ความสำนึกทางการเมืองของผู้นำปกาเกอะญอ ตำบลแม่นาจร อำเภอแม่แจ่ม จังหวัดเชียงใหม่

Abstract

This mixed methods study aimed to investigate the political consciousness of the Pga K’nyau heads at Tumbon Mae-Na-Jorn, Amphoe Mae Chaem, Changwat Chiang Mai. There were 120 heads at Tumbon Mae-Na-Jorn, Amphoe Mae Chaem, Changwat Chiang Mai responded to the questionnaire and 19 participated in the in-depth interview. The results revealed that in general the questionnaire respondents had the knowledge, understanding and consciousness of politics at a low level. In addition, the data from the interview indicated that the knowledge about politics mostly came from the experience and work experience of each participants which resulted in different ideas. For the problems, obstacles and suggestions about the political consciousness of the Pga K’nyau heads at Tumbon Mae-Na-Jorn, Amphoe Mae Chaem, Changwat Chiang Mai, it was found that they did not have the knowledge and understanding about politics and Thai language. They also had communication problems which was the obstacles in gaining knowledge about politics. Though they were the leaders, they could not access the political processes requiring discretion in order to cause changes. They only waited for orders and followed the orders from administrators or political trends from the politicians. This indicates that their political decisions have been controlled. Moreover, from the participant observation, the data pointed out that the villagers trusted in the decisions of the heads; that is, when the heads received orders or were manipulated, they could control the whole village. Thus, this illustrates the obstacles in political consciousness of the Pga K’nyau to fully understand politics. Followings are the suggestions. 1. There should be more public relations activities to provide knowledge about politics. These activities should encourage the heads to acquire knowledge and participate in politics which support them in making decisions freely without relying on other leaders’ decisions. 2. There should be workshops for the Pga K’nyau heads to create the responsibilities in terms of social ethics and morality, which are the principles for citizen under democracy. The Pga K’nyau heads have been eager to learn their status and roles in Mae-Na-Jorn Subdistrict Administrative Organization. 3. The local participation process should be created especially between the community and society in order to promote different forms of political expressions, participation in political activities, attending meetings, voicing opinions, and exchanging opinions. 4. The information about politics, economics, society, and democracy should be provided. When the citizen can influence the politics at local, regional and national levels, they have the opportunities to acquire the political information from many channels, such as radio, television, newspaper, and the Internet. 5. More education opportunity should be extended for the Pga K’nyau people so that they can read, speak, and write Thai. This will help with the communication with organizations. The Pga K’nyau people will also have the knowledge and able to participate in political activities.