Human Resource Development Based on the Principles of Tri-sikkhā in Municipalities of San Sai District, Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

This study aimed to 1) assess the level of human resource development (HRD) in municipalities of San Sai District, Chiang Mai Province; 2) examine the relationships between the Buddhist Threefold Training (Tri-sikkhā: sīla, samādhi, paññā) and HRD outcomes; and 3) propose Tri-sikkhā-based HRD guidelines. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was employed. The quantitative strand surveyed a proportionately stratified sample of 398 respondents across 12 municipalities using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation) and Pearson’s correlation, with hypothesis testing at the significance level of p < 0.01.

          3)The qualitative strand comprised in-depth interviews with 10 key informants from four stakeholder groups—municipal executives, municipal civil servants/employees, scholars in public administration, and Buddhist studies scholars—and was analyzed through systematic content analysis.

          The research findings revealed that:

          1) Tri-sikkhā was at a very high level overall with wisdom (paññā) highest HRD was at a high level across all domains education development

          2) The relationships between Tri-sikkhā and HRD outcomes were statistically significant overall and by dimension (p < 0.01), with effect sizes ranging from moderate to moderately high. Qualitative results explicated key mechanisms—cultivation of an ethical culture (sīla), mindful self-regulation at work (samādhi), and system/digital learning (paññā)—alongside constraints related to workload, resource limitations, and seniority-based culture. The study proposes the “KFCSMA SMART MODEL” as a structured framework for system-level, Tri-sikkhā-driven HRD in Thai municipalities.