LEARNING ACTIVITIES WITH CULTURAL STUDIES APPROACH TO ENHANCE RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY AWARENESS OF SECONDARY STUDENTS

Abstract

This research “Learning activities with cultural studies approach to enhance religious diversity awareness of secondary students” had two objectives: 1) To compare the pre-test and post-test of religious diversity awareness of students learning with activities with cultural studies approach and 2) To study the development of religious diversity awareness of students in schools under the Office of the Private Education Commission (OPEC) learning with activities with cultural studies approach. This research applied a mixed-methods research methodology. The population of this research is lower secondary students in schools under the Office of the Private Education Commission (OPEC), and 24 Mattayom 1 students in a school were selected by purposive method to be a sample. The research instruments included 1) Lesson plans of learning activities with cultural studies approach and 2) A situational test for religious diversity awareness. The data analysis relied on descriptive statistics, relative gain scores, and inferential statistics, Dependent Sample t-tests, and thematic analysis to analyze qualitative data. The results revealed that 1) The average post-test religious diversity awareness score (M = 13.42, S.D. = 0.881) after learning with cultural studies approach showed a statistically significant improvement compared to the pre-test score (M = 4.5, S.D. = 2.554) at the .05 level (t = 15.2; p < .001). Additionally, each student demonstrated development in their religious diversity awareness, and 2) Students' development from reflective journals was classified into 3 themes: 1) Various religious practices, 2) Subjectivity in the religious dimension, and 3) Adapting and appreciating religion in a pluralistic society.