DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL CULTURE AFFECTING POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AT THE UNVERSITIES IN PATHUMTHANI PROVINCE

Abstract

The objectives of this study were 1) to examine level of political participation, 2) to study level of democratic political culture, and 3) to study the effect of democratic political culture toward political participation of undergraduate student in political science at the university in Pathumthani. The research methodology was mixed methods. The population used consisted of 3,405 undergraduate students studying in the universities in Pathumthani. The sample size of 379 undergraduate students was defined by Taro Yamane. The study samples were selected by simple random sampling. 5 presidents of students were interviewed. The study instruments were a questionnaire and interview guide. The reliability of the questionnaire was .91. Index of Item Objective Congruency: IOC .60-1.00. The interviewed data were analyzed by content analysis. Statistics used included percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple regression.

The study results indicated that 1) level of political participation of political science students as a whole was at much level. news tracking, political opinion exchange, participation in political activities at the university, and participation in political activities. 2) level of democratic political culture as a whole was at much level. respectively by mean form high to low included respect for the rules of democracy, optimism and trust in human beings, participation in political and administrative activities, sense of civic duty and self-confidence, belief in the principles of democratic governance, and importance of dignity and equality of individuals. 3) The effect of democratic political culture toward political participation of undergraduate students revealed that all 6 aspects consisted of respect for the rules of democracy, participation in political and administrative activities, sense of civic duty and self-confidence, optimism and trust in human beings, belief in the principles of democratic governance