Abstract:

The digitalization of schools is a multi-dimensional process, spanning many different areas from infrastructure and administrative routines to pedagogical issues, competence development, and student learning. Recently, digital leadership has been emphasized as crucial to reaching a fruitful digitalization in schools [1, 2]. However, there is a lack of systematic knowledge of what competencies are needed to lead such strategic work [3]. This study is a systematic review of research about digital leadership in schools in studies published from 2009 to 2019. The search was conducted using three databases to cover a board spectrum of relevant publication outlets including; ‘Education Resources Information Center’ (ERIC), Academic Search Premier, and Business Source Premier. Broad search terms were used to get a comprehensive search result, focused on locating results from different perspectives in the educational research field. The findings stress the importance of concretizing policies, having a coherent educational vision, and organizing for school development as key factors for cultivating the digitalization of schools. However, research that addresses what competence school leaders need to lead this strategic work remains limited. The contribution of the paper includes theorization about the meaning of digitally competent leadership in a school context, and future directions for research are discussed.

References:
[1] A. Bonifaz and A. Zucker, "Lessons learned about providing laptops for all students," Newton, MA: Education Development Center. Retrieved October, vol. 15, p. 2007, 2004.
[2] M. S. Islam and Å. Grönlund, "An international literature review of 1: 1 computing in schools," Journal of educational change, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 191-222, 2016.
[3] F. Pettersson, "On the issues of digital competence in educational contexts–a review of literature," Education and Information Technologies, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 1005-1021, 2018.

Keywords:

Digitalization, Leadership, School development, Strategic leadership, Digitally competent leadership.