Analyzing Strategic Educational Management through Place-Based Innovation: An Integrative Conceptual Framework
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Rapid transformations in social, technological, and spatial structures have intensified the challenges confronting educational institutions, particularly in developing management strategies that align with the capacities and limitations of their respective areas. A critical research gap lies in the absence of a comprehensive conceptual framework that explains how place-based innovation can be systematically integrated into educational management. This study aims to review and analyze literature related to school management through area-based innovation, and to examine a conceptual framework that serves as a guideline for developing effective and sustainable school management driven by area-based innovation. An in-depth documentary analysis was conducted using academic publications from 2020 to 2025 retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and Google Scholar. The analysis focused on extracting key conceptual constructs, implementation strategies, enabling conditions, and administrative constraints. The findings indicate that place-based innovation substantially enhances the alignment between educational practices and local sociocultural and environmental dynamics. Four strategic approaches emerged: community-based learning, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) integration, flexible learning-space design, and innovation-oriented strategic leadership. Success factors include stakeholder collaboration, technological readiness, an innovation-supportive organizational culture, and sustained teacher competency development. Major constraints involve resource disparities, limited specialized expertise, and resistance to organizational change. The synthesis results of this study present an integrated conceptual framework for school management through place-based innovation. This contributes to the expansion of knowledge in context-specific educational administration and serves as a policy and practical reference for school administrators and policymakers in designing sustainable school development strategies aligned with local contexts. Furthermore, future research should emphasize long-term impact studies and cross-contextual comparisons to validate the effectiveness of place-based innovation across diverse educational systems.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
-
Authors must agree to the journal publication rules and allow the editors to edit the manuscripts for publication.
-
Author’s right belongs to the author but Journal of Southern Technology holds the right of first publication and thus allow readers to use the article for the purpose of education but not commercial.
References
Adams, D., & Thompson, P. (2025). Transforming school leadership with artificial intelligence: Applications, implications, and future directions. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 24(1), 77-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2024.2411295
Ariel, Y., Cohen, N., & Davidovitch, N. (2023). Place-based education in diverse urban communities: The case of Israel. Journal of Urban Affairs, 45(8), 1537–1555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2023.06.003
Bakar, S. A., Lee, M. H., & Parveen, S. (2023). Exploring the relationship between school-based management and school climate using PISA data. Asia Pacific Education Review, 24(4), 521–538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-023-09846-0
Barbieri, N., Roda, I., & Macchi, M. (2025). Transforming learning environments: Asset management, social innovation and design thinking for educational facilities 5.0. Education Sciences, 15(8), 967. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15080967
Chaemchoy, S. (2020). Secondary school management innovation for creating innovators. Journal of Education Naresuan University, 22(2), 193–213.
Greany, T., & Higham, R. (2020). Place-based governance and leadership in decentralized school systems: Evidence from England. Journal of Education Policy, 35(6), 844–865.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2020.1792554
Gumilao, J. (2025). Leveraging technology and research to shape educational policy. Journal of Education and Learning Reviews, 2(3), 21-30. https://doi.org/10.60027/jelr.2025.1429
Hoque, K. E. (2025). Introduction changing roles of educational managers. In The changing roles of educational managers. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-1086-0_1
Hung, D., & Lim, M. (2022). School-to-school networks for sustaining education innovation change: Situating teacher leaders at every middle of the system. In D. Hung, L. Wu, & D. Kwek (Eds.), Diversifying schools. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6034-4_9
Ibrahim, F., Susanto, H., Haghi, P. K., & Setiana, D. (2020). Shifting paradigm of education landscape in time of the COVID-19 pandemic: Revealing of a digital education management information system. Applied System Innovation, 3(4), 49. https://doi.org/10.3390/asi3040049
Jones, D. A. (2025). Integrating STEM education in sustained deep rural schools: Innovative strategies for multi-grade, multi-subject classrooms. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1569489
López-Meneses, E., Palomero-Ilardia, I-M., Pelícano-Piris, N., & Morales-Cevallos, M-B. (2025). Harnessing intelligent GISs for educational innovation: A bibliometric analysis of real-time data models. Education Sciences, 15(8), 976. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15080976
Limsuwannarot, O., Chanma, C., & Jarujittipan, P. (2024). Developmental guidelines to be an educational innovative organization for the basic schools in the education sandbox of Thailand. Asia Social Issues, 17(3), e254720. https://doi.org/10.48048/asi.2024.254720 [in Thai]
Mogas, J., Palau, R., Fuentes, M., & Cebrián, G. (2021). Smart schools on the way: How school principals from Catalonia approach the future of education within the fourth industrial revolution. Learning Environments Research, 25(3), 875–893. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-021-09398-3
Oragun, U., Boriboon, P., & Moonpom, D. (2020). Conceptual framework and Research Direction of Innovations Educational Management Research to Sustainable Development: Thailand Education Reform 4.0. Journal of Education Rajabhat Maha Sarakham University, 17(1), 29–43. [in Thai]
Pholphithuk, V., Pailai, T., & Thummarat, P. (2020). The proposed policy for developing education management in Nakhon Phanom province based on the 20-year national education plan. Journal of Roi Et Rajabhat University, 14(3), 81–92. [in Thai]
Purnomo, E.N., Imron, A., Wiyono, B.B., & Sobri, A.Y. (2024). Transformation of digital-based school culture: Implications of change management on virtual learning environment integration. Cogent Education, 11(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2303562 [in Thai]
Rehman, N., Huang, X., Mahmood, A., & Zafeer, H.M.I. (2025). Emerging trends and effective strategies in STEM teacher professional development: A systematic review. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04272-y
Sitthisomjin, J., Somprach, K., & Phuseeorn, S. (2019). The effects of innovation management on school performance of secondary schools in Thailand. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 41(1), 34–39. [in Thai]
Smith, J. K., & Johnson, L. M. (2023). Place-based innovation in educational management: Conceptual framework and practical implications. International Journal of Educational Innovation, 15(2), 145–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedinno.2023.145162
Zheng, M., Yan, S., & Xu, S. (2025). Digital economy, industry-academia-research collaborative innovation, and the development of new-quality productive forces. Sustainability, 17(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010318.
