Participation of senior citizens in educational management of local administrative organizations affecting the quality of life: a case study of Schools for Senior Citizens in Rayong Province
The rapid increase of senior citizens in Thailand due to the advancements in science and medical technology, widely impacts the domestic economic recession. The government is prepared to assist the quality of life for the aging society through encouraging senior citizens to be self - realized and independent. The purposes of this research were: 1) to study the participative level of senior citizens in educational management of local administrative organizations in Rayong Province, 2) to investigate the level of quality of life for senior citizens registered by schools of senior citizens in Rayong Province, 3) to analyze the relationship between the participation of senior citizens in educational management of local administrative organizations and the quality of life for registered senior citizens in Rayong Province, and 4) to formulate the predictive equation of participation of senior citizens in educational management of local administrative organizations affecting the quality of life for registered senior citizens in Rayong Province. The sample size in this research was a group of 283 registered senior citizens in their schools under the jurisdiction of local administrative organizations in Rayong Province, and determined by proportional stratified random sampling method and administrative area – based sampling classification. The instrument for data collection was a five-rating scale constructed questionnaire involving the participation and quality of life of senior citizens in educational management of local administrative organizations in Rayong Province, and it had a reliability of 0.96. The data were analyzed by using: arithmetic mean, standard deviation, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, F-test, t-test, and Simple Linear Regression.
The results showed that: 1) participation of senior citizens in educational management of local administrative organizations in Rayong Province overall was at the high level, 2) the quality of life for registered senior citizens in Rayong Province overall was at the highest level, 3) the relationship between participation of senior citizens in educational management and the quality of life for registered senior citizens in their schools under local administrative organizations in Rayong Province was statistically positive at the .01 significance level, and 4) participation of senior citizens in educational management affecting their quality of life in schools under local administrative organization in Rayong Province could be described as a predictive equation in terms of raw score (Y ̂ = 2.879** 0.401**X) and standard score (Z ̂y = 0.529** ZX) respectively. The chief executive of local administrative organizations can utilize the research result as a guideline for participative management in schools for senior citizens through encouraging the senior citizens to participate in operation control and evaluation, providing advice on health care, as well as establishing social networks supporting better quality of life in the long run.