EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION MANAGEMENT IN SCHOOLS UNDER PHETCHABUN PRIMARY EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AREA OFFICE 3 BASED ON THE FOUR SANGAHAVATTHU PRINCIPLES

Abstract

The objectives of this research were: (1) to study the conditions of early childhood education administration in schools under the Office of Phetchabun Primary Educational Service Area 3; and (2) to propose guidelines for early childhood education administration in schools under the Office of Phetchabun Primary Educational Service Area 3 based on the Four Sangahavatthu principles. This research employed a mixed-methods approach. The quantitative data were collected from a sample group consisting of 291 school administrators and teachers under the Office of Phetchabun Primary Educational Service Area 3. The sample size was determined using the Krejcie and Morgan table. The research instrument was a five-point rating scale questionnaire with an Index of Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) of 1.00 and a reliability coefficient, calculated by Cronbach’s Alpha, of 0.970. The statistics used for data analysis were frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The qualitative data were collected from 10 key informants using an in-depth interview form and were analyzed by content analysis.

The findings revealed that

1. The overall condition of early childhood education administration in schools under the Office of Phetchabun Primary Educational Service Area 3 was at the highest level (X̄ = 4.61, S.D. = 0.54). When considering each aspect, the aspect with the highest mean was developmental assessment, which was at the highest level (X̄ = 4.68, S.D. = 0.50), followed by learning experience provision, which was at the highest level (X̄ = 4.64, S.D. = 0.52), followed by the arrangement of environment, media, and learning resources, which was at the highest level (X̄ = 4.61, S.D. = 0.53), followed by the writing of learning experience plans, which was at the highest level (X̄ = 4.58, S.D. = 0.55). The aspect with the lowest mean was the development of the early childhood school curriculum, which was also at the highest level (X̄ = 4.52, S.D. = 0.58).
2. The guidelines were as follows: 1) in curriculum development, administrators should promote teachers’ participation; 2) in writing learning experience plans, they should provide continuous supervision; 3) in learning experience provision, they should encourage play-based and hands-on learning; 4) in arranging environments, media, and learning resources, they should support safe and appropriate settings; and 5) in developmental assessment, they should use assessment results to improve children’s learning and enhance early childhood education quality.