Developing multicultural leadership in youth is crucial for fostering social harmony, emphasizing cross-cultural communication, adaptability, creative problem solving, and ethical leadership, particularly in Thailand’s three southern border provinces. This study aimed to analyze the confirmatory factors and assess the validity of the measurement model for multicultural leadership among youth in Thailand’s three southern border provinces. The study sample comprised 640 participants, and the data were analyzed using second-order confirmatory factor analysis. The findings revealed that multicultural leadership among youth in the region consists of the following six key components: (1) awareness and acceptance of cultural diversity, (2) intercultural communication skills, (3) flexibility and adaptability in multicultural contexts, (4) creative problem solving in a multicultural context, (5) building intercultural collaboration networks, and (6) developing culturally relevant morality and ethics. The measurement model demonstrated a good fit with the empirical data. Considering the Chi-square value of 411.81, p-value of 0.07, the relative Chi-square (χ2/df) was 1.11, the Goodness-of-Fitness Index (GFI) was 0.96, the Adjusted Goodness-of-Fitness Index (AGFI) was 0.94, and the Root Mean Square Residuals Index (SRMR) was 0.03. These findings provide valuable insights for formulating effective policies and concrete strategies to enhance and develop multicultural leadership among youth in diverse sociocultural contexts.
The identity of Thai temples in Malaysia is disappearing, as the temples display more Chinese art than Thai.Thus, this research aims to investigate the patterns in Chinese art and the conditions that support the appearanceof Chinese art within Thai temples. Chinese art appears within these temples in their sculptures of Buddha,pavilions, and walls. The conditions supporting the appearance of Chinese art include 1) the need for funds toconstruct new temples; 2) the abilities of pastors who can speak Chinese and English and are interested in artfrom various countries; and 3) the eastern coast of Malaysia being a place where many people of Chinesedescent settled. Chinese people were not able to purchase land easily due to state laws; thus, they had to use Thaitemples as places to preserve their identity by constructing Chinese art within the temple.
Thailand’s southern border provinces need youth-focused multicultural leadership programs integrating local religious–cultural elements, community involvement, and long-term evaluation to enhance social cohesion and sustainable development. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a program to foster multicultural leadership among youth in Thailand’s three southern border provinces. The research was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved synthesizing key multicultural leadership characteristics, designing a structured program and assessing its relevance and coherence through expert evaluation. The second phase focused on empirical validation by implementing the program with 22 selected youth participants, employing repeated-measures analysis of variance to assess its effectiveness. Additionally, experts evaluated the program’s validity, appropriateness, cost-effectiveness, utility, and feasibility. The resulting program, “EARCA”, comprises five core components: Experiential Exposure, Active Exploration & Engagement, Reflective Thinking & Analysis, Concept Integration & Synthesis, and Application & Extension. Expert assessments confirmed its appropriateness at the highest level, with a consistency index ranging from 0.8 to 1.0. Statistical analyses demonstrated significant improvements in all dimensions of multicultural leadership among participants. Furthermore, the program was rated highly accurate, appropriate, cost-effective, practical, and feasible for real-world implementation. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to enhance multicultural leadership development through structured, evidence-based interventions.
(1) Background: Thailand’s three southern border provinces face challenges in fostering cultural acceptance due to historical conflicts and religious influences. Promoting understanding through schools and families is crucial for reducing tensions and building harmony. This research aimed to examine the relationships among key factors influencing students’ behavior in accepting cultural differences within the multicultural social context of Thailand’s three southern border provinces. (2) Methods: Data were collected through a survey of 601 student samples and analyzed using computer software to calculate Pearson’s correlation and multiple linear regression coefficients. (3) Results: The research results found six predictors that significantly predicted students’ behavior in accepting cultural differences in the multicultural social context of Thailand’s three southern border provinces at a 0.001 significance level. These predictors were as follows: religious guidance (X1), attitudes toward cultural differences (X4), student–peer relationships (X6), understanding of cultural differences (X5), student–teacher relationships (X7), and encouragement to perform religious practices (X3). (4) Conclusions: Six predictors, including religious guidance, attitudes, and relationships, explained 45.7% of behavior fostering cultural diversity. The findings highlight the vital roles of religion and interpersonal connections in promoting acceptance.
This study addresses declining social trust and emerging moral challenges among youth in Thailand’s conflict-affected southern border provinces by developing a strategic framework grounded in the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy (SEP). A quantitative approach was employed, integrating the Modified Priority Needs Index and Priority Matrix analysis to examine discrepancies between current performance and perceived importance. The findings reveal differentiated patterns of moral development. Discipline and Responsibility are identified as a high-priority need, reflecting high importance but comparatively lower performance. Gratitude and Filial Piety, together with Kindness and Generosity, emerge as established strengths, functioning as cultural assets. Unity and Social Harmony and Social Sacrifice are classified as secondary yet contextually significant dimensions, indicating partial internalization. Based on this classification, the study proposes a differentiated strategy comprising targeted self-regulation development, strength-based reinforcement, and experiential activation through service-learning and multicultural engagement. Central to this approach is the creation of “multicultural social action spaces” that enable meaningful interaction across diverse groups. The findings suggest that aligning moral education with matrix-based priorities and contextual realities may support ethical resilience, social cohesion, and sustainable peace in pluralistic and conflict-affected societies.
1 January 2017 in Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences