GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING SOFT SKILLS AND ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATION IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE NONTHABURI SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AREA OFFICE

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to: 1) examine the level of soft skills of school administrators under the Nonthaburi Secondary Educational Service Area Office, 2) investigate the level of academic administration in the schools under the same jurisdiction, 3) analyze the relationship between administrators' soft skills and academic administration, and 4) propose development guidelines for enhancing administrators’ soft skills in relation to academic administration. The population consisted of 1,831 teachers from schools affiliated with the Nonthaburi Secondary Educational Service Area Office. A sample of 330 teachers was selected using stratified random sampling.

        The results showed that: 1) the overall level of administrators’ soft skills was high (x̅ = 4.20, SD = 0.60). In descending order, the mean scores were: problem-solving skills (x̅ = 4.29, SD = 0.52), leadership (x̅ = 4.23, SD = 0.51), communication (x̅ = 4.20, SD = 0.58), ethics and morality (x̅ = 4.15, SD = 0.79), and teamwork (x̅ = 4.15, SD = 0.58); 2) the overall level of academic administration was high (x̅ = 4.34, SD = 0.65), with the highest means in assessment and evaluation (x̅ = 4.35, SD = 0.65), learning process development (x̅ = 4.35, SD = 0.61), educational supervision (x̅ = 4.33, SD = 0.66), and curriculum development (x̅ = 4.31, SD = 0.67);  3) there was a statistically significant positive correlation between soft skills and academic administration at the moderate level (r, p < .01). Development guidelines were proposed in five key areas: leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and ethics.