Educational Leadership Strategies for Overcoming Digital Resistance in Schools
Keywords:
Educational leadership, Digital transformation, Digital resistance, Digital self-efficacyAbstract
Digital transformation in education is often hindered not by infrastructure constraints, but by resistance to change from human resources. This resistance can take various forms, such as technological anxiety, adaptive reluctance, and passive rejection of new digital systems, which pose significant challenges for school management. This study aims to explore effective leadership strategies for reducing digital resistance and promoting an adaptive organizational culture in schools. Using a qualitative approach based on a literature review, this study identifies the root causes of resistance, which include the phenomena of technostress, concerns about increased workload, and low digital self-efficacy among educators and educational staff. The results show that traditional top-down leadership approaches have proven ineffective in the digital age. Therefore, this study recommends a multidimensional leadership approach that integrates participatory decision-making (bottom-up approach), personalized digital mentoring, and strategic recognition for digital drivers in schools. The success of this transformation is highly dependent on leaders' ability to prioritize empathetic communication and provide continuous support to ensure inclusive and sustainable technology adoption. This study concludes that human resource-oriented leadership strategies are a key factor in creating educational institutions that are resilient, innovative, and aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDGs 4).
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