School leaders’ Competencies that make a difference in the Era of Education 4.0: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR) has already moved past our doorstep and has influenced unprecedented changes in every industry. The educational ecosystem is no exception and Education 4.0 has been developed to respond to these new demands. As the quality of school leadership is one of the important determinants of student outcomes, and effective school management is heavily dependent on school leaders' professional competencies, there is an urgent need to re-skill or upskill school leaders' competency to prepare the country to compete in FIR. While the need of effective school leadership for the era of Education 4.0 is widely acknowledged, there is much less certainty about which leadership behaviors are most likely to produce favorable outcomes. The conceptual framework derived in this paper provides a basis for identifying the critical educational leadership competencies that include a) Leading for Learning; b) Integrity and Accountability; c) Communication; d) Collaboration; e) Critical Thinking; f) Creative and Innovative; g) Decision Making; h) Problem Solving; i) Managing Change; j) Entrepreneurial; k) Digital Literacy; and l) Emotional Intelligence. The paper may provide useful feedback in designing future training programmes for school leaders in enhancing their competence in meeting the needs and challenges of Education 4.0.