The Status of Curriculum Research and Factors Affecting the Decision to Study in the Bachelor of Communication Arts Program at Private Education Institutes and Public Universities

Abstract

The objective of this research is to study the body of knowledge in the researches regarding the curriculums and the factors that affect the decision to enroll in a bachelor of communication arts program at private education institutes and public universities in Thailand. The study utilizes the Thai publications of theses and researches from 2014 to 2023, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods.
Theresearchfindingsshowthatduringthe10-yearperiodthereare27research topics, 9 from the private education institutes and 18 from the public universities. They are general researches conducted by the instructors and academics, rather than the student theses. The predominant topics are factors affecting enrollment decisions, trends, perceptions, satisfaction, and program development. There searches are mostly quantitative, some are qualitative and some others are mixed. Moreover, the researcher has discovered that overall the types of researches and research designs are as follows: 1) the quantitative research emphasizes the use of descriptive research design, followed by correlational research and evaluation research designs, 2) the qualitative research emphasizes the in-depth interview, followed by content analysis, descriptive research, focus group, documentary research, and evaluation research respectively, and 3) the mixed-method research emphasizes the use of the descriptive research design, followed by documentary research, focus group, trend study, correlational research, content analysis, in-depth interview, and experimental research designs respectively. As for the distribution results of the factors affecting the enrollment in a bachelor of communication arts program, it is found that the study program comes first, followed by the study purpose. Additionally if scholarships are adequately granted, the consideration of personal interest and family income, the famous and acclaimed alumni of the university, and the guidance teachers’ perception of application data would be the significant factors for the decision to study in a bachelor of communication arts program.