BEYOND ICT INFRASTRUCTURE: DIGITAL ADAPTATION AND THE SELECTIVE ROLE OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN TEACHER PROFESSIONALISM
TL;DR
A selective adaptive-leadership mechanism is proposed that demonstrates how leadership can activate teachers’ adaptive capacity, reduce reliance on resource differences, or leave competence-based pathways unchanged, rather than uniformly strengthening all digital antecedents.
Abstract
This study examines how ICT infrastructure, digital adaptation, digital pedagogical competence, and transformational leadership contribute to junior high school teachers’ professionalism, with particular attention to the selective moderating role of transformational leadership. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were obtained from 342 teachers, of which 301 screened responses were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The qualitative phase involved eight structured interviews with teachers and school leaders, which were analyzed thematically to explain significant, nonsignificant, and directionally unexpected statistical relationships. The model explained 62.9% of the variance in teacher professionalism. Digital adaptation (β = 0.304, p < 0.001) and transformational leadership (β = 0.328, p < 0.001) had significant positive effects, whereas ICT infrastructure and digital pedagogical competence were not significant predictors. Transformational leadership strengthened the relationship between digital adaptation and professionalism (β = 0.197, p = 0.005), attenuated the relationship between ICT infrastructure and professionalism (β = −0.202, p = 0.006), and did not significantly moderate the relationship between digital pedagogical competence and professionalism. The study’s novelty lies in proposing a selective adaptive-leadership mechanism that demonstrates how leadership can activate teachers’ adaptive capacity, reduce reliance on resource differences, or leave competence-based pathways unchanged, rather than uniformly strengthening all digital antecedents. Practically, the findings support continuous adaptive learning, instructional mentoring, collaborative professional development, and leadership-supported implementation routines. The findings are limited by the cross-sectional self-reported design, incomplete discriminant validity, small interaction effects, a limited number of qualitative participants, and a single urban educational context.