Factors Influencing the Decision to Participate in Activities among Undergraduate Students of the Faculty of conomics and Business Administration, Thaksin University, Songkhla Campus

Abstract

The purposes of this research were: 1) to study the personal factors influencing the decision to participate in activities among undergraduate students, and 2) to examine the motivations affecting the participation of undergraduate students in activities.   The sample group consisted of 310 undergraduate students from the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Thaksin University, Songkhla Campus. The sample size was determined using Yamane's (1973) formula with a 95% confidence level and a 5% margin of error. The research instrument was a questionnaire that had been validated for content accuracy by experts and had a reliability coefficient of 0.89. The data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, including percentage, mean, and standard deviation, as well as multiple regression analysis and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the F-test, with a statistical significance level set at 0.05. The research findings revealed that the students placed high importance on friendship with fellow students, social participation, responsibility, social acceptance, and rewards and benefits, with average scores at high levels (  = 4.127), (  = 4.080), (  = 4.066), (  = 4.019), and (  = 3.944), respectively.  At the same time, the students showed great interest in participating in public service activities, academic activities, sports and recreational activities, and cultural activities, with average scores which were also at high levels (  = 4.245), ( =3.712), (  =3.597), and ( = 3.509), respectively. Furthermore, the analysis comparing the decision to participate in activities among undergraduate students from the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Thaksin University, Songkhla Campus, indicated that gender, year of study, field of study, and GPA were statistically significant factors influencing students' decisions to participate in activities at the 0.05 significance level.