Development of Moral and Ethical Principles for School Administrators in Surat Thani Primary Educational Service Area Office 1

Abstract

This article aimed to 1) study the levels of morality and ethics in actual conditions and expected conditions of school administrators in Surat Thani Primary Educational Service Area Office 1, 2) confirm the morality and ethics model for school administrators in Surat Thani Primary Educational Service Area Office 1, and 3) analyze the confirmatory factor analysis components of the morality and ethics model development for school administrators in Surat Thani Primary Educational Service Area Office 1. This study employed a mixed-methods research design, using concepts and theories related to morality and ethics as the research framework. The research area was Surat Thani Primary Educational Service Area Office 1. The sample consisted of 291 teachers selected through multi-stage random sampling. Two types of research instruments were used: 1) questionnaires and 2) interviews. The instrument reliability coefficients using Cronbach's alpha formula were 0.95 for actual conditions and 0.97 for expected conditions. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, means, standard deviations, paired samples t-tests, descriptive writing, and confirmatory factor analysis using Mplus software.

The research findings revealed that 1) the levels of morality and ethics in actual conditions of school administrators were at a high level with a mean of 4.12, and expected conditions were at a high level with a mean of 4.83, with statistically significant differences at the .01 level. 2) The morality and ethics model for school administrators was developed as a behavioral ethics model covering five dimensions: ethics toward oneself, ethics toward the profession, ethics toward service recipients, ethics toward professional colleagues, and ethics toward society. 3) The confirmatory factor analysis model showed a satisfactory fit with empirical data, with statistical values of Chi-square p-value = 0.2430, Relative Chi-square = 1.052, CFI = 0.993, TLI = 0.991, SRMR = 0.033, and RMSEA = 0.011. This research confirms that the developed morality and ethics model is appropriate and can be effectively used as a guideline for developing school administrators.