A Study of the General Conditions of Educational Administration in Pilot Schools within the Educational Innovation Area, Phuket Province Primary Education Level under the Office of the Basic Education Commission

Background and Aim: Educational innovation areas represent a crucial policy initiative in Thailand's educational reform, requiring effective management frameworks for successful implementation. This study analyzed the general conditions of educational administration in pilot schools within Phuket Province's educational innovation area, examining the current implementation levels of Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling (POLC) dimensions to assess administrative effectiveness and identify development opportunities. Materials and Methods: This descriptive research employed questionnaire surveys with all 49 pilot elementary schools under the Office of the Basic Education Commission. The 5-point Likert scale questionnaire comprised demographic information, POLC framework assessment, and recommendations sections. Content validity was examined by five experts using Index of Objective Congruence (IOC), achieving Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficients of 0.88 or higher. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis of qualitative responses. Results Overall pilot school management operated at a "High" level (M=4.38, SD=0.48). Leading achieved the highest performance at the "Highest" level (M=4.52, SD=0.53), demonstrating administrators' clear vision, effective motivation creation, and strong teamwork culture. Planning (M=4.31, SD=0.50), Organizing (M=4.34, SD=0.54), and Controlling (M=4.35, SD=0.51) all operated at "High" levels. Key strengths included participatory planning processes, transparent decision-making, continuous personnel development, and systematic monitoring efforts. However, significant challenges persisted, including limited personnel understanding of sustainable planning, heavy workloads, lack of specialized innovation skills, personnel discontinuity due to transfers, insufficient systematic supervision, and absence of standardized measurement tools. Conclusion: This comprehensive analysis reveals that pilot schools demonstrate varied implementation levels across POLC dimensions, with Leading achieving the highest performance while Planning, Organizing, and Controlling require targeted improvements. The study provides empirical evidence of current administrative conditions and specific areas requiring enhancement to optimize educational innovation implementation. These findings contribute to the broader educational innovation discourse in Thailand by providing detailed assessment of administrative effectiveness and highlighting the critical importance of balanced POLC implementation for sustainable educational transformation in innovation areas.