Satun province’s research-based learning initiative under Thailand’s “education sandbox” policy: design, implementation and outcomes

Purpose This study aims to enhance the quality of education in Thailand by exploring an educational innovation emphasizing community identities, available resources and needs. It describes the design and implementation of the Satun research-based learning (RBL) initiative under Thailand’s Education Innovation Area Act B.E. 2562, which allowed 10 pilot schools in Satun to develop curriculums for early childhood and primary school levels that incorporated localities’ contexts during the 2018–2019 academic year. Design/methodology/approach To evaluate the innovation’s impacts, primary data were collected and verified through methodological triangulation and cross-validation, and then qualitatively analyzed using content analysis. Findings Students demonstrated improvements in reading and writing, analytical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, public presentation and creativity. Teachers were more engaged in students’ learning development and felt closer to students. School administrators embraced collaboration with teachers, school committees, parents and communities. Parents recognized students’ eagerness to study and academic improvements. Quantitatively, a difference-in-differences analysis of all 6th-grade Satun students’ standardized test scores from 2016 to 2019 showed that improvements in the participating students’ Thai and English scores were statistically significant at the 0.05 level. These findings suggest that policymakers can improve educational quality by accounting for community contexts and constraints. Originality/value The originality of this study lies in the large-scale RBL initiative under investigation and its approach to evaluating the quantitative impacts of this initiative.