Co-Curricular Activities in Indonesian and Thai Primary Schools: A Comparative Study of Educational Policies, Character Development, and Twenty-First Century Competencies

Abstract

The objective of this comparative study examines how co-curricular activities are implemented in Indonesian and Thai primary schools, focusing on educational policies, implementation models, character development, and twenty-first-century competencies (the 4Cs). The method using a comparative qualitative case study design grounded in Creswell’s framework, data were collected from a purposively selected sample of eight primary school educators (five Indonesian and three Thai teachers) through open-ended questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis, and were analyzed thematically with triangulation across interview data, national policy documents, and prior empirical literature. Results: Indonesia enacts a structured, policy-mandated model through the Kurikulum Merdeka, centered on interdisciplinary project-based learning and the Pancasila Student Profile, whereas Thailand applies a flexible, community-based model under the Thailand 4.0 reform that integrates competency-based learning with Buddhist ethics and civic engagement; despite these structural differences, both systems use co-curricular activities to build character, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, intercultural competence, and global citizenship, while confronting shared challenges of teacher workload, authentic assessment, curriculum adaptation, and resource limitations in rural schools. The study contributes a comparative conceptual framework that positions co-curricular activities as a policy-to-practice bridge for holistic student development and offers evidence-based direction for strengthening primary education cooperation across ASEAN.