The Perfonnance of leT Policy Implementation in Education: Evidence from Upper-Level Secondary Schools in Thailand

Abstract

This study has three objectives: first, it aims to test a model of the performance of JCT policy implementation in education in Thailand; second it compares the level of differences and similarities of the determinants and the performance of JCT policy implementation between Group J-the upper-level secondary schools of the Lab School Project and Group II-the remaining upper level secondary schools of the office of the basic education commission (OBEC); finally, it offers recommendations for further development of the performance JCT policy implementation in education.

The study employs a structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis based on the analysis of moment structures (AMOS) and t-tests. It reveals that the model can be determined by two exogenous latent variables; namely, the lCT policy conditions and characteristics of school directors; and two other endogenous latent variables include the characteristics of teachers and students, and the performance of lCT policy implementation. The coefficient of determination of the model explains that 38.4% of the variation of the performance of lCT policy implementation in education is determined by the condition, school director characteristics, and teacher and student characteristics. With a t-test at the confident level of 95%, findings indicated that the level of performance of lCT policy implementation in education, and the characteristics of teachers and students, between Group I and Group II schools were not statistically different. In contrast, the level of school director characteristics and the policy condition between the two groups were statistically different; the transformational leadership style of school directors in Group II was higher than that of Group I, and the role of the OBEC in Group I was higher than in Group II. The study offers three recommendations, including policy conditions, characteristics of policy imp1ementers, and further study. The recommendations cover provisions of additional technical resources and budget, training for teachers and students, technical assistance with teachers' ICT operations, and a cross-comparison study between schools under centralized control of the OBEC and those schools under the decentralized control of local administration organizations, respectively.