DEVELOPING A SERIES OF ACTIVITIES TO ENRICH PEOPLE WITH AN ECO-FRIENDLY LIFESTYLE WITH A LEARNING ECOSYSTEM TO CREATE A VALUABLE HAPPY SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE

Abstract

The research entitled “Developing a series of activities to enrich people with an eco-friendly lifestyle with a learning ecosystem to create a valuable happy social and economic life” aimed at developing and evaluate the effectiveness of activity packages implemented with lower secondary school students. The sample consisted of 306 students studying in the “Khao-Pa-Na-Le” ecological area of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province including Noppitam wittaya School, Rajaprajanugroh 19 School, Wichianpracharson School, and Watklang School. The research instruments consisted of four activity packages designed to promote environmentally friendly behaviors: solid waste separation, composting of food waste, crafting products from recycled materials, and reducing global warming. All activity packages were validated by experts, yielding an Index of Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) of 1.00. The learning process emphasized student participation and hands-on practice aligned with the local community context to address environmental issues. The results revealed that the students’ post-test mean score (14.80) was significantly higher than the pre-test mean score (11.35) at the 0.01 level of statistical significance across all participating schools. This finding indicated that the activity packages effectively enhanced students’ knowledge, understanding, and environmentally friendly behaviors. Regarding satisfaction, the students reported the highest level of overall satisfaction with the activity packages (4.53). They particularly appreciated the diversity of activities that could be practically implemented and the suitability of the materials and equipment used in the learning process. In addition, the findings indicated that gender and grade level differences did not significantly affect students’ satisfaction levels. In conclusion, the development of learning activity packages based on the “Khao-Pa-Na-Le” contextual ecosystem effectively promotes environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among youth. The activity packages also serve as an important mechanism for fostering environmental awareness and supporting sustainable social development in the long term.