THE STRENGTHEN OF THE FAMILY INSTITUTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH PHILOSOPHY OF SUFFICIENCY ECONOMY OF ETHNIC GROUPS IN THE WESTERN

Abstract

The purposes of this research article were 1) to study the currently general condition of ethnic communities in the western, (2) to analyze the guidelines for strengthening family institutions according to the philosophy of sufficiency economy of ethnic groups in the western, and (3) to present the model for the strengthening of family institutions based on the sufficiency Economy Philosophy of western ethnic groups in line with current circumstances. This research was a qualitative research through in-depth interviews with 10 key informants included government heads, community leaders, community development scholars in the western region of Thailand, the area context of Kanchanaburi Province according to the appropriate nature of representation of the group by a specific random method then analyzed the data obtained by means of content analysis and trying to keep the original expression including adjusting for clarity of communication and meaning. On the other hand, using a group discussion with 7 qualified persons including heads of government agencies, community leaders and religious scholars from the specific random sampling, the data obtained by analyzing descriptive content. The findings of this research were following: 1) The current state of ethnic communities in the western found that; in term of economy: there were 12 main issues, in term of society: there were 12 main issues, in term of education: there were 13 main issues, in term of hygiene and environment: there were 9 main issues. 2) The guidelines for strengthening family institutions according to the philosophy of sufficiency economy of ethnic groups in the western region covered 3 contexts as follows: context of Adhisĩla-sikkhã (morality), Adhicitta-sikkhã (concentration), and context of Adhipaññã-sikkhã (wisdom). And, 3) The model for the strengthening of family institutions based on the sufficiency Economy Philosophy of western ethnic groups in line with current circumstances found that it was a collaborative model in a social institutional network consisting of families / communities, temples, and schools/governments in order to contribute to the development of body-verbal, concentration, and the creation of an intellectual society by bringing the so-called Buddhist principles, Sikkhã, consistent with the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy to integrate appropriately and in line with the multicultural society of the ethnic community that covered economic, social, educational, and sanitary and environmental aspects.