Components and Indicators of Soft Skill Leadership Skills of School Administrators Under the Primary Educational Service Area Office in the Three Southern Border Provinces

This study aimed to analyze the components and indicators of soft skill leadership skills of school administrators under the Primary Educational Service Area Offices in the three southern border provinces of Thailand. The sample consisted of 300 teachers working in schools under these offices. The sample size was determined based on the recommendation of Comrey and Lee (1992), which considers a sample size of 300 to be good for factor analysis. The research instrument was a questionnaire developed by the researcher based on a review of relevant literature. The questionnaire consisted of two parts- general information of respondents and teachers' opinions on the components and indicators of soft skill leadership skills of school administrators. The instrument included 72 items measured on a five-point rating scale. The content validity of the instrument yielded a Scale-Level Content Validity Index (S-CVI) of 1.00, and the reliability coefficient was .993. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency and percentage, and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The results showed that Bartlett's Test of Sphericity was 31872.117 and statistically significant, while the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value was .967, indicating a high level of sampling adequacy. Factor extraction was conducted using Principal Axis Factoring with oblique rotation. The findings revealed four components and seven indicators of soft skill leadership skills among school administrators- (1) Interpersonal and Collaborative Leadership (three indicators), (2) Learning Culture Leadership (one indicator), (3) Systematic Problem Management (two indicators), and (4) Effective Communication (one indicator).