The Abbots’ Roles in Monasteries Management in accordance with Good Governance Principles under the Sangha Region 10

The purposes of this research were: 1) to study problems of the administration of Sangha affairs regarding rules, regulations and good governance  towards the abbots’ roles in monasteries management in accordance with good governance principles under the Sangha Region 10; 2) to study factors affecting the abbots’ roles in monasteries management in accordance with good governance principles under the Sangha Region 10; 3) to study the abbots’ roles in monasteries management in accordance with good governance principles under the Sangha Region 10. The researcher used the Mixed Methods Research which was composed of: 1) Qualitative Research by interviewing 24 persons and analyzing the contents; and 2) Quantitative Research by collecting data from the questionnaires of sampling groups of 400 persons in 6 provinces by using linear regression analysis.

The qualitative research found that the problems of the administration dimension of monastic affairs and good governance principles towards the abbots’ roles in monasteries management in accordance with good governance principles under the Sangha Region 10 were: 1) Propagation - lack of proactive planning; 2) Religious education – lack of supporting budget; 3) Welfare education - lack of participation; 4) Public welfare - lack of planning; 5) Public facilities - conflicts with the community; and 6) Governance – lack of a proper structure. In addition, the quantitative research found that the factor of the clergy administration dimension affecting the abbots’ roles in monasteries management in accordance with good governance principles under the Sangha Region 10 was religious education with overall at high level (= 4.52, S.D.=0.69). The four predictive variables including religious education, public welfare, public facilities and governance were able to predict the abbots’ roles in monasteries management in accordance with good governance principles under the Sangha Region 10 with statistical significance at the level of 0.05, with the multiple correlation coefficient equal to 0.513, with the prediction power of 25.20 percent, and the standard error of prediction was 1.990. Good governance factors affecting the abbots’ roles in monasteries management in accordance with good governance principles under the Sangha Region 10 were overall at high level. The principles of transparency and participation were at the highest level (= 4.55, S.D. = 0.57, 0.66). The four predictive variables including the rule of law, participation, worthiness, and responsiveness were able to predict the abbots’ roles in monasteries management in accordance with good governance principles under the Sangha Region 10 with statistical significance at the level of 0.05, with the multiple correlation coefficient equal to 0.691, with the prediction power of 47.80 percent, and the standard error of prediction was 1.863.

Recommendations include: studying the attitudes of communities domiciled around religious sites; bringing research results to improve and upgrade the administration of the Sangha affairs; and putting into common practice for creating peace in the community.