Abstract:
Technology plays a crucial role in transforming the educational management paradigm. Educational administrators serve as key drivers of change in practice and organizational culture, to enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning management processes and integrate digital technology into institutional administration. Therefore, they need to develop technological and information literacy skills. This study aims to examine the current situation, expectations, and needs for developing digital leadership among educational administrators under the jurisdiction of the Southern Vocational Education Institute 2. A descriptive research methodology was employed, with the study sample of 175 individuals, including educational administrators, acting administrators, heads of academic departments, and heads of administrative units within institutions under the Southern Vocational Education Institute 2. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and the modified Priority Needs Index (PNImodified) to determine the needs ranking.
The research findings indicate that examining the current situation was as follows: is at a high level (X̅=3.74). The aspect with the highest mean score was digital communication, which was also at a high level (X̅=4.06). The overall expectations were high (X̅=4.40), with digital communication being the aspect with the highest mean score, reaching the highest level (X̅=4.51). The assessment of needs revealed that the most critical needs for the development of digital leadership for educational administrators under the Institute of Vocational Education Southern Region2 were professional development for digital personnel (PNImodified=0.265), followed by fostering a digital learning culture (PNImodified=0.201) and enhancing digital agility (PNImodified=0.198), respectively.