BUDDHADHAMMA APPLICATION FOR PROMOTING SECONDARY STUDENT’S DEMOCRATIC CITIZENSHIP AT BANG KRUAI DISTRICT IN NONTHABURI PROVINCE

Abstract

Objectives of this article were: 1. To study the level of democratic citizenship for secondary school students at Bang Kruai District, Nonthaburi Province. 2. To study the factors affecting democratic citizenship for secondary school students at Bang Kruai District, Nonthaburi Province. 3. To present the application of Buddhist principles for promoting democratic citizenship for secondary school students at Bang Kruai District, Nonthaburi Province, conducted by the mixed research methods. The quantitative research, data were collected 291 samples with questionnaires. The statistics used were frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple regression. The qualitative research, data were collected by in-depth interviewing 10 key informants using the structured-in-depth-interview script. The data were analyzed by descriptive interpretation.

The research results were found that 1. The level of citizenship in a democratic regime was at a high level overall ( = 3.59, S.D. = 0.83). 2. Factors affecting citizenship in a democratic regime for secondary school students at Bang Kruai District, Nonthaburi Province were political cultivation and Bhavana 4 principle. Both factors influenced citizenship in a democratic regime by 72.5 percent and influenced by other factors by 27.5 percent. 3. The application of Buddhist principles to promote citizenship in a democratic regime were found that in promoting the creation of good citizens in a democratic society, various institutions played an important role. In addition, Bhavana 4, the four principles of development, Kaya-bhavana; physical development promoted discipline through volunteer activities, to instill responsibility and respect for social rules. Sila-Bhavana; moral development, developing behavior through student councils, social discussions, enhanced ethics and respect for different opinions. Citta-bhavana; mental development, practicing mindfulness, and meditation to enhance creative political participation. Panna-bhavana; wisdom development; using Buddhist principles to develop analytical thinking skills and make rational decisions.