Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemLeadership and success in educational reform in Thailand( 2004)This thesis presents the results of a study to examine the relationship between leadership and success in educational reform in Rajabhat Institutes in Thailand. A strong emphasis was placed on the effects of leadership, reflecting both 'eastern' and 'western' perspectives and successful educational reform. The study employed a mixed method design in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analysed to answer a research question: 'How do presidents influence the achievement of successful educational reform in Rajabhat Institutes in Thailand?' The two types of data were collected independently. Quantitative data were gathered by questionnaire administered to 492 staff (308 females; 184 males) from three Rajabhat Institutes located in Bangkok, Thailand, who were nominated for their success in educational reform. Qualitative data derived from semi-structured interviews with the three presidents and a small selection of staff who were nominated by the presidents. Observations and analysis of secondary data were also employed. Some interesting findings emerged from the quantitative data analysis. As far as direct effects are concerned, results showed that a service-oriented leadership style, reflecting a "western" perspective had a strong direct effect on educational reform in Thailand. Dhamma-oriented leadership style reflecting an "eastern" approach had a negative direct effect on educational reform. However, dhamma-oriented leadership had a positive but indirect effect mediated by servant leadership. The findings from interviews were consistent with results derived from quantitative data. The study revealed that the combination of the two leadership approaches (dhamma-oriented and servant leadership) were used by the presidents of the three Rajabhat Institutes as instruments for successful educational reform. The findings have implications for practice in making educational reform a reality in similar settings in Thailand. First, leaders should focus on ensuring meaning in the work and be responsive to the needs of subordinates. They should be visionary and serve the well-being of others through their goals and work to accomplish the agreed-upon vision. Second, productive institutions require trust so that cooperation may emerge. In the Thai context, trust has been created by the moral behaviour of leaders. This moral behaviour can add value through mutual understanding, creating a process for the achievement of educational reform in Thailand. It is concluded that both approaches to leadership were important factors in achieving success in educational reform in Thailand.
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ItemStrategic leadership domains for Rajabhat University autonomy( 2003)This study sought to investigate essential elements for Rajabhat Institutes' transformation to higher educational autonomy as indicated by the literature survey. The first set of elements is the different areas of autonomy that Rajabhat Institutes should work toward, and the second is the strategic leadership domains that will facilitate the transformation process. Twenty respondents were formed as a subject group for the interview. The analysis was performed and the results were adapted and employed as per the content of the subsequent questionnaire. Next, the questionnaire was administered to one hundred and sixty Rajabhat personnel purposively selected from administrators and lecturers. The questionnaire using a 5- point Likert response and a ranking format determined the autonomy areas, strategic leadership domains and the level of significance of the strategic leadership domains on the autonomy areas. Statistical analysis of the questionnaire revealed that there were six autonomy areas that Rajabhats should focus their attention on for their successful transformation: academic affairs, administration and governance, personnel management, finance and budget, organisational development and quality assurance respectively. The strategic leadership domain prioritisation were proposed: vision and mission, teamwork, participation, resources, motivation, empowerment, communication and monitoring and assessment. In addition, the study also investigated the level of significance of strategic leadership domains on each autonomy area. The findings indicated that for effective transformation, different areas of autonomy might be facilitated by different strategic leadership domains. A robust model showing desirable transformation process, appropriate autonomy areas and their elements and specific strategic domain priorities has evolved from the questionnaire data. At a macro-level, the model indicates the necessary steps, the top priority autonomy areas and appropriate strategic leadership domains for certain areas. At a micro-level, the model shows the substantial elements of an autonomy area, appropriate strategic leadership domains, and the relevant internal contextual factors of Rajabhat Institutes. The results from both the interview and the questionnaire contributed significantly to the insight into what university autonomy should cover and how to effectively transform a higher education institution. As institutional transformation, either partial or institutional-wide, is considered a change process, the strategic leadership domains in this study concur with the management literature on change theories. Thus, the results from this study could be considered valid to other examples of organisational transformation.
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ItemLeadership for academic program administration in Rajabhat Institutes by using Bolman and Deal's framing approach( 2005)The purpose of this research was to investigate the leadership of deans and heads of programs in implementing the policy of academic program administration in Rajabhat Institutes. In particular, the study focused on the leaders' approach within a theoretical framework designed by two authors: Bolman and Deal. They identify four major characteristics and expected functions of leaders within four frames: the structural, the human resource, the political, and the symbolic. The main functions for each frame were to make people accept the change, to practice the policy, to disseminate the practice, to follow up the practice and to revise the practice. A qualitative approach was used to investigate the leaders' approach in implementing the new policy. The four characteristics of leadership in each frame were used to design questions to interview the deans and the heads of programs in order to investigate how they perceived their leadership in implementing the new academic program administration. Further, members of faculties (lecturers) were interviewed, utilising another set of questions, in order to discover their perspectives of the leadership of their deans and heads of programs. A Raj abhat Institute in the central part of Thailand was selected as a case study institute. A sample of deans, heads of programs, and lecturers participated in the study. Four deans were purposively selected. Eight heads of programs and eight lecturers were selected by simple random sampling from the four faculties. All documents related to the academic program administration were used in the study in order to supplement and compare this information with the interview data. The analysis has been presented in descriptive forms with tables. Results of the study revealed that both deans and heads of programs implemented the policy of the academic program administration with almost all the expected functions through the four frames, except for one expected function in the political frame - assess the distribution of power and interest. For the activities under each function in each frame, deans and heads of programs performed the first two activities the most often - to make people accept the change and to practise the change. The last three activities - to disseminate the practice, to follow up the practice, and to revise the practice, seldom occurred. Findings can be drawn to generate three models designed by the researcher to enhance effectiveness and efficiency of the program academic administration. These are a model for an implementation of the APA, a model for a leadership preparation for deans and heads of programs, and a model for an implementation preparation. Further research could investigate: (a) how new leaders could be developed and prepared to work within the system; (b) how leaders could be empowered to implement change; (c) how the structure of APA compares to a departmental structure; and (d) how the institute could contribute to the assessment process and link this to quality assurance.