Results of Using Social Media to Enhance Awareness of the Thailand Cultural Exchange Festival for Surin Rajabhat University Students

Abstract

This research aims to design engagement activities through social media for the Thailand Cultural Exchange Festival for students at Surindra Rajabhat University, and to study their perception of the festival. The sample group consisted of 39 students enrolled in the "21^st Century Skills for Life and Careers" course in the second semester of the academic year 2024. A purposive sampling method was used. The research instruments included a questionnaire and an observation form. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The research findings revealed that the engagement activities aligned with the schedule of the Thailand Cultural Exchange Festival and were integrated with the mission of the Office of Arts and Culture in the preservation and promotion of arts and culture, as well as with active learning strategies. The results of using social media of the Office of Arts and Culture yielded 105 followers and 1,269 likes. The top three posts with the highest view counts were 3,639, 2,923, and 2,912 views respectively. These results were attributed to the use of promotional strategies to enhance awareness of the festival. Moreover, the study of students' perception of the Thailand Cultural Exchange Festival found that, overall, perception was at a high level. When considering individual items, it was found that the most agreed-upon statement was that social media enables quick access to international cultural content, while promoting international cultural exchange is important statement received lower scores compared to other items. Furthermore, the observation of students' project outcomes revealed that the top five total scores were 46,853; 8,820; 1,787; 1,107; and 865, respectively.