ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS IN THE 21ST CENTURY IN THE WANG BURAPHA SCHOOL NETWORK UNDER THE SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AREA OFFICE SA KAEO

Abstract

This research aimed to: 1) study the academic leadership of school administrators in the 21st century in the Wang Burapha School Network under the Secondary Educational Service Area Office, Sa Kaeo; and 2) compare teachers’ opinions toward the academic leadership of school administrators, classified by gender, highest educational level, and work experience in schools. The sample consisted of 202 teachers in the Wang Burapha School Network. The research instrument was a five-point rating scale questionnaire with an Index of Item–Objective Congruence ranging from 0.67 to 1.00 and an overall reliability coefficient of 0.908. The statistics used for data analysis were percentage, mean, standard deviation, independent-samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and Scheffé’s method for pairwise comparisons. The findings revealed that: 1) the academic leadership of school administrators was at a high level overall. When considered by aspect, all aspects were high as well. The aspect with the highest mean was the creation of a learning-supportive atmosphere, followed by educational supervision, teacher and educational personnel development, vision for keeping pace with change, and curriculum development and instructional management using technology for learning, respectively; 2) teachers of different genders showed no difference in their overall opinions toward the academic leadership of school administrators; 3) teachers with different highest educational levels showed a statistically significant difference in their overall opinions at the .05 level. When considered by aspect, significant differences were found in curriculum development and instructional management using technology for learning, and teacher and educational personnel development; and 4) teachers with different work experience in schools showed statistically significant differences in their overall opinions and in four aspects at the .05 level, namely vision for keeping pace with change, curriculum development and instructional management using technology for learning, educational supervision, and teacher and educational personnel development.