An Interdisciplinary Local Learning Management Model Through Traditional Crafts for Fostering Community Innovators

This study aimed to develop and validate the “SCSCE Model” (Sala Noi Model), an interdisciplinary local learning management framework using Lanna traditional crafts to foster community innovators. Employing a mixed-methods Research and Development (R&D) design, the model was implemented over 12 weeks in two Thai schools representing diverse sociocultural contexts (n = 100). Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (COA No. 513/2024). Results indicated that the SCSCE Model achieved high expert validation (x̄ = 4.16). Post-implementation, students demonstrated statistically significant learning gains in community innovator capacity (paired-samples t-tests, all p < .001, with large effect sizes), reaching the “Excellent” level at Ban Hua Rin School (92.7%) and the “Very Good” level at San Kamphaeng School (81.7%). A key emergent qualitative finding was “Reciprocal Learning,” characterized by bidirectional knowledge exchange between students and community elders, associated with the formation of a community-based learning ecosystem. The findings suggest that local wisdom can serve as a promising vehicle for interdisciplinary competency development. Given the one-group pretest–posttest design in two purposively selected schools, the results are interpreted as promising evidence of the model’s potential rather than definitive proof of effectiveness, providing a basis for further research on integrating ICH into school curricula.