Teachers’ Perceptions of the Cruciality of Digital Leadership Among Principals in Sabah, Malaysia: A Quantitative Study
Abstract
The primary aim of this study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of the cruciality of digital leadership among principals in Sabah, Malaysia. The sample consisted of 102 secondary school teachers from Sabah, Malaysia who completed the Multifactor Digital Leadership Questionnaire (MDLQ). Non-parametric tests showed no significant differences in teachers’ perceptions in terms of gender, age, and job experience; significant differences were only found by way of teachers’ qualifications at p < 0.05. Wilcoxon signed rank test showed that all 47 MDLQ items were significant at p < 0.001 with medians significantly different from the hypothesized value of 3.5, indicating strong agreement. A high of 90.3 to 91.2 percent of teachers tended to perceive that it was highly crucial/crucial for principals to (1) adopt a solution-based approach, (2) stay abreast on the latest technological tools and trends, and (3) demonstrate knowledge of value creation. Additionally, 42 of the items had 81.4 to 89.2 percent of teachers who perceived that it was highly crucial/crucial for principals to demonstrate the characteristics and attributes of digital leadership. In light of the findings, several recommendations were made on how principals in Sabah could improve their digital leadership.
Downloads
References
Abdul Musid, N., Mohd Matore, M. E. E., & A. Hamid, A. H. (2023). Leading digital leadership in schools: Future implications towards nation based on the Quadruple Helix Model. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 12(1), 1958-1969. http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARPED/v12-i1/16570
Abdullah, N. S., & Abdul Kadir, S. (2023). Relationship Between Principals’ Digital Leadership and Teachers’ Digital Competency in Klang District Secondary Schools. Asian Journal of Vocational Education And Humanities, 4(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.53797/ajvah.v4i2.1.2023 had 81.4 to 89.2
Aksal, F. A. (2015). Are headmasters digital leaders in school culture? Egitim Ve Bilim, 40(182), 77-86. 10.15390/EB.2015.4534
AlAjmi, M. K. (2022). The impact of digital leadership on teachers’ technology integration during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait. International Journal of Educational Research, 112, 101928. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2022.101928
Antonopoulou, H., Halkiopoulos, C., Barlou, O., & Beligiannis, G. (2021a). Digital leader and transformational leadership in higher education. 15th International Technology, Education and Development Conference Proceedings, 9616-9624. 10.21125/inted.2021.2005
Antonopoulou, H., Halkiopoulos, C., Barlou, O., & Beligiannis, G. N. (2021b). Transformational leadership and digital skills in higher education institutes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emerging Science Journal, 5(1), 1-15. 10.28991/esj-2021-01252
Dimitriad, Y. (2019). Who you’re gonna call? The development of university digital leaders: A case study. Media Studies, 10(19), 102-118. https://doi.org/10.20901/ms.10.19.6
Ehlers, U. D. (2020). Digital leadership in higher education. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Leadership Studies, 1(3), 6 -14. https://doi.org/10.29252
Goh, K. M., & Mansor, M. (2024). Unpacking the realities of digital leadership among school leaders: A quantitative study. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 9(4), e002801. https://doi.org/10.47405/mjssh.v9i4.2801
Hamzah, M. I. M., Juraime, F., & Mansor, A. N. (2016). Malaysian principals’ technology leadership practices and curriculum management. Creative Education, 7(7), 922-930. 10.4236/ce.2016.77096
Hamzah, N. H., Nasir, M. K. M., & Wahab, J. A. (2021). The effects of principals’ digital leadership on teachers’ digital teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia. Journal of Education and e-Learning Research, 8(2), 216-221. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1300492.pdf
Hamzah, N. H., Radzi, N. M., & Oma, I. M. (2025). Development of a digital leadership competency model for school principals in Malaysia: A needs analysis. International Journal Of Education, Psychology and Counselling (IJEPC), 10(57). https://doi.org/10.35631/IJEPC.1057014
Huawei Malaysia. (2025, February 18). Fahmi celebrates first cohort of Digital Leadership Excellence Programme, highlights Malaysia’s commitment to nurturing future tech leaders. Huawei Malaysia. https://www.huawei.com/my/news/my/2025/fahmi-celebrates-first-cohort-of-digital-leadership-excellence-programme
Jagadisen, M. S., Salamzadeh, Y., Fatemeh Sharafi Farzad, F. S., Salamzadeh, A., & Ramo Palalić, R. (2022). Digital leadership and organizational capabilities in manufacturing industry: A study in Malaysian context. Periodicals of Engineering and Natural Sciences, 10(1), 195-211. https://doi.org/10.21533/pen.v10i1.2237
Jostein, E., & Niki, P. (2021). Digital leaders and the transformation of the IT function. Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems, 33(1), Article 4. https://aisel.aisnet.org/sjis/vol33/iss1/4
Karakose, T., Polat, H. & Papadakis, S. (2021). Examining teachers’ perspectives on school principals’ digital leadership roles and technology capabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainability, 13(23), 13448. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313448
Klus, M. F., & Müller, J. (2021). The digital leader: What one needs to master today’s organisational challenges. Journal of Business Economics, 91, 1189-1223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-021-01040-1
Korn Ferry Institute. (2013, May 30). Leadership development in the digital age: Online and mobile platforms hold the promise of accelerating and individualizing talent management. Korn Ferry Institute. https://www.kornferry.com/insights/this-week-in-leadership/626-leadership-development-in-the-digital-age-online-and-mobile-platforms-hold-the-promise-of-accelerating-and-individualizing-talent-management
Korn Ferry Institute. (2018, July 13). Leaders for the digital age: Korn Ferry research identifies the unique characteristics of high performing digital leaders. Korn Ferry Institute. https://www.kornferry.com/insights/this-week-in-leadership/leaders-for-the-digital-age
Lim, C. H., & Teoh, A. P. (2021). Predicting the influence of digital leadership on performance of private higher education institutions: Evidence from Malaysia. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics, 10(1), 1-38. https://scientificia.com/index.php/JEBE/article/view/161
Malay Mail. (2024, December 13). 2024 in review: Malaysia emerges as regional digital leader with record-breaking RM74.8b investments from Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Malay Mail. https://www.malaymail.com/news/money/2024/12/13/2024-in-review-malaysia-emerges-as-regional-digital-leader-with-record-breaking-rm748b-investments-from-amazon-google-and-microsoft/159698
Murray, T. C. (2024, September 19). Digital leadership for school leaders. Thomas Murray. https://www.thomascmurray.com/blog/digital-leadership-for-school-leaders
Nubun, C. C., Hassan, Z., & Hamidi, H. (2024). Exploring digital leadership competencies among school administrators and digital maturity in Sarawak, Malaysia: From teachers’ perspectives. Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences, 22(2), 2994-3009. https://doi.org/10.57239/PJLSS-2024-22.2.00220
Omar, M. N., & Ismail, S. N. (2020). Mobile technology integration in the 2020s: The impact of technology leadership in the Malaysian context. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(5), 1874-1883. 10.13189/ujer.2020.080524
Omar, M. N., Ismail, S. N., & Kasim, A. L. (2019). Hubungan Katipunan tecknologi pengetua dan efikasi kendiri guru. Journal Kepimpinan Pendidikan, 6(4) 1-21. https://ejournal.um.edu.my/index.php/JUPIDI/article/view/20232/10507
Petrucci, T., & Rivera. M. (2018). Leading growth through the digital leader. Journal of Leadership Studies, 12(3), 53-56. https://doi.org/10.1002/jls.21595
Ramalingam, S., Saforrudin, N., Yusoff, A. M., Salamat, Z. B.,Yusop, N. A. B. M., Zulkifeli M. A. B., & Ahmad, M. Y. B. (2022). Digital age learning among Malaysian school administrators on management and instructional technology: NETS-A. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(7), 698-705. 10.14738/assrj.97.12724
Ridho, M. R., Lesmana, I., Safitri, H. D. R., Meirani, R. K., & Prestiadi, D. (2023). Digital leadership in the scope of education. In B. B. Wiyono et al. (Eds.), International Conference on Educational Management and Technology (ICEMT 2022), Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research (ASSEHR 727) pp. 52-61). 10.2991/978-2-494069-95-4_7
Roscoe, J. T. (1975). Fundamental research statistics for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston. https://www.amazon.com/Fundamental-Statistics Behavioral-International-processes/dp/0030919347
RUBIKTOP. (2023, September 14). The magic number 30: Why a sample size of 30 is often considered sufficient for statistical significance. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/magic-number-30-why-sample-size-often-considered-sufficient/
Sabah Tourism Board. (n. d.-a). District of Kota Kinabalu. Sabah Tourism Board. https://sabahtourism.com/district/kota-kinabalu/
Sabah Tourism Board. (n. d.-b). District of Kudat. Sabah Tourism Board. https://sabahtourism.com/district/kudat/
Saputra, N., Nugroho, R., Aisyah, H., & Sharma, N. (2023, May 25). Tech leadership in education: Navigating my digital transformation journey. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tech-leadership-education-navigating-my-digital-journey
Sharma, N. (2023, May 25). Tech leadership in education: Navigating my digital transformation journey. Linkedin. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tech-leadership-education-navigating-my-digital-journey-sharma/
Sheninger, E. (2022, August 31). 7 pillars of digital leadership in education. https://www.hmhco.com/blog/pillars-of-digital-leadership-in-education?srsltid=AfmBOooU1m86YG7_27vxy5lw-JEMhnbdFF-MYJaotNlo82-9-ouZU82S
Tajuddin, S. N. A., Bahari, K. A., Al Majdhoub, F. M., Balraj Baboo, S., & Samson, H. (2022). The expectations of employability skills in the Fourth Industrial Revolution of the communication and media industry in Malaysia. Education & Training, 64(5), 662-680. 10.1108/ET-06-2020-0171
Yakob, W. R. W., & Don, Y. (2025). Influence of digital leadership on Malaysian public university branding: Professionals’ identity as mediator. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE), 14(1),124-132.
Yong, F. L., Al-Azad, N., Tan, N., Lee, M. H. (2025). Relationship between teachers’ perceived cruciality of digital leadership among principals and their wellbeing in Sabah, Malaysia. International Journal of Novel Research in Education and Learning, 12(1),12-22. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14726162
Yusof, M. R., Fuad, S. M., Rafidah, D., Mohd Yaakob, M. F., & Don, Y. (2020). Digital communication: priorities in the relationship of principal leadership and collaborative community at Malaysian School. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(4), 1149-1154. 10.13189/ujer.2020.080404
Yusof, M. R., Yaakob, M. F. M., & Ibrahim, M. Y. (2019). Digital leadership among school leaders in Malaysia. International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (IJITEE), 8(9), 1481-1485. https://www.ijitee.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/v8i9/I8221078919.pdf
Zhong, L. (2017). Indicators of digital leadership in the context of K-12 education. Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE), 10(1), 27-40. https://doi.org/10.18785/jetde.1001.03
