Guidelines for Developing Digital Leadership of School Administrators under Maha Sarakham Primary Educational Service Area Office 3

Abstract

The objectives of this research were: (1) to examine the current state of digital leadership among school administrators, and (2) to propose guidelines for its  development. A mixed-methods approach was employed. The quantitative sample consisted of 370 school administrators and teachers selected through stratified random sampling. The research instrument was a five-point rating scale questionnaire with a content validity index ranging from 0.67 to 1.00 and a reliability coefficient of 0.68. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and percentage. The qualitative data were obtained from three purposively selected school administrators through in-depth interviews and analyzed using content analysis. The research results revealed that: 1. The overall level of digital leadership among school administrators was at the highest level (x̄ = 4.56, S.D. = 0.67). The top five components with the highest mean scores were: digital vision (x̄ = 4.59, S.D. = 0.65), digital ethics (x̄ = 4.57, S.D. = 0.64), professional development (x̄ = 4.56, S.D. = 0.70), digital learning approaches (x̄ = 4.55, S.D. = 0.65), and technological competence (x̄ = 4.52, S.D. = 0.70). 2. The development guidelines for digital leadership comprised five key dimensions: (1) digital vision, (2) professional development, (3) digital learning approaches, (4) digital ethics, and (5) technological competence, with a total of 17 sub-guidelines. These included promoting the use of technology in schools, setting digital goals, creating learning environments, emphasizing ethical media use, and building learning exchange networks. The guidelines highlighted the pivotal role of administrators in driving an effective and sustainable transition to the digital era.