Academic Management in the 21st Century of School Administrators Under the Phang Nga Provincial Office of Learning Encouragement.

Abstract

This research employed a mixed-methods design with the following objectives: 1) to examine academic administration in the 21st century, and 2) to explore guidelines for developing 21st-century academic administration among school administrators under the Phang Nga Provincial Office of Learning Encouragement. The population consisted of 71 participants, including school administrators, civil servant teachers, and learning center teachers. The key informants for interviews totaled 10 persons, comprising 3 school administrators, 2 civil servant teachers acting as school directors, 2 civil servant teachers who had previously served as acting school directors, and 3 learning center teachers holding a master’s degree in Educational Administration. The research instruments included a five-point rating scale questionnaire on 21st-century academic administration and a structured interview form. The statistics used for data analysis were percentage, mean, standard deviation, and content analysis. The overall reliability of the instrument was 0.96. The research findings revealed that the overall level of 21st-century academic administration among school administrators under the Phang Nga Provincial Office of Learning Encouragement was at a high level. When ranked in order, the aspects were as follows: development and utilization of educational technology and media; instructional management; educational supervision; measurement, evaluation, and credit transfer implementation; and school curriculum development, respectively. Regarding the development guidelines, it was found that administrators should systematically develop teachers through active learning management and digital technology integration. They should drive flexible competency-based curricula aligned with community contexts, emphasizing participatory approaches. The assessment system should be reformed to focus on authentic assessment that supports the transfer of prior learning and experience. Educational supervision should adopt a collegial approach to foster professional learning communities. Furthermore, the use of innovative media and digital culture in academic administration should be promoted, with an emphasis on developing learners’ thinking and communication skills to sustainably enhance learner quality in the 21st century.