The Role of Digital Technology in Developing School Leadership - A Field Study in the Schools of Jerusalem Governorate

This study aims to analyze the role of digital technology in enhancing school leadership through a field study conducted in schools across the Jerusalem governorate. The research focused on three main areas: administrative planning, administrative guidance, and digital communication. It sought to measure the extent to which these technologies are employed to improve school leaders’ administrative performance. The researcher adopted a descriptive analytical approach, and a questionnaire consisting of 30 items was administered to a sample of 128 school principals. The results revealed a high level of digital technology utilization in school leadership across all domains, with an overall mean score of 3.92. The administrative planning domain ranked highest with a mean of 3.94, highlighting the use of AI tools in data analysis and future planning. The administrative guidance domain scored a mean of 3.83, reflecting reliance on digital tools for performance evaluation and feedback. Digital communication scored the highest mean (3.99), indicating strong awareness among school leaders of the importance of technological integration in enhancing the school’s communication environment. Statistically significant differences were found in principals’ perceptions based on gender and years of experience, favoring female leaders and those with more than 16 years of experience. No significant differences were observed based on academic qualification. The study concluded with several key recommendations, including strengthening digital integration in school leadership, developing ongoing professional training programs for leaders and teachers, activating community engagement through digital platforms, and keeping pace with AI advancements—while considering individual differences in digital empowerment programs to ensure effective educational leadership. This study represents a valuable contribution by focusing on the unique educational context of Jerusalem and linking school leadership dimensions with digital technology in light of contemporary theoretical frameworks, thus addressing a current research gap.