Adaptive Principal Leadership for Developing Teachers' Digital Competence in Resource-Constrained Schools

Abstract

Background and Objective: Schools with constrained connectivity and device access require leadership that develops teachers' digital competence while addressing infrastructure limitations. This study examined how principal leadership supports teacher digital competence in a resource-constrained faith-based junior high school in Nabire, Papua, and how organizational and infrastructural conditions shape that support Methods: A single-site descriptive qualitative case-study design was used. The principal served as the primary participant, with teacher informants providing supporting perspectives. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews and direct school-based observations and analyzed through data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification Results: Six interrelated practices were identified: role modelling and motivation, participatory digital-program planning, annual training and peer mentoring, technology-focused supervision, incremental resource mobilization, and adaptive responses to internet and device constraints. Participant accounts and observations indicated more frequent use of presentations and instructional videos and greater student engagement during some technology-supported lessons Conclusion: Digital leadership in this case operated as an adaptive support cycle linking professional learning, distributed peer expertise, supervision, resource mobilization, and ongoing adjustment to local constraints. The findings do not establish causal achievement effects and are transferable primarily to schools with comparable organizational and infrastructural conditions