ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Leadership in Education
'Pracademics' as Boundary Spanners: Utilizing AI-Powered Tools to Enhance the Inclusive Provincial Development Plan for Sa Kaeo, Thailand
Provisionally accepted
Chaiwut Thepo1Pisak Kullayanimitra1Warawut Kumpanuch1Montree Chinsomboon1
Rangsan Sukhampha1,2*Vutthiwat Ananphutthimet1Chatchai Senkwankaew1- 1Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University, Pathum Thani, Thailand
- 2Universitat Bielefeld Fakultat fur Soziologie, Bielefeld, Germany
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Introduction: Provincial development planning in Thailand often faces a disconnect between top-down bureaucratic requirements and bottom-up local needs. "Pracademics"—academics who simultaneously function as practitioners—are increasingly positioned to bridge this gap, yet their specific role in facilitating local policy processes remains under-researched. Methods: This study employs Participatory Action Research (PAR) to investigate the role of pracademics in the review process of the Sa Kaeo Provincial Development Plan (2023–2027). The study encompassed a two-day workshop with 117 government officials and stakeholders (n = 117). Pracademics served as facilitators employing AI-driven tools (Mentimeter and Gemini) to democratize engagement and process qualitative data. Data was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis of workshop outputs, field notes, and AI-generated word clouds. Results: The analysis reveals three principal themes. The Hardware versus Heartware Disconnect first arose as participants emphasized technical infrastructure while voicing desires for "happiness" and "safety"; this was followed by the Silo Effect, where "lack of integration" was identified as a systemic obstacle across all working groups; ultimately, the Budgetary Scapegoat emerged, as financial limitations were frequently referenced to obscure more profound structural rigidities. Anonymous AI tools proficiently exposed sensitive "undiscussable" matters, such as corruption and gray capital. Discussion: Pracademics can function as "boundary spanners" by employing technology to reconcile the conflict between emotional local narratives and stringent bureaucratic logic, particularly within the policy workshop. As a result, by establishing a neutral digital platform for discourse, pracademics can convert hierarchical planning meetings into more inclusive, evidence-based policy discussions.
Keywords: AI in Policymaking, boundary spanning, Participatory Action Research, pracademics, Provincial planning, Thailand
Received: 26 Sep 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Thepo, Kullayanimitra, Kumpanuch, Chinsomboon, Sukhampha, Ananphutthimet and Senkwankaew. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rangsan Sukhampha
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