ความคิดเห็นของนักศึกษาจีนต่อการจัดการความปลอดภัยของมหาวิทยาลัยไทยในภาวะวิกฤต COVID-19 (CHINESE STUDENTS’ OPINIONS ON SAFETY MANAGEMENT OF THAI UNIVERSITIES DURING COVID-19 CRISIS)

The purposes of this research were to study Chinese students’ opinions on safety management of Thai universities during the COVID-19 crisis and to suggest a guideline for safety management of Thai universities during the COVID-19 crisis. This study employed the mixed method research approach. Data were collected from Chinese students who were studying in Thai universities through 500 questionnaire responses and three focus group discussions. The research results show that Chinese students give importance to safety management during the COVID-19 crisis at the high level. Chinese students who differ in gender, educational levels, and study programs are not significantly different in their opinions; while students who study in different types of universities differ significantly in their opinions. This research suggests that universities should establish an ad-hoc center to deal with the crisis by coordinating and providing services to students as well as developing safety procedures in a form of Business Continuity Management (BCM). The BCM includes: 1) the management of students’ physical and psychological health; 2) the support of the continuation of teaching and learning during the pandemic by taking accounts of curriculum readiness, instructors’ teaching abilities and skills, student engagement in learning, appropriate learning materials, students’ accessibility to learning resources, and positive relationships between students and instructors; and 3) the enhancement of students’ employability during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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