A Needs Assessment to Develop Innovative Thinking Skills of School Administrators in Phichai District

Abstract

This research aimed to assess the essential needs for developing innovative thinking skills of school administrators in Phichai District. The sample group consisted of 40 schools
in Phichai District under the Office of Uttaradit Primary Educational Service Area 1.
The participants, selected through purposive sampling, including 40 school administrators, selected through stratified sampling and simple random sampling 80 teachers, totaling 120 respondents. A purposive sampling method was employed. The research instrument was a
5-level Likert scale questionnaire, duel-response format type. The content validity (IOC) of
the questionnaire ranged between 0.80 -1.00, and the overall reliability was 0.988. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and a modified priority needs index (PNI_modified).

The results revealed that the priority needs index for developing innovative thinking skills among school administrators in Phichai District was overall at .27. When analyzed by specific aspects, "Collaboration" was identified as the highest priority, followed by "Creative Thinking." The aspect with the lowest average score was "Visual Thinking." The findings from this research highlight the importance of developing innovative thinking skills to enhance the quality of school administration, with an emphasis on fostering collaboration and encouraging participation based on individuals’ unique strengths and roles.

Keywords: Innovative Thinking Skills, Needs Assessment, School Administrators