Abstract:
The purposes of this study were 1) to study the quality of life of the Kui and their perception on the needs of basic education for the improvement of quality of life 2) to survey present education situations and problems, and 3) to propose guidelines concerning the provision of basic education for the development of the perceived quality of life. Three villages in Changwat Surin representing the Kui chang, Kui Khmer and Kui Lao were purposively selected. The researcher applied Participatory Rural Appraisal or PRA as technique used for collecting data from the Kui and local education authorities. Research findings were as follows : 1. Six areas of quality of life were perceived by most of the Kui chang , Kui Khmer and Kui lao; namely, income, vocation, health, education, participation in community development, as well as traditional custom, rituals and beliefs. When asked to prioritize, vocation and income were ranked as most important while education was ranked in the middle. It was also noteworthy to say that all groups showed their concern for cultural heritage although it was ranked low in priority. 2. All three groups of the Kui still believed that provision of basic education was the responsibility of the State. Schools ought to equip learners with literacy and skills required for work. Out-of-school activities should emphasize vocational knowledge and skills. Moreover, it was suggested that there should be some learning activities on their cultural wisdom; for example, the Kui Chang proposed A Mahout School. 3. School and local education personnel proposed that community participation in basic education should be encouraged. Besides vocational skills, more emphasis should be given to local wisdom such as traditional woven and dancing in order to preserve the Kuiʼs cultural identity.