The Model of Administrative Skills in Digital Era for School Administrators under the Office of the Private Education, Ra-ngae District, Narathiwat Province

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to 1) study condition and model of administrative skills in the digital era for school administrators under the Office of the Private Education,
Ra-ngae District, Narathiwat Province, and 2) develop a model of digital-era administrative skills for school administrators. The research was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 involved studying relevant documents and research on digital-era administrative skills using semi-structured interviews with 11 informants. The data were analyzed using content analysis. Phase 2 focused on developing and evaluating the digital-era administrative skills model, which included the following steps: 1. The researcher synthesized the findings from Phase 1 to draft the digital-era administrative skills model and had it reviewed for accuracy by three experts through in-depth interviews. The data were analyzed using content analysis. 2. The researcher developed an appropriateness assessment form for the digital-era administrative skills model to examine content validity using the Item-Objective Congruence Index (IOC) from three experts and to assess reliability through a try-out with 30 school directors, assistant school directors, department heads, teachers, and educational personnel who were not part of the research sample. The overall reliability, as measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficient, was .97. 3. The appropriateness assessment form for the digital-era administrative skills model was then used to collect data from a sample of 289 school administrators and teachers under the Office of Private Education, Ra-ngae District, Narathiwat Province, selected through stratified random sampling proportional to the size of the schools. Quantitative data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to evaluate the digital-era administrative skills model for school administrators.

The research findings revealed:

The current state and model of digital-era administrative skills of school administrators comprised five skills: 1) Technical Skills in Technology and Digital Usage, 2) Conceptual and Creative Thinking Skills, 3) Human Relations Skills, 4) Learning and Teaching Management Skills, and 5) Knowledge and Understanding Skills.

The developed model of digital-era administrative skills for school administrators consisted of five skills, with the following sub-components for each: 1) Technical Skills in Technology and Digital Usage included school public relations techniques using diverse formats, appropriate language communication skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), and the beneficial use of information technology in administration. 2) Conceptual and Creative Thinking Skills involved methods to encourage personnel to express creativity and opinions, the ability to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the school for administrative benefits, and the appropriate and comprehensive planning for school quality development across all areas. 3) Human Relations Skills encompassed effective community involvement in educational management, the ability to adapt to the community and school context, and understanding and acceptance of individual differences. 4) Learning and Teaching Management Skills included monitoring educational trends and news for instructional development, conducting regular and supportive teaching supervision, and motivating teachers to change teaching methods by focusing on essential skill enhancement and integrating daily life and technology. 5) Knowledge and Understanding Skills comprised continuous and consistent idea and experience exchange with teachers, the appropriate delegation of administrative authority to teachers based on job characteristics, and the creation and effective implementation of a modern school administrative vision aligned with the school context.

The evaluation of the appropriateness for implementing the digital-era administrative skills model indicated a high level of appropriateness overall and in each skill area, suggesting that the developed model is suitable for enhancing the administrative skills of school administrators under the Office of Private Education, Ra-ngae District, Narathiwat Province.