The Evolution of Digital School Leadership
Schools are increasingly infused with digital technologies for managerial, administrative, educational, and communicative purposes. They make use of a wide range of digital resources, and digital practices are continuously changing. This calls for new skills and competences for teachers and school leaders, particularly in the area of digital school leadership.
Issues such as leadership and management, providing adequate digital infrastructure including hardware and software, fostering professional development for teachers, along with privacy and information security have emerged as crucial areas of responsibility and competence for school leaders. However, compared to the literature on the role of teachers in a digitalized environment, the literature addressing the school leader’s role in digitalized school contexts seems to be rather fragmented and limited.
To get a systematized overview of the research literature on digital school leadership and its social and cognitive structure, we applied an approach using bibliometric methods such as network analysis, science mapping, and automatic content analysis. This allowed us to identify, map, systematize, and describe the larger body of literature on this topic.
Mapping the Literature on Digital School Leadership
Our review covers research published in English since 1945, retrieved from three databases: Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). After removing duplicates, we screened 2,308 references and included 350 documents for further analysis.
Trends in Publication over Time
The research literature on digital school leadership can be characterized as an emerging, fragmented, and interdisciplinary field. Most literature is published after 2010, with an increase in publications after 2019, resulting in a peak in 2021. This could be interpreted as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, where schools in many countries resorted to online schooling, highlighting the importance of digital school leadership.
We divided the sample of publications into three groups according to the following time periods:
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1992-2009: The early phase of digitalization in schools, characterized by the infusion of technology, the establishment of high-speed internet connection and infrastructure, and teacher training.
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2010-2020: The phase of increasing digitalization in schools, marked by the maturation of digital resources and teaching practices facilitated by the digital agenda for Europe.
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2021-2023: The phase of digitalization related to the COVID-19 pandemic, where the need for further digital transformation became more evident.
Preferred Journals and Geographical Distribution
The included studies are published in 220 different scientific journals, indicating a high fragmentation and distribution of the literature over different publication channels. The journals where most papers are published are in the fields of education, administration and management, and technology studies.
The geographical distribution of the literature shows that the United States is the most connected country, with the highest number of normalized citations. Norway and Sweden also have a relatively high score, indicating a strong connection to other countries such as Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.
Key Researchers and Connections
Our citation analysis and bibliographic coupling revealed that only a few authors have authored/co-authored five or more papers, indicating a fragmented field. The most prolific authors are Vanderlinde, R., Blau, I., and Afshari, M.
The bibliographic coupling analysis further highlighted the relatively high fragmentation of the field, with small clusters of documents connected by reference lists. This suggests that the literature on digital school leadership is heterogeneous and interdisciplinary.
Exploring the Themes and Concepts
To understand the main themes and concepts related to digital school leadership, we conducted an automatic content analysis using the Leximancer software. This provided a bird’s-eye perspective on the development of core themes over the three time periods.
The Early Phase of Digitalization (1992-2009)
In the early phase, the literature was characterized by five thematic clusters: school, technology, ICT, education, and students. Technology emerged as the most important theme, followed by school.
The Phase of Increasing Digitalization (2010-2020)
During this phase, the literature revealed a different picture, with five thematic clusters: school, leadership, ICT, education, and distributed. School became the most important thematic cluster, followed by leadership and ICT.
The Phase of Digitalization During the Pandemic (2021-2023)
In the most recent period, the concept map comprised four thematic clusters of relatively similar size: school, leadership, education, and practices. Leadership emerged as the most important thematic cluster, followed by school, education, and practices.
The analysis shows a shift in priorities in the literature, from technology in the early phase, to school in the second phase, and finally to leadership in the most recent phase. This reflects the increasing importance of digital school leadership as schools navigated the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Implications and Future Directions
The research on digital school leadership can be characterized as an emerging, fragmented, and interdisciplinary field. The literature has evolved over time, reflecting the changing landscape of digital technologies in schools and the growing importance of digital school leadership.
Our findings have several implications for researchers, educators, and policymakers:
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Interdisciplinary Collaboration: The literature on digital school leadership draws from various disciplines, indicating a need for a holistic and multifaceted approach. Scholars from different fields can contribute to an updated understanding of digital school leadership.
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Evolving Competencies for School Leaders: As schools become increasingly digitalized, school leaders require updated skills and competencies to manage the implementation of new technologies, ensure digital infrastructure, and foster professional development for teachers.
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Distributed Leadership: The complexity of digital transformation in schools may call for a distributed leadership approach, where a team of leaders handles the various responsibilities and challenges.
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Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The surge in publications after 2019 highlights the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the need for effective digital school leadership, as schools had to rapidly adapt to online and remote learning.
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Internationalization and Collaboration: The global distribution of the literature and the increasing international collaboration suggest the need for a broader perspective on digital school leadership, incorporating diverse experiences and cultural contexts.
As the field of digital school leadership continues to evolve, future research should focus on the development of holistic leadership competencies, the integration of technology and digital practices, and the exploration of distributed leadership models. Additionally, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary collaborations can further enrich the understanding of this complex and multifaceted topic.
To stay up-to-date on the latest developments in digital school leadership, we encourage you to visit the Stanley Park High School website and explore the diverse resources and research available.
