Development of Transdisciplinary Integration Innovation to Promote Geo-literacy of High School Students

Abstract

The objectives of this research were threefold: 1) to investigate the historical development, systemic challenges, and structural limitations of the geography curriculum in Thailand; 2) to design and develop a transdisciplinary learning innovation aimed at promoting the geo-literacy of high school students; and 3) to evaluate the pedagogical effects of implementing this transdisciplinary innovation. Employing a sequential mixed-methods research design, the study gathered data from two distinct target groups: a panel of five subject-matter experts who evaluated the structural validity of the innovation, and an experimental group of 150 upper-secondary students who participated in the instructional intervention. The research instruments comprised a qualitative document synthesis protocol, an innovation suitability evaluation form, a comprehensive geo-literacy competency assessment, and a semi-structured focus group discussion matrix. Qualitative data underwent thematic content analysis, while quantitative metrics were analyzed using descriptive statistics ( S.D.) and inferential statistics (paired-samples t-test). The findings revealed that: 1) The evolution of the Thai geography curriculum progressed through four historical paradigms, shifting from spatial positivism aimed at territorial unification to a post-humanist framework within the contemporary Basic Education Core Curriculum. A critical systemic limitation identified was the persistent overemphasis on passive rote memorization and disjointed disciplinary silos, which broadens the gap between theoretical geography and real-world environmental phenomena. 2) The development of the Transdisciplinary Learning Innovation—operationalized through the Phenomenon-Based Transdisciplinary Boundary-Crossing (PB-TBC) mechanism and the Contour Model—synthesized geography into five core dimensions: Geo-Knowledge, Geo-Process, Geo-Abilities, Geo-Integration, and Geo-Literacy. Expert validation rated the overall quality of this instructional innovation at the highest qualitative level (=4.60, S.D.=0.67). 3) Empirical implementation demonstrated that the innovation significantly enhanced student competencies, with the post-test geo-literacy scores reaching an outstanding level ( =3.82, S.D.=0.40). Furthermore, inferential verification confirmed a statistically significant improvement in students’ spatial decision-making and problem-solving capacities (p<.05), proving that the innovation successfully transformed passive learners into proactive data creators capable of navigating complex socio-environmental challenges.