Development of a Cultural Capital Model to Promote Community Economy in Mukdahan Province

Abstract

This research employed a Research and Development (R&D) design that comprised three main objectives: 1) to examine the general conditions of community cultural capital, using a stratified random sample of 390 community members with questionnaires as the main instrument, while 15 community cultural leaders, purposively selected, were interviewed to identify problems and needs; 2) to develop the cultural model through data obtained from 21 experts, purposively selected, using focus group discussions, as well as trial implementation with 30 target participants, also purposively selected, using a knowledge test and a satisfaction questionnaire; 3) to evaluate the model with 17 specialists, selected using purposive random sampling. The research instruments included questionnaires, interviews, and tests. Data analysis was conducted using percentages, means, standard deviations, and content analysis.       The research findings revealed that 1) Community cultural capital can be categorized into two types, tangible and intangible cultural capital, which can be transformed into economic capital, 2) The development of the model consisted of four components:  2.1) Principles, which emphasized developing cultural capital through community participation in conservation, dissemination, intergenerational learning, creativity, and knowledge creation to support sustainable development within the provincial context through PICK Mukdahan; 2.2) Objectives, which focused on gathering knowledge, enhancing community capacity, developing products and services, and conducting monitoring and evaluation for continuous development; 2.3) Implementation, which involved collecting knowledge, building community capacity to transfer cultural heritage to younger generations, developing products and services from cultural capital, promoting support from all sectors, and conducting joint evaluations with the community; and 2.4) Conditions for success, including internal factors such as confidence, faith, pride, having local sages or cultural groups as role models, systematic knowledge transmission, community participation, and the creation of products and services derived from cultural capital, as well as access to institutional resources. External factors included provincial development plans, cultural capital databases, community capacity-building initiatives, product and service distribution networks, and cultural capital promotion, and 3) The evaluation results indicated that the model was of propriety, utility, and feasibility at a high level.