Conceptualising headteachers’ leadership of technology in schools across the United Kingdom during early coronavirus disease 2019

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic brought seismic changes to schooling which few could have anticipated. Across the four countries of the UK, (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) urgent changes to the locus and focus of education were required. This paper conceptualises how headteachers led their schools in the use of digital technology as they adjusted to teaching and learning in the early stages of a UK wide school ‘lockdown’. The study uses data from extensive interviews with the headteachers of 12 schools across all phases of learning in schools in all four countries in the UK. The analysis uses elements of Cashman's et al.'s (2014) ‘leadership by convening’ lenses to conduct a threefold analysis of the transcripts: the direction of communications (internal/external); the timeframes (synchronous/asynchronous); and headteachers’ perceptions of how their digital technology helped them navigate challenges. These challenges are classified as: (a) technical – The solution required technology or technical expertise; (b) adaptive – The solution required a change in behaviour by at least one party in the communication process (internal or external); (c) organisational – solutions to these challenges contained both a technological and a behavioural component. A new model of leadership with technology is suggested.