The Thai traditional learning process in folk culture : implications for the companion modelling approach

A group of researchers working in the field of renewable resource management tries to apply simulation tools when dealing with these complex systems in order to understand the institutions and norms that drive the interactions among actors, and consequently between actors and their environment. This method can be used in many cultural contexts and leads to generic outputs (collective learning process, good understanding of computer simulation by stakeholders). But the effectiveness of the method seems to be very dependent on the social and cultural context. We decided to do some research on the learning process in Thai traditional culture. It aims at identifying and understanding such villagers' world-view through religious texts, traditional literature and poetry, folk songs and music, ceremonies, and festivals. We try to understand how the Thais interpret their social environment and learn to act accordingly within it. It seems that the companion modeling approach is quite successful in the Thai learning context because the method is based on experience and fun derived from the game process, but the collective discussion aspect that is supposed to emerge from the use of this tool does not really occur, probably because of individualism, a strong cultural structure, a fundamental culture of conflict avoidance, and difficulty in distinguishing reality from virtual scenarios. (Resume d'auteur)