The Digital Profile of Primary School Principals

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Abstract

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) use in school units may catalyze radical restructuring and transform administrative processes by establishing an enhanced digital infrastructure for the latter’s implementation. School unit directors’ attitudes toward ICT use greatly impact their incorporation into daily practices. This study aims to outline a digital-age school unit director’s profile, investigate school unit directors’ ICT professional and personal use, and determine challenges in ΙCT utilization at the unit administration level. We combined qualitative and quantitative methodologies to test fifty-six primary education school principals in the Prefecture of Imathia (Greece). Following the literature review, data were collected through a survey that was sent to all fifty-six participants. In search for additional qualitative data, a semi-structured interview was conducted with a small part of the initial sample. The findings reveal directors as fierce supporters of ICT in daily practices and school administration. The directors’ profiles appear sophisticated enough to affect attitudinal evolution, administrative processes restructuring, and positive contributions to the gestating form of ICT use in Greek schools. These findings, albeit not generalizable, may instigate further research on the profile of the school leaders in Greek primary education. Furthermore, the findings attest to administrative evolution via ICT use in Greek public schools.