Are These the Robots We Are Looking For? Exploring the Potential of Artificial Intelligence to Enhance the Work-Life Balance of Rural School District Administrators

Rural school district administrators face increasing pressures related to budgeting, staffing shortages, governance demands, and rising community expectations, often with limited structural support. These challenges worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to ongoing workload issues that affect leaders’ work–life balance and long-term sustainability. While research on artificial intelligence (AI) in education has mainly focused on teaching applications, little is known about how educational leaders, especially in rural areas, view its role in administrative tasks. This qualitative study explored how administrators in rural New Hampshire school districts understand AI’s potential impact on leadership practices and work–life balance. Guided by a constructivist perspective and the Concerns-Based Adoption model, the study used a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Data were gathered through the Stages of Concern Questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with thirteen administrators, and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis supported by Saldaña’s coding strategies. Three themes emerged: leadership context and structure, workload and capacity, and AI use and sensemaking. Participants viewed AI mainly as a tool to assist with communication and organizational tasks while keeping clear boundaries around relational and judgment-based leadership work. The findings indicate that AI by itself does not lessen administrative workload; rather, technology is interpreted and used within existing structural pressures, leadership identities, and ethical commitments that shape rural educational leadership.