THE ROLE OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN INFLUENCING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN THE ROI KAEN SARASIN PROVINCIAL CLUSTER

บทบาทของสถาบันการศึกษาในการส่งเสริมการพัฒนาชุมชนอย่างยั่งยืนในกลุ่มจังหวัดร้อยแก่นสารสิน

บทคัดย่อ

Do schools actually drive community development? We set out to answer this question across four provinces in northeast Thailand's Roi Kaen Sarasin cluster. A total of 345 school administrators answered a structured questionnaire (Cronbach's α = 0.927). The short answer: yes, but not equally. Multiple regression gave us an R of 0.964 and an R² of 0.884 - meaning our four-province model explains roughly 88% of what's happening. Kalasin stands out (β = 0.461), followed by Khon Kaen (β = 0.357), Maha Sarakham (β = 0.324), and Roi Et (β = 0.219).

              What surprised us is not the ranking itself but the gap between first and last -more than double. That gap, we argue, is not statistical noise. It reflects real, observable differences in how schools listen to their communities, who they partner with, and whether "sustainability" is a policy document or a daily habit. We offer prediction equations, but the real takeaway is this: institutional influence is not automatic-it has to be built, and some provinces have built it much better than others.