Leadership Characteristics of First-Line School administrators under the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Central), Bangkok

Abstract

The objectives of this research article were 1) to study the current situation and expectations; and 2) to propose guidelines for developing leadership characteristics of first-line school administrators under the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Central), Bangkok. This was a mixed methods research, namely Phase 1: in terms of quantitative research, the sample group was 304 civil servants, calculated from Taro Yamane's formula with statistical significance level equal to 0.05. The research tool was a rating scale questionnaire. The confidence value was 0.989. Statistics used to analyze the data were mean, standard deviation, and necessary needs value; Phase 2: in the aspect of qualitative research, a group of key informants was 5 experts by purposive sampling. The instrument was a semi-structured interview. Data were analyzed by content analysis. The results of the research found that 1) the current situation of leadership characteristics of first-line school administrators, overall, was at a high level. Condition of expectations for leadership characteristics of first-line school administrators, overall, was at a high level and the necessary needs for developing the leadership characteristics of first-line school administrators in the first 3 areas, namely administrative skills aspect, vision aspect, and experiences and achievements in work aspect, respectively; and 2) guidelines for developing leadership characteristics of first-line school administrators found that the administrative skills aspect should be developed prior to appointment through various forms of development according to the specific context as well as there should be collaboration among coaches and regular meetings to discuss internal work. In terms of vision aspect, a mechanism for human resource management and development should be developed. There should be guidelines or methods for creating participation. There should be an assessment of the capabilities of yourself and your subordinates. An organizational culture that promoted learning for continuous self-improvement should be created. In terms of experience and achievements aspect, model thinking should be promoted along with promoting work behavior and openness to learning about work. Performance indicators and targets should be established along with creating more interaction at the same level. There should be support for opportunities to participate in academic publication events and there should be coordination with other agencies.