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produce instructional materials, especially drawings and paintings—the Tadika directors were the project
leaders who managed the output from project activities. Moreover, academic researchers acted as
facilitators to input academic knowledge, as well as monitoring and evaluating the project.
2) Establishment of the committee for driving forward tadika: During the research project,
community researchers discussed how to resolve problems and develop the tadika, especially concerning
participation in community issues, and how to make the Tadika more inclusive. They mutually agreed to
establish a committee to drive forward tadika. This committee has a structure and roles for planning and
managing tadika, promoting and supporting learning based on local knowledge, coordinating and
strengthening the relationship between tadika and the community, and seeking funding that supports
activities and the development of tadika, including monitoring and evaluating tadika.

Conclusion

Tadika in the deep-south Thailand share similar issues, there being three main problems.
1) Tadika have been controlled and managed by OPEC, which resulted in limited participation by
community members in activities and a lack of awareness of their ownership of the tadika.
2) Most teachers are volunteers who need more teaching skills.
3) Language confusion means the children can listen and speak Patani Malay, but they have to
learn to use Jawi and Rumi scripts, which differ from their mother tongue. This requires them to memorize
additional alphabet to understand the content of lessons.
Awareness of these issues has triggered the community researchers’ determination to cooperate
to solve the problems and initiate the Tadika Cemerlang research project at Ban Benaepeenae and Ban
Benaebadae communities in Yarang District, Pattani Province.

The Tadika Cemerlang research project aims to revitalize the identity, language, culture, and local
wisdom of the Patani Malay ethnic group by means of learning in tadika in conjunction with the active
participation of the community itself. The research method is community-based research (CBR) that
focuses on learning processes and participation in action research by community members themselves
through meetings, workshops, and training activities. Moreover, academic researchers from Mahidol
University and Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, and experts in Malayu studies and MTB-MLE,
help by facilitating the monitoring and evaluation of the research project.

The results of the research project are twofold;

1) The community and tadika could revitalize their identity, culture, and local wisdom by
cooperating to make cultural calendars, lesson planning, instructional materials (such as storytelling,
picture stories, and big books), and teacher training methods based on the MTB-BE concept for teaching
in tadika.
In addition, the research activities were able to share local knowledge, which would have
otherwise been quickly lost from the elderly and local scholars down to the middle aged. Meanwhile, the
children were able to acquire local knowledge, and became more respectful, proud, and confident in their
identity. Furthermore, they developed better language skills and higher-level thinking.
2) The community and tadika enhanced the participation and management of tadika together.
They started participating in research project activities that included with meetings, brainstorming, and
workshops, while establishing committees for driving forward the tadika.

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