A Study of Guidelines for the Development of School Botanical Gardens in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province

Abstract

This research aimed to study the current conditions and management of botanical gardens in schools in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, and to develop guidelines for the effective operational methods of the school botanical garden in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. This  research used both quantitative and qualitative methods. The subjects were 400 students selected by multi-step random sampling from eight schools in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. They were to provide quantitative data by responding to the questionnaire. The total of 38 subjects—18 executives, teachers, and 20 experts--gave qualitative data by semi-structured interview. Quantitative data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test value, F-test, and qualitative data by content analysis. The results of the study revealed  the highest demands of school botanic garden in four areas: (1) more plants in a botanical garden, (2) clear signboards on plants for visitors, (3) appropriate classification and grouping of plants by region, and (4) sitting or resting areas. The interview results highlighted a need for a management for the school botanical garden in four aspects:  (1) plant management in the garden (2) administration of the botanical garden area  (3) utilization management and (4) facilities for botanical garden school administration.  The obtained findings were to generate guidelines for the development of botanical gardens to suit schools in three aspects:  (1) resource, (2) utilization, and (3) creation of consciousness.

 Keywords: Development guidelines, school botanical garden,garden administration, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province