DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN HIGH SCHOOLS THROUGH PRINCIPAL MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY IN A PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL

Muhammad Munawir Pohan; Maisah; Fridiyanto; Ali Marzuki  Zebua

doi:10.61796/jheaa.v3i1.1647

Authors

Muhammad Munawir Pohan
munawirpohan8@gmail.com
State Islamic Institute of Kerinci, Jambi, Indonesia
Maisah State Islamic University of Sultan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi, Indonesia
Fridiyanto State Islamic University of Sultan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi, Indonesia
Ali Marzuki Zebua State Islamic Institute of Kerinci, Jambi, Indonesia

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2026): Journal of Higher Education and Academic Advancement

Articles

January 15, 2026

Downloads

VIEW ARTICLE

Abstract
How to Cite
Metrics
References
License

Objective: This study aims to analyze the role of principal management in improving the quality of digital education services at SMA Swasta Muhammadiyah 10 Rantauprapat, Labuhanbatu Regency, North Sumatra. Method: This study used a qualitative case study design. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations, and documentation studies involving the principal, vice principal, teachers, and students as informants. Results: The results show that improvements in the quality of digital services were successfully realized through the implementation of comprehensive principal management functions. This includes visionary planning such as the provision of information technology infrastructure, systematic resource organization, and mobilization through teacher motivation and support, and control through consistent supervision. The principal's responsive, solution-oriented leadership has proven to be a key catalyst in creating an effective digital ecosystem, characterized by integrated teacher competencies, continuous learning and innovation, and administrative efficiency. Novelty: This study concludes that principal management plays a crucial role in the digital transformation of education. This research contributes by offering an empirical understanding of digital management practices in private schools. It provides a basis for developing a more comprehensive digital management model in the secondary education context.

Pohan, M. M., Maisah, Fridiyanto, & Zebua, A. M. (2026). DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN HIGH SCHOOLS THROUGH PRINCIPAL MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY IN A PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL . Journal of Higher Education and Academic Advancement, 3(1), 82–94. https://doi.org/10.61796/jheaa.v3i1.1647

Download Citation

A. M. McCarthy, D. Maor, A. McConney, and C. Cavanaugh, “Digital Transformation in Education: Critical Components for Leaders of System Change,” Soc. Sci. & Humanit. Open, vol. 8, no. 1, p. 100479, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2023.100479.

E. J. Omol, “Organizational Digital Transformation: from Evolution to Future Trends,” Digit. Transform. Soc., vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 240–256, 2023, doi: 10.1108/DTS-08-2023-0061.

A. Lohr, M. Sailer, M. Stadler, and F. Fischer, “Digital Learning in Schools: Which Skills do Teachers Need, and Who Should Bring Their Own Devices?,” Teach. Teach. Educ., vol. 152, p. 104788, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2024.104788.

J. Reis-Andersson, “Leaders’ Perceptions of Digitalisation in K–12 Education: Influencing Arrangements for Leading The Expansion of Digital Technologies,” Discov. Educ., vol. 3, no. 1, p. 143, 2024, doi: 10.1007/s44217-024-00247-y.

D. Mangoki, “The English Teachers’ Perceptions toward the Implementation of the Educational Unit-Level Curriculum (KTSP) and the 2013 Curriculum at Junior High Schools in Tana Toraja Regency,” Teach. English as a Foreign Lang. Overseas J., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 16–26, 2015, [Online]. Available: https://journals.ukitoraja.ac.id/index.php/ojtefl/home

J. W. Müller, “Education and Inspirational Intuition - Drivers of Innovation,” Heliyon, vol. 7, no. 9, p. e07923, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07923.

M. Karatsiori, “In The Pursuit of ‘Quality Education’: From Ancient Times to The Digital Era, Can There be A Consensus?,” Cogent Educ., vol. 10, no. 2, p. 2286817, 2023, doi: 10.1080/2331186X.2023.2286817.

R. Hasan, M. Ashfaq, T. Parveen, and A. Gunardi, “Financial Inclusion – Does Digital Financial Literacy Matter for Women Entrepreneurs?,” Int. J. Soc. Econ., vol. 50, no. 8, pp. 1085–1104, 2022, doi: 10.1108/ijse-04-2022-0277.

N. G. Ugur and T. Koç, “Leading and Teaching with Technology: School Principals’ Perspective,” Int. J. Educ. Leadersh. Manag., vol. 7, p. 42, 2019, doi: 10.17583/ijelm.2019.3758.

A. Kochei and E. Awuor, “Effect of Transformational Leadership Style on the Adoption of Digital Transformation in the Public Sector in Kenya,” Int. J. Acad. Res. Bus. Soc. Sci., vol. 14, no. 11, pp. 814–827, 2024, doi: 10.6007/IJARBSS/v14-i11/23580.

G. Mugadza and R. Marcus, “A Systems Thinking and Design Thinking Approach to Leadership,” Expert J. Bus. Manag., vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1–10, 2019, [Online]. Available: https://business.expertjournals.com/23446781-701

P. Reddy, K. Chaudhary, and S. Hussein, “A Digital Literacy Model to Narrow the Digital Literacy Skills Gap,” Heliyon, vol. 9, no. 4, p. e14878, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14878.

K. Abhari, “Employee Participation in Digital Transformation: From Digitalization Sentiment to Transformation Predisposition,” Inf. & Manag., vol. 62, no. 8, p. 104212, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.im.2025.104212.

E. N. Purnomo, A. Imron, B. B. Wiyono, A. Y. Sobri, and Z. A. Dami, “Transformation of Digital-Based School Culture: Implications of Change Management on Virtual Learning Environment Integration,” Cogent Educ., vol. 11, no. 1, p. 2303562, 2024, doi: 10.1080/2331186X.2024.2303562.

A. Sacavem, A. Machado, J. dos Santos, A. Palma-Moreira, H. Belchior Rocha, and M. Au-Yong Oliveira, “Leading in the Digital Age: The Role of Leadership in Organizational Digital Transformation,” Adm. Sci., vol. 15, no. 2, p. 43, 2025, doi: 10.3390/admsci15020043.

S. Mhlongo, K. Mbatha, B. Ramatsetse, and R. Dlamini, “Challenges, Opportunities, and Prospects of Adopting and Using Smart Digital Technologies in Learning Environments: An Iterative Review,” Heliyon, vol. 9, no. 6, p. e16348, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16348.

N. Xhomara, Instructional Leadership and Effective Teaching and Learning. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2021. doi: 10.52305/PVLE5825.

M. McMahon and D. Torrance, Standards for School Leadership and Principalship. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2023.

C. Barrios, P. Iranzo, and J. M. Tierno, “Theoretical-Practical and Legislative Advances in Professionalization of the School Leadership Role in Spain. Catalonia’s Case,” Profesorado, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 371–387, 2013, [Online]. Available: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84936079478&partnerID=40&md5=c61429881c0d01c648f6e47d2526eb63

Rokhmaniyah, “Implementation of Inter-School Collaboration as a Strategy in Enhancing School Principal Competencies,” Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. Humanit., vol. 25, pp. 227–236, 2017, [Online]. Available: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85047489702&partnerID=40&md5=952657e8e77a93d590ef0611c8627777

B. Arendse, H. N. Phillips, and Z. Waghid, “Leadership Dynamics: Managing and Leading Continued Professional Teacher Development in Schools to Enhance Learner Performance,” Perspect. Educ., vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 305–319, 2024, doi: 10.38140/pie.v42i4.7044.

J. Heystek and R. Emekako, “Leadership and Motivation for Improved Academic Performance in Schools in Low Socio-Economic Contexts,” Int. J. Educ. Manag., vol. 34, no. 9, pp. 1403–1415, 2020, doi: 10.1108/IJEM-10-2019-0378.

W. Setiawan, S. H. Senen, E. P. Nugroho, Y. Wihardi, and E. Nugraha, “Strengthening the Indonesia School of Management in the 21st Century through the Implementation of a School Management System Based on Information Technology and Communications Integration,” AIP Conf. Proc., vol. 1848, p. 60020, 2017, doi: 10.1063/1.4983988.

N. Raichel, “Computerized Class Management Software: Teachers’ Views and Assessment,” J. Organ. Chang. Manag., vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 830–852, 2013, doi: 10.1108/JOCM-05-2011-0051.

I. M. García and J. G. Flores, “An Explanation of Job Satisfaction in School Principals Based on Their Performance in the Position,” Educ. Knowl. Soc., vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 77–95, 2018, doi: 10.14201/EKS20181917795.

S. Ghavifekr and M. I. Ramzy, “Exploring Effective Leadership Practices of Private School Principals to Improve Teachers’ Academic Excellence and Students’ Learning Achievement,” J. Res. Educ. Sci., vol. 65, no. 3, pp. 123–156, 2020, doi: 10.6209/JORIES.202009_65(3).0005.

S. Sindhvad, U. Mikayilova, and E. Kazimzade, “Factors Influencing Instructional Leadership Capacity in Baku, Azerbaijan,” Educ. Manag. Adm. Leadersh., vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 81–98, 2022, doi: 10.1177/1741143220938364.

S. Palah, I. Wasliman, R. S. Sauri, and M. Gaffar, “Principal Strategic Management In Improving The Quality Of Education,” Int. J. Educ. Res. & Soc. Sci., vol. 3, pp. 2041–2051, 2022, doi: 10.51601/ijersc.v3i5.497.

D. E. Shuttleworth, School Management in Transition: Schooling on The Edge. London: Routledge, 2003.

S. Berkat and Basrowi, “The Role of Educational Management in Enhancing Innovation and Problem-Solving Competencies for Students towards Global Competitiveness: A Literature Review,” Soc. Sci. & Humanit. Open, vol. 11, p. 101280, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.101280.

L. Sanya and Y. Zongkai, “Digital Education Service Chain: Model and Architecture,” in Proceedings - International Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering, CSSE 2008, 2008, pp. 959–962. doi: 10.1109/CSSE.2008.1433.

B. Misnevs and I. Kabashkin, “Competence-Based Digital Framework for Education as A Service,” in Future of Information and Communication Conference, 2023, pp. 775–784. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-28076-4_56.

I. Kabashkin, B. Misnevs, and O. Zervina, “Organizational Model for the Mobility Education as a Service Ecosystem: Multidimensional Approach,” in Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol. 913, 2024, pp. 575–584. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-53598-7_51.

M. Alfarisy and W. Muhamad, “Designing a Service-Oriented Platform on Digital Campus Using SCSE Framework,” in 2024 International Conference on Information Technology Systems and Innovation, ICITSI 2024 - Proceedings, 2024, pp. 329–335. doi: 10.1109/ICITSI65188.2024.10929391.

J. Zhang, L. Wang, X. Guo, D. Wang, and X. Chen, “Study of Digital Campus Construction based on ‘SOA+Cloud,’” in ICCSE 2012 - Proceedings of the 2012 7th International Conference on Computer Science and Education, 2012, pp. 1903–1907. doi: 10.1109/ICCSE.2012.6295444.

Z. Ling, L. Ya, and Z. Gang, “Construction of Digital Educational Resources Supermarket,” J. Harbin Inst. Technol. (New Ser., vol. 15, pp. 57–61, 2008, [Online]. Available: https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/44449146416?origin=document-preview-flyout

V. Ilango and K. Rajalakshmi, “Developing Inclusive Digital Learning Systems and Methods to Support Visually and Speech Impaired Learners Using IHY Assistive Technologies,” in Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Inventive Systems and Control, ICISC 2025, 2025, pp. 651–656. doi: 10.1109/ICISC65841.2025.11188251.

P. Ingavelez-Guerra, V. E. Robles-Bykbaev, A. Pérez-Muñoz, J. Hilera-González, S. Oton-Tortosa, and E. Campo-Montalvo, “RALO: Accessible Learning Objects Assessment Ecosystem Based on Metadata Analysis, Inter-Rater Agreement, and Borda Voting Schemes,” IEEE Access, vol. 11, pp. 8223–8239, 2023, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3234763.

Y. Zhou, K. Liu, and Q. Li, “Organisational Semiotics for Assessing and Developing Digital Business Ecosystems for the International Educational Services Industry,” in Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol. 2541, 2026, pp. 183–192. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-99356-5_16.

K. Manivannan, T. Anuprathibha, P. Kamaleshwaran, S. Madhan Kumar, V. Roshanmahanama, and B. Sabareesh, “Smart Ed: Utilizing AI to Deliver Personalized Learning Experiences on Mobile Platforms,” in 2025 6th International Conference for Emerging Technology, INCET 2025, 2025, pp. 1–5. doi: 10.1109/INCET64471.2025.11140995.

S. Archita, S. Bala Govind, and S. Saravanan, “Enhancing Student Learning with a Customizable Virtual Assistant,” in 2025 3rd International Conference on Advancements in Electrical, Electronics, Communication, Computing and Automation, ICAECA 2025, 2025, pp. 1–7. doi: 10.1109/ICAECA63854.2025.11012365.

M. M. Deepa, R. Ramakrishnan, A. Sulochana, S. Vijayakumar, N. S. Hameed, and P. Bhavani, “Mobile Computing for Language Testing in Blended Learning Environments: Combining Traditional and Digital Assessment Tools,” in 2025 IEEE 2nd International Conference on Advances in Modern Age Technologies for Health and Engineering Science, AMATHE 2025 - Proceedings, 2025, pp. 1–5. doi: 10.1109/AMATHE65477.2025.11081329.

M. R. M. Veeramanickam, G. Kaur, A. Acakpovi, P. K. Vadrevu, R. R. Ciro, and A. V Kalpana, “Sustainable Teaching and Learning E-learning Model towards Redesigning Transformative Learning Model for Knowledge Sharing & Infrastructure Enhancements Post COVID-19,” Recent Patents Eng., vol. 19, no. 2, p. E031123223099, 2025, doi: 10.2174/0118722121233419231005093708.

M. Chandramouli, A. Zafar, and A. Williams, “A Detailed Review of the Design and Evaluation of XR Applications in STEM Education and Training,” Electron., vol. 14, no. 19, p. 3818, 2025, doi: 10.3390/electronics14193818.

J. W. Creswell, Educational Research, Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative. London: Pearson Education, Inc., 2015.

J. W. Creswell, Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications Ltd., 2018.

M. B. Miles, A. M. Huberman, and J. Saldaña, Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2014.

R. K. Yin, Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods. New York: Sage Publications, 2017.

G. Cao, Y. Duan, and J. S. Edwards, “Organizational Culture, Digital Transformation, and Product Innovation,” Inf. & Manag., vol. 62, no. 4, p. 104135, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.im.2025.104135.

S. Cyfert, W. Dyduch, W. Szumowski, and G. Prause, “Are We Ready for Digital Transformation? The Role of Organizational Culture, Leadership, and Competence in Building Digital Advantage,” Cent. Eur. Manag. J., vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 219–231, 2025, doi: 10.1108/CEMJ-11-2024-0346.

M. Hudson, “Principal Leadership Development: A Collective Impact Approach,” Sch. Partnerships, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 155–175, 2025, doi: 10.1108/SUP-10-2024-0028.

M. Nadeem, “Distributed Leadership in Educational Contexts: A Catalyst for School Improvement,” Soc. Sci. & Humanit. Open, vol. 9, p. 100835, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.100835.

L. Liu and U. Zaman, “From Leadership to Innovation: Psychological Mechanisms behind Teacher Creativity in Physical Education,” Acta Psychol. (Amst)., vol. 255, p. 104965, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104965.

H. Van Le, D. T. Huynh, and T. T. Nguyen, “Technology Integration in English Language Teaching: Assessing the Digital Readiness of Vietnamese High School Teachers,” Int. J. Inf. Learn. Technol., vol. 42, no. 5, pp. 449–465, 2025, doi: 10.1108/IJILT-03-2025-0085.

H. Balalle, “Exploring Student Engagement in Technology-based Education in Relation to Gamification, Online/Distance Learning, and Other Factors: A Systematic Literature Review,” Soc. Sci. & Humanit. Open, vol. 9, p. 100870, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.100870.

N. Panakaje, H. Ur Rahiman, S. M. R. Parvin, K. M. P. S., Yatheen, and S. Irfana, “Revolutionizing Pedagogy: Navigating The Integration of Technology in Higher Education for Teacher Learning and Performance Enhancement,” Cogent Educ., vol. 11, no. 1, p. 2308430, 2024, doi: 10.1080/2331186X.2024.2308430.