BRIDGING DIGITAL BUSINESS WITH LIFELONG EDUATION AND COMMUNITIES: A BUSINESS-EDUCATION MODEL FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY AT NAN COLLEGE, UTTARADIT RAJABHAT UNIVERSITY, THAILAND

บทคัดย่อ

          The objectives of this study were to synthesize the stakeholders’ prioritized needs of Nan College, a regional satellite of Uttaradit Rajabhat University (URU), to develop its business-education master plan for social entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency; and to test the master and strategic plan appropriateness within the education and social entrepreneurship for self-sufficiency of Nan College. A qualitative research technique was mainly applied to conduct this study with 5 groups of stakeholders and experts- namely, university executives and council members, administrators and faculty members of Nan College, local government and private sector representatives in Nan Province, Grade 12 students from local public schools, and experts in higher education and educational business. Those people were regarded as the stakeholders which were selected from a list of people concerned with Nan College affairs. The purposively selected stakeholders and experts functioned as the key informants and were involved in the model testing and verification. Data collection methods included using questionnaires, in-depth interviews, participant observation, expert seminars, and focus group discussions. Statistical analysis and qualitative content analysis were performed. Content analysis was employed for category identification relevant to the research objectives. The findings indicated that there was a gap between the needs of the URU and stakeholders, resulting in a decision on an integrated digital lifelong education teaching and learning method in Nan Province. The college and URU should reinvent themselves in line with an education business-based approach, fostering social entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency, based on the results of the integrated Triple Bottom Line (TBL), Systems Theory, and PESTLE analysis under the CIPP Model of the Nan College context. A master plan was developed and tested. It contained an integrated characteristic of social entrepreneurship, self-sufficiency, digital lifelong education, and sustainability. Consequently, the study established an empirically grounded operational strategy for social business within a hybrid digital and conventional education ecosystem. All the plan’s components and strategies were found appropriate and viable in transitioning the college into a self-reliant educational and business institution across economic, environmental, social, and systemic dimensions. Policy, academic, and strategic recommendations were proposed to ensure holistic and interdisciplinary development across URU's knowledge domains.