School principals' technology and transformational leadership practices for spreading the adoption of an artificial intelligence in education (AIED) policy

Purpose This qualitative study aims to examine the communication of school principals' leadership practices for spreading the adoption of an AIED policy, an innovation diffusion, during the persuasion stage, within a national program. Design/methodology/approach A bottom-up thematic analysis approach was utilized to analyze qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 16 elementary and high school principals from four school districts. Findings The analysis surfaced school principals' communication of technology and transformational leadership practices exemplified via their role as boundary spanners of innovation diffusion: (1) communicating technology leadership practices across internal and external boundaries: (a) building professional capacity through increased learning opportunities for experimentation with AI tools and communities of practice for AI learning, (b) sharing leadership, (c) connecting with parents and (d) connecting with external partners and (2) communicating transformational leadership practices within internal boundaries: (a) idealized influence, (b) inspirational motivation, (c) intellectual stimulation and (d) individualized consideration. Practical implications Professionalization programs should equip school principals with specific leadership approaches for an AIED policy. Originality/value This article provides a theoretical insight emphasizing that the communication of an innovation diffusion bridging top-down policy adoption with bottom-up stakeholder engagement requires an integrated leadership.