BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY LEARNING MODEL FOR ENHANCING HOLISTIC HEALTH OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Abstract

 This research included three objectives namely: 1) To study the concepts of enhancing holistic health according to the Buddhist psychology principles; 2) To create a Buddhist psychology learning model for enhancing holistic health of preschool children; 3) To present the Buddhist psychology learning model for enhancing holistic health of preschool children. It was a mixed methods research. The study included 3 phases: Phase 1, concept of enhancing holistic health according to the Buddhist psychology principles; Phase 2, creation of a Buddhist psychology learning model for enhancing holistic health of preschool children; and Phase 3, presentation of a Buddhist psychology learning model for enhancing holistic health of preschool children. The research instruments included:  a focus group discussion form and a research questionnaire. The quantitative data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and T-test. The qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis and descriptive summaries. The research results were as follows. 1. The concept of Buddhist psychology for enhancing the holistic health of preschool children by using the principles of psychology from the theory of psychoanalytic development of Freud and Gesell combined with the Buddhist principles of Iddhipada 4 (path of accomplishment) for formulating a Buddhist psychology learning model for enhancing holistic health of preschool children. 2. Buddhist psychological learning model for enhancing the holistic health of preschool children included 4 main activities related to: 1) Physical; 2) Mental; 3) Social; and 4) Intellectual. 3. For the presentation of the Buddhist psychological learning model for enhancing the holistic health of preschool children, it was found that the overall average before using the Buddhist psychological learning model for enhancing the holistic health of preschool children was at a moderate level (mean 2.75). The aspect with the highest average was social well-being (mean 2.85), followed by mental health (mean 2.81) and the lowest aspect was the intellectual health (mean 2.55). After using the Buddhist psychological learning model for enhancing the holistic health of the preschool children, the overall average was at high level (mean 3.88). The two highest aspects were physical and intellectual health (mean 4.78), followed by social health (mean 4.50) and the lowest aspect was psychological wellbeing (mean 4.44). The researcher tested by using Paire Samples t-test. The results showed that the Buddhist psychological learning model for enhancing the holistic health of preschool children was not different from studying in the curriculum of the Ministry of Education