Institutional Readiness for Implementing Artificial Intelligence in School Administration : A Study of Small - and Medium - Sized Secondary Schools under the Secondary Educational Service Area Office Nakhon Pathom

Abstract

This study aimed to (1) examine the readiness of small- and medium-sized secondary schools under the Nakhon Pathom Secondary Educational Service Area Office to adopt artificial intelligence in school administration, and (2) propose guidelines for enhancing such readiness. A mixed-methods research design was employed. Phase 1 involved a survey of 150 teachers during the 2025 academic year, using a questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.965; data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. Phase 2 consisted of in-depth interviews with three purposively selected experts, with data analyzed through content analysis. The findings revealed that overall school readiness for AI-based administration was at a high level. Policy direction and support from supervising authorities demonstrated the highest level of readiness, followed by the development of digital and AI competencies among teachers and educational personnel, and infrastructure and institutional resources. Collaboration with external digital and AI-related organizations showed the lowest level of readiness, indicating systemic limitations in inter-organizational networking. Furthermore, the proposed development guidelines were synthesized into four key dimensions comprising 18 approaches: policy and supervisory support (6 approaches), infrastructure and resources (4 approaches), personnel competency development (4 approaches), and external collaboration (4 approaches). These guidelines emphasize strengthening organizational readiness, governance mechanisms, and evidence-based policy decision-making to enable the effective, equitable, and sustainable integration of AI into school administration.