, give speeches and present reports. Their advisors and folk teachers evaluated and advices their activities. (Siribunnam and Tayraulkham, 2009) found that human learning began by exchanging knowledge with friends using tales and legends.
The students' based-learning found indicated learning management using research process, schools, advisors and folk teachers. The multiple educational related factors fulfilled as well as assisted the students in learning from out-of-classroom activities. The schools also had roles to play in assisting the students and making related school curriculum.

Changes brought to students and teachers:
Community's pride-the members of the local youth historical research studied their own community using oral history, collecting research data from elderly people, the strangers and for gotten folks. The students were proud of their communities. They brought people together are made social net study for resource, knowledge and cultural sharing. The participation' in learning activities brought consciousness and pride in their own community (Kaemmani, 2007).

Intra-personal relations:
The out-of-classroom learning activities provided the students to carry out their local historical research project collecting data from their own community. They built knowledge from social net study within their community leading to building community power for local development with full participation of all concerned members, everyone was equally recognized.

DISCUSSION
The research found that the participant student members were interested in several aspects of local history, such as, the bureau million baht potatoes, natural resources, Sokenoketen (bird ground nests) and others. The study, based on the educational management using community learning resources, found 4 students'-based learning models: learning from real experiences; happy learning; co-operative learning and self-help learning. Under each learning model each student group wrote a summary report on their own topic. After presentation to the whole group, each summary report was re-written; the research project was then completely finished. To most participant students, the research project was very useful for them to learn by themselves using co-operative learning and close relationship with elderly people. They could use what they had learned in everyday life or related what they learned with other school course. The research finding was similar to (Siribunnam and Tayraulkham, 2009) that studies of local history built human energy for own development and could keep up with today's globalized world.

CONCLUSION
The research project benefited the participant students directly especially their conscience and pride in their community. Each village or community had a knowledge bank or more where knowledge was built, exchanged, analyzed and utilized. Co-operative learning built community energy for further development. It was believed that the research results satisfied the government educational policy of 2001 and the 2008 central core curriculum that our society needed good and responsible citizens; the citizens that were happy, loved their community and its members. They themselves were the nation's valuable human resources (Rittidet et al., 2009).