ABSTRACT

             The main objectives of this thesis are: 1) to study the gratefulness of a children which  should be practiced towards their parents of the Moeiwadeepittayakom secondary school students, Roi-et province, and 2) to study the process of gratefulness cultivation of the Moeiwadeepittayakom secondary school students, Roi-et province,  towards their parents. This thesis was conducted based on quantitative research methodology. 576 students and 576 parents, in total 1,152, were the target population in this study, and had reliability at 0.95. This study also applied the sampling according to Yamane's method and had 298 samples. It also applied Percentage, Mean, and Standard deviation in data  analysis.

                      The result of the study found that:  the process of gratefulness cultivation of the students towards their parents of Moeiwadeepittayakom secondary school students, Roi-et province resulted in middle scale. The most required practices were: kept up the honour and the tradition of one family, did their works for them, made oneself worthy of one’s heritage, and took care and supported the parents respectively. The lowest required practice was making offerings, dedicating merit to the parents after their death.

                      The process of fostering gratefulness of the students towards their parents of Moeiwadeepittayakom secondary school students, Roi-et province were: nurturing the parents, the school should invite a dhamma teacher to teach Buddhist ethical principles to the students at every weekend, should organize ethical training camps in each semester, activities conducive to respecting parents should be held in every academic year. In the case doing works for the parents, there should be a training on mental cultivation on Buddhist holy days, an hour for course of Buddhism should be extended. Regarding the  point of keeping up the honour and the tradition of one’s family, there should be a discussion on fostering ethical principles to the students before the classes began  every morning, the association of the Buddhist groups also should be organized. Regarding making oneself worthy of one’s heritage, the students should respects to the teachers whenever they passed by, there should be an academic competition on writing an essay and giving a speech about gratefulness. Last but not the least, for the making offerings, dedicating merit to the parents after their death, singing folk song (saraphanya) about gratefulness, offering food at the temple, and exhibition concerning gratefulness in the class room were necessary in this context.