Abstract

This mixed-methods case study examined instructional management and future-skill needs in higher-education social studies teacher preparation, developed community-based learning activities for the Social Studies Pedagogy course, and examined changes in six future-skill domains among student teachers. The participants were 30 third-year Social Studies student teachers enrolled at Songkhla Rajabhat University in the first semester of the 2025 academic year. Qualitative data were obtained from curriculum and document analysis, expert interviews, observations, and reflections; quantitative data were obtained from achievement measures, activity and lesson-plan evaluations, and pre- and post-intervention assessments of future skills. The six domains identified and used consistently throughout the study were digital skills, lifelong learning skills, social skills, creativity and innovation skills, flexibility and adaptability skills, and critical thinking skills. The community-based lesson plans achieved an efficiency index of 88.25/88.75. Learning-achievement scores increased from M = 14.23 (SD = 1.41) to M = 18.07 (SD = 1.28), t(29) = 17.84, p < .001, Cohen's dz = 3.26. Descriptively, the overall future-skill mean increased from 4.701 (SD = 0.702) before the intervention to 5.225 (SD = 0.549) after the intervention. Because the study used one intact cohort without a control group, the findings should be interpreted as evidence of change within this course context rather than as proof of causal effectiveness. The study contributes a contextually grounded model for connecting community-based social studies learning with future-skill development in teacher education.

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