Civic empowerment of civil society through community-based learning: a case study of world heritage and nearby communities in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to study and analyze the problems of the Historic City of Ayutthaya, to study the potential for civic empowerment of civil society, and to propose problems management by a community-based learning process to strengthen the power of civil society citizens in the World Heritage City of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya and nearby communities. Multi-methods were used by using Grounded Theory in Ethnography, Participatory Action Research, research and development methodology. Data collection was conducted from literature-based studies, field data collection, and workshops with 30 populations in the World Heritage City and 9 nearby communities. Qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis, and quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentage, frequency, means, and standard deviation (S.D.) The results presented that the expansion of Rojana Industrial Park industrial estates around the city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, and the registration as a World Heritage Site made indigenous people want to strengthen their own power by extending or building wisdom until they generate income and create their own identity, and create a good image of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya as a tourist city in parallel with the development of cultural heritage of relevant organizations. Indigenous people are considered role models of learning with the learning process and way of life with citizenship qualifications to youth in educational institutions and with indigenous people's leadership to citizens in all dimensions. Community Experience Learning and Assessment (CELA) consists of 4 steps: 1) Community Analysis (C), 2) Empowerment Community (E), 3) Learning Community Innovation (L), and 4) Assessment for Learning Community (A). It is an active learning management process by indigenous people, students and teachers together organize a series of learning experiences to recognize the significances of cultural capital as communities' resources, continue and apply cultural capital for sustainable development and the appropriateness of the learning process at the highest level.