Principals’ digital transformational leadership, teachers’ commitment, and school effectiveness

ABSTRACT

The knowledge about principals’ digital transformational leadership in schools is scarce. This lacuna is problematic because recently many countries switched to remote schooling and online learning models during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new situation changed the principal’s role to one of distant digital leadership, working with teachers and students remotely. The present study aims to investigate principals’ digital transformational leadership and its outcomes. The research is based on data from 380 teachers in Bahrain. The findings and their implications for effective remote schooling are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• digital transformational leadership
• organisational commitment
• principals
• remote schooling
• school effectiveness

Introduction

Principals’ digital transformational leadership can be defined as a leadership style that uses digital communication technologies to encourage teachers to alter their opinions, perceptions, skills, and motivations in order to improve remote schooling and serve the school’s needs rather than their own. Scholars have suggested that transformational leadership style can play an important role in balancing the turbulence that educational organisations and staff underwent during the pandemic (Charoensukmongkol & Villegas Puyod, 2021). Several studies have explored transformational leadership style in schools and its positive effects during the COVID period (e.g. Masry-Herzallah & Stavissky, 2021), and few works examined digital transformational leadership in higher education (e.g. Bogler, Caspi, & Roccas, 2013). But no works have explored principals’ digital transformational leadership in K-12 education in general and during the pandemic in specific. In the last two years, the world has witnessed the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which represented a challenge to daily life and routines (Domhnaill, Ciarán, & McCoy, 2021; Haleem, Javaid, & Vaishya, 2020). One of the most affected domains of activity was education (Daniel, 2020). Students, teachers, and the educational leadership had to change their teaching and learning patterns and implement online learning and virtual team models (Daniel, 2020; Pokhrel & Chhetri, 2021). Thus, there is a gap in our knowledge of how this leadership operates and how it relates to positive outcomes. The present study addresses this gap by investigating the effect of principals’ digital transformational leadership on perceived school effectiveness in remote schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic and about the role of teacher’s affective organisational commitment in mediating the effect.

Theoretical background

Transformational school leadership

Transformational leadership is defined as a leader’s actions that widen and elevate followers’ objectives and give them the assurance to go above and beyond expectations (Bass & Riggio, 2006). Transformational leadership causes followers to rise above their self-interest and outperform themselves (Bass, 1985; Pieterse, van Knippenberg, Schippers, & Stam, 2010). It is also considered as one of the most important and influential types of leadership models in creating and facilitating organisational change in schools (Bass & Riggio, 2006; Derue, Scott, Nahrgang, Wellman, & Humphrey, 2011).

Transformational leadership theory was adopted in the field of educational administration in the late 20th century (e.g. Leithwood & Steinbach, 1995). The appeal of transformational leadership to educational administration research has been attributed to its relevance to the contemporary challenges that schools face today and those that the near future holds for schools (Berkovich, 2018; Bush, 2014; Hallinger, 2003). Transformational school leadership can indirectly promote students’ development by its effects on teachers’ attitudes and behaviours (Sun & Leithwood, 2012).

Empirical studies in education indicate the positive effect of transformational leadership on teachers’ motivation and commitment (Berkovich & Eyal, 2017; Eyal & Roth, 2011). Yet, there is relatively little empirical knowledge about the mechanisms of operation by which transformational leadership behaviours affect school performance (Berkovich & Eyal, 2017; Berkovich, 2018). Therefore, there is a persistent need to further investigate transformational leadership in education to ensure a better understanding of it.

Scholars have argued that transformational leadership is more dominant in times of crisis than during routine times (Conger, 1999). In the course of turbulent situations, the transformational leader creates a sense of direction for employees and provides them the support needed to act determinedly despite uncertainty (Kim, Jinyoung, & Ho Shin, 2021; Leithwood & Jantzi, 2005). Few studies were conducted about transformational leadership in times of crisis (Pillai, 2013; Zhang, Jia, & Lihong, 2012). Recently, Masry-Herzallah and Stavissky (2021) found that conventional transformational leadership of school principals positively predicted the success of online learning (in teachers’ opinion) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel (r=~.30). This study did not focus on digital transformational leadership.

Transformational leadership in online settings

The use of online communication technologies has changed the work environment and produced new challenges for leadership (Adnan, Abdullah, Isaac, & Mutahar, 2019), among others, in public sector organisations (Green & Roberts, 2010). The effect of virtual communication on the relations between followers and leaders is a new field of empirical exploration (Salter, Green, Duncan, Berre, & Torti, 2010). Scholars have found that in virtual teamwork leaders and individuals need to have good communication skills, initiative, and the ability to use technology (Charlier, Stewart, Greco, & Reeves, 2016; Green & Roberts, 2010). The application of transformational leadership behaviours in virtual environments is an emerging topic for investigation. Early works found that transformational leadership is an important aspect of online leadership because it plays a crucial role in virtual teams (Purvanova & Bono, 2009).

Virtual manifestations of transformational leadership have been explored mainly in higher education. Transformational leadership behaviour in adults’ online teaching and learning environment is manifested in the following ways (Bogler, Caspi, & Roccas, 2013): it provides students with opportunities to ask questions; increases the extent to which students feel that their concerns are addressed by teachers; and inspires students to achieve challenging goals. In higher education research, instructors’ transformational leadership behaviour characteristics have been found to affect students’ satisfaction and learning outcomes (Adnan, Abdullah, Isaac, & Mutahar, 2019; Bogler, Caspi, & Roccas, 2013), and students’ transformational leadership behaviours have been found to be key contributors to students’ teamwork in e-learning tasks (Zhang et al., 2018).

Transformational leadership and organisational commitment in online settings

Leadership scholarship has emphasised the role of leaders in developing and supporting employees’ organisational commitment (Berkovich & Bogler, 2021; Yahaya & Ebrahim, 2016). Organisational commitment is defined as “a strong psychological attachment or bond towards a specific organisation, which can be driven by internal motives such as identification or by external normative pressures” (Bogler & Berkovich, 2022, p. 441). Most of the empirical research in general and educational management studies focused on affective organisational commitment (i.e. the emotional attachment to the organisation that produces participation in organisational activities, and enjoyment of being a member in the organisation) (Berkovich & Eyal, 2017; Bogler & Berkovich, 2022; Chordiya, Sabharwal, & Goodman, 2017). In education, a great deal of research attention has been paid to the connection between principals’ transformational leadership and commitment. Various studies confirmed a strong and positive relationship between transformational leadership and affective organisational commitment (Berkovich & Eyal, 2017; Bogler & Berkovich, 2022; Berkovich & Bogler, 2021; Dou, Devos, & Valcke, 2017; Sayadi, 2016). Transformational leaders provide socioemotional support to followers and raise the emotional appeal of organisational activities and of the future, thereby developing their employees’ affective commitment and attachment to the organisation (Berkovich & Eyal, 2017; Berkovich & Bogler, 2021).

The outbreak of COVID-19 had forced organisations, including schools, in many countries to adapt their work to virtual teamwork to ensure the continuity of organisational activities (Whillans, Perlow, & Turek, 2021). The management of virtual teams requires the understanding of people, technology, process, trust, and empowerment, as well as the ability to overcome obstacles to the effectiveness of the remote team (Green & Roberts, 2010; Serrat, 2017). One of the hallmarks of effective virtual teamwork is members’ organisational commitment (Lippert & Dulewicz, 2018). The literature indicates that team leadership is instrumental for cultivating virtual team members’ organisational commitment (Serrat, 2017), specifically when it adopts transformational leadership behaviours (Mysirlaki & Paraskeva, 2020). A study conducted in the US found that affective organisational commitment is a key significant negative predictor of online K-12 teachers’ probability of turnover (Larkin, Lokey-Vega, & Brantley-Dias, 2018). Thus, it is hypothesised that:

H1:

Principals’ digital transformational leadership will be positively related to teachers’ organisational commitment in remote schooling.

Organisational commitment and school performance in online settings

Organisational effectiveness is defined as “as the extent to which any organization as a social system, given certain resources and means, fulfils its objectives without incapacitating its means and resources and without placing undue strain upon its members” (Georgopoulos and Tannenbaum, as cited in Hoy and Ferguson (1985), p. 121). In the educational literature, school effectiveness has received ample attention (e.g. Burušić, Babarović, & Šakić Velić, 2016; Philip & Heck, 1998; Rutter & Maughan, 2002). Committed teachers have a positive and strong connection with their students, subject matter, and the school (Bogler & Berkovich, 2022; Firestone & Pennell, 1993). They also identify themselves with the goals of the school, invest effort into achieving them, and show a desire to remain in their school in the future (Bogler & Berkovich, 2022; McInerney, Ganotice, King, Marsh, & Morin, 2015). Teachers’ organisational commitment was found to have an important effect on motivational outcomes (see full description in the review by Bogler & Berkovich, (2022)) such as (a) teachers’ intention to leave the school (e.g. Oman- Imran, Allil, and Mahmoud, 2017; Hong Kong-McInerney, Ganotice, King, Marsh, & Morin, 2015; Israel, Shapira-Lishchinsky & Rosenblatt, 2009); (b) organisational citizenship behaviour (e.g. Israel- Somech & Bogler, 2002; Turkey- Sesen and Basim, 2012); and (c) school outcomes among other perceived elements of school effectiveness (e.g. Malaysia- Maroufkhani, Nourani, & Bin Boerhannoeddin, 2015) and enabling school structure (e.g. Turkey- Balay, 2007; U.S.A- James, Hoy, & Sweetland, 2004). As noted, these effects are replicated in both Western and non-Western societies. A study conducted in the US in K-12 online schools indicated that affective commitment of K-12 online teachers was a predictor of likely turnover (Larkin, 2015), which is known to harm school performance. A recent study in higher education institutions in India during the digital shift brought about by the pandemic suggests that faculty members‘ commitment was positively related to performance in a web-based teaching-learning model (Sivagnanam, Ramanatha Pillai, Elangovan, & Parayitam, 2022). Therefore, it is assumed that:

H2:

Teachers’ organisational commitment in remote schooling will be positively related to perceived school effectiveness in remote schooling.

Transformational leadership and organisational effectiveness in online settings

Leadership is viewed as crucial in promoting organisational integration and effectiveness in regular and online settings (Gurr, 2004; Holt, Palmer, Gosper, Sankey, & Allan, 2014; Mishra, Henriksen, Owens Boltz, & Richardson, 2016). Edmonds (1979) argued that effective schools are characterised among others by strong leadership. Hoy and Miskel (2008) suggested that school effectiveness is contingent on the performance of school leaders. Empirical research indicated that school leadership and ethos (but not teacher collaboration and consensus) are key promoters of school effectiveness (Ramberg, Brolin Låftman, Fransson, & Modin, 2019). There is research consensus about the important role of principals in contributing to school effectiveness (Horng, Klasik, & Loeb, 2010). Transformational school leadership was found to be related to perceived school effectiveness (i.e. teachers’ views of organisational success) (Nir & Hameiri, 2014). Existing research has shown that teachers’ organisational commitment is positively related to perceived school effectiveness (Maroufkhani, Nourani, & Bin Boerhannoeddin, 2015), and that school leadership affects perceived school effectiveness through teachers’ affective organisational commitment (Bogler & Berkovich, 2022). A study of 1,250 public and private sector Greek employees indicated that transformational leadership behaviours have a positive effect on organisational growth and that this effect in mediated, among others, by organisational commitment (Katou, 2015). Another study involving 227 nurses from Saudi Arabia indicated that employees’ affective organisational commitment partially mediates the association between transformational leadership and employees’ job performance (Almutairi, 2016). In the field of education, previous studies centred on technology supporting certain aspects of principal-teacher interactions (i.e., digital data management of learning), indicated its contribution to school effectiveness (Akram & Muhammad Khan, 2020). Thus, it is hypothesised that:

H3:

The effect of principals’ digital transformational leadership on perceived school effectiveness in remote schooling will be mediated via teachers’ organisational commitment in remote schooling.

Method

A quantitative correlational research design was utilised for this study to examine the relationship between principals’ digital transformational leadership and its outcomes. The data for this work originate from a wider project on school leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bahrain. Data were collected in a cross-sectional study by the second author. Bahrain is a small Arab state in the Persian Gulf whose economy is based largely on oil production. Since the end of the 20th century, the country experienced numerous changes in the social, educational, health, economic, and political spheres. The Ministry of Education led several initiatives to develop the digital teaching capacities in the schools. For example, the King Hamad Schools of the Future project promoted the use of the Internet and of digital technology in schools, and the training of teachers in digital technology. It also assigned digital technology specialists to schools (Alkoofi, 2016). During the pandemic, the Ministry of Education ordered schools to switch to online learning aiming to protect the health of the staff and students (Taufiq-Hail, Sarea, & Thonse Hawaldar, 2021).

Sample and data collection

We used a convenience sampling method because of COVID-19-related obstacles. We approached teachers’ groups on social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, WhatsApp) to enlist teachers willing to participate in the online survey. In total, 380 teachers answered the survey questions. About a third (31.3%) worked in primary schools, and the rest in secondary schools (about half in middle schools and half in high schools). The sample was gender diverse (48.7% female). Most teachers had an undergraduate academic degree (98.7%). Teachers’ mean age was 40.27 years (SD = 8.51, range 25–55). Participants were largely experienced teachers, with a mean seniority of 13.83 years (SD = 8.14).

Measures

Digital transformational leadership

The Short Transformational Leadership scale of Carless, Wearing, and Mann (2000) was selected to assess principals’ leadership. The scale has seven items that were modified to measure digital manifestations of transformational leadership. For example, the item “My principal communicated a clear and positive vision of the future” was changed to “My principal communicated a clear and positive vision of the future using digital communication and collaboration tools (e.g. WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Slack, etc.)”. All the modified items are presented in the Appendix. We asked individuals to indicate their level of agreement with the statements on a 5-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree). Three items (numbers 5, 6 m and 7 – see the wording of items in Appendix) were removed because of structural misfit (i.e. loading below .40 or lowering scale reliability). As suggested previously, we believe the misfit had to do with cultural and contextual differences in the transformational leadership concept between Western and Arab settings (Litz & Scott, 2017). Like other Persian Gulf countries (see scores for Qatar and United Arab Emirates in https://www.hofstede-insights.com), Bahrain is characterised as highly collectivist and hierarchical-traditional (compared to Western countries), and notions of school leaders offering their personal vision or encouraging critique of norms are likely to be less appropriate. An exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation was conducted on the four remaining items. The analysis produced one factor with an eigenvalue above 1, which accounted for 58.18% of the variance (α = .72).

Teachers’ organisational commitment

Much of the research on organisational commitment focuses on the positive affective aspect of commitment (Bogler & Berkovich, 2022), therefore we used the affective organisational commitment of Meyer, Allen, and Gellatly (1990) to assess this parameter. The scale contains six items (sample item “I thought I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career at this school”). Level of agreement was scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree). An exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation produced one factor with an eigenvalue above 1, which accounted for 86.04% of the variance (α = .97).

School effectiveness in remote schooling

We adapted the eight items of the School Effectiveness Index of Hoy, Tarter, and Kottkamp (1991) to assess perceived school effectiveness in remote schooling. For example, the item “The quality of products and services produced in this school is outstanding” was modified to “The quality of online learning and remote school services in this school was outstanding”. The adapted items are listed in the Appendix. Participants were asked to indicate agreement on a 5-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree). An exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation produced one factor with an eigenvalue above 1, which accounted for 84.37% of the variance (α = .97).

Controls

The literature suggests that teachers’ teaching experience (years), gender (male, female), and education (B.A., M.A.) may in some cases influence perceptions of organisational commitment and school effectiveness (Bogler & Berkovich, 2022; Karabatak, Alanoğlu, & Şengür, 2018). Therefore, we included these variables in the survey as controls. Previous experience in online instruction (little, some, much) was also incorporated as a control.

Results

Before testing the mediation hypothesis, we conducted preliminary analyses in SPSS. Exploration of zero-order correlations indicated that two covariates, teachers’ gender and teachers’ education, produced non-significant relations with the study variables, therefore they were omitted. By contrast, teaching experience created a weak correlation only with organisational commitment. Prior experience in online instruction exhibited medium-to-high correlations with all study main variables. We used partial correlations to correct for the effects of the variable prior experience in online instruction on the study variables of interest. Table 1 displays the partial correlations and the descriptive statistics. The results suggest initial support for the associations in the proposed mediation model.

Table 1. Partial correlations (controlled for prior online instruction experience) and descriptive statistics for main study variables (n=380).

	Mean	SD	1	2
1. Principals’ digital transformational leadership	4.81	0.30
2. Teachers’ affective organisational commitment	3.79	0.87	.242***
3. Perceived school effectiveness in remote schooling	3.86	0.90	.209***	.786***

Note. ***p < .001.

Next, we tested the mediation hypothesis. We used a single-step mediation test (Hayes, 2013) to test the suggested model. The literature on mediation tests suggests that single-step mediation is preferable to traditional multiple-step mediation test methods because it estimates the indirect effect (Baron & Kenny, 1986; Hayes, 2013). The mediation test was performed in SPSS, using the PROCESS procedure (Model 4, with 5,000 bootstrapping iterations) (Hayes, 2013). The model specification included principals’ digital transformational leadership as an independent variable, teachers’ affective organisational commitment as a mediator, perceived school effectiveness in remote schooling as a dependent variable, and two controls (teachers’ teaching experience and prior experience in online instruction) affecting the mediator and the dependent variable. The results of the single-step test indicate a significant mediation effect and support of the proposed model. Figure 1 displays the standardised estimates and mediation results.

Figure 1. Results of mediation analysis involving principals’ digital transformational leadership. Standardized coefficients are reported. Bootstrap = 5,000. Light grey colour indicates control variables. *** p <.001

These results in Figure 1 show that all the hypotheses were supported. Principals’ digital transformational leadership is positively related to teachers’ organisational commitment in remote schooling (H1), and teachers’ organisational commitment in remote schooling is positively related to perceived school effectiveness in remote schooling (H2). Moreover, the effect of principals’ digital transformational leadership on perceived school effectiveness in remote schooling is fully mediated via teachers’ organisational commitment in remote schooling (H3).

Discussion

The COVID-19 pandemic has mobilised many education systems to use remote schooling and online learning, which has led to a fundamental transformation of conventional leadership communication. Remote schooling created a situation that threatened the viability of the organisation and was characterised by uncertainty and ambiguity (Pearson & Clair, 1998; Uriel, Boin, & Comfort, 2001), and in which the leader played a key stabilising role (Mumford, Friedrich, Caughron, & Byrne, 2007). Previous studies explored digital transformational leadership only in higher education (Adnan, Abdullah, Isaac, & Mutahar, 2019; Bogler, Caspi, & Roccas, 2013; Zhang et al., 2018), and our understanding of how this leadership is related to classic desired outcomes, such as organisational commitment and effectiveness, is lacking.

The present study makes several contributions to research and practice. First, the findings shed light on the centrality of digital transformational school leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior qualitative work showed that educational leaders self-reported adopting digital transformational leadership practices during the pandemic to cope with changes and uncertainty (Baroudi, 2022), but the outcomes of these practices were unknown. The study reconfirms earlier claims about the dominance of transformational leadership during an organisational crisis (Conger, 1999; Kim, Jinyoung, & Ho Shin, 2021), in particular leadership in its digital form (Purvanova & Bono, 2009). The study also advances knowledge on how online communication technologies change the work environment in public sector organisations (Green & Roberts, 2010), specifically in K-12 education. Avolio, Sosik, Kahai, and Baker (2014) suggested that interactions with information technology and physical distance may change both leadership behaviours and the bonding processes between leaders and followers. Yet, empirical insights into these aspects in K-12 education are scarce. Our findings have shown the high prevalence of these new e-leadership practices in schools and their effect on traditional bonding processes. The present research has also expanded the limited empirical knowledge on digital school management, which did not address organisational and leadership processes (e.g. Akram & Muhammad Khan, 2020; Mishra, Henriksen, Owens Boltz, & Richardson, 2016). During the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technical platforms served most organisational processes and served as the main communication channel for leadership influence.

Second, the findings contribute to understanding the connection between principals’ digital transformational leadership and teachers’ affective commitment to school during the pandemic. Despite remote schooling, it seems that, as recently suggested, virtual transformational leadership behaviours promoted stronger affective connection with the organisation (Mysirlaki & Paraskeva, 2020). This is not a trivial effect, as we take into account that at times of crisis negative emotions are on the rise (Jin, 2010). A recent study reported a negative connection between K-12 teachers’ affective organisational commitment and teacher turnover (Larkin, Lokey-Vega, & Brantley-Dias, 2018). Therefore, a lack of support in staff members’ organisational commitment during a crisis might lead to a wave of members leaving the organisation in mid-crisis. The present study confirms that conventional transformational leadership is not the only one that suppresses negative crisis-related emotions and enhances positive ones (Kim, Jinyoung, & Ho Shin, 2021; Leithwood & Jantzi, 2005; Popper, 2004). Prior work indicated that emotions such as excitement, enthusiasm, and pride are key mediators of the effects of work relationships on teachers’ commitment (Seog Hun, 2014). These positive emotions are considered integral influences of transformational leadership in routine times (Küpers & Weibler, 2006). The link between positive emotions and transformational leadership can help explain why in times of crisis organisational commitment was higher (Chia-Ching, Lee, & Lin, 2012) despite the known fact that crisis elicits strong negative emotions (e.g. sadness, fright, and anxiety; see Yan, Pang, & Cameron, 2008).

Third, study findings shed light on the connection between principals’ digital transformational leadership and school effectiveness in a period of crisis, showing full mediation through affective commitment. This complements the existing studies indicating a connection between conventional transformational leadership and effectiveness (Maroufkhani, Nourani, & Bin Boerhannoeddin, 2015; Nir & Hameiri, 2014). The findings also add to a recent review indicating that teachers’ organisational commitment was a key mobiliser of teachers’ motivational behaviours and perceived school effectiveness (Bogler & Berkovich, 2022). The study extends the first results on the effectiveness of principals’ conventional transformational leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic (Masry-Herzallah & Stavissky, 2021) to the virtual form of this leadership style. Virtual interactions with transformational leaders appear to have contributed to providing direction to the staff, as previously reported regarding conventional communication with transformational leaders (Kim, Jinyoung, & Ho Shin, 2021; Leithwood & Jantzi, 2005; Popper, 2004).

This research has several limitations. First, the data were collected in a cross-sectional survey, which limits the ability to make causal inferences. Second, the study used a single source for the data, which is known to create common method variance that might influence results (Jordan & Troth, 2020). Reports on organisational effectiveness were based on subjective accounts and not on objective measures. The use of controls reduced the inflation of common method variance, but we recommend addressing this issue in future studies. Third, the findings indicated a very high digital transformational leadership score (M = 4.81). This may be a reflection of the hierarchy-respecting culture; others studies on public organisation in Bahrain also reported high transformational leadership scores (M = 4.42 in Al-Shammari & Khalifa, 2019), and may be partly due to effort effect, as respondents attributed and valued leaders’ behaviours more favourably because of the perceived efforts needed in this unusual crisis situation. This issue requires further research. Fourth, a high correlation was documented between affective commitment and school effectiveness in online settings (M = .78). In regular school settings, a more moderate correlation has been reported between the two variables (M = .54 in Işik, 2020). It is possible that in remote online school work, the teachers‘ work is more isolated, which limits their view of organisational work and makes it appear more centred on their own experience. Additional study is advised. Fifth, the national context of the study (e.g. traditional culture, prior digital pilots, and capacity building in schools) might have affected the results. Research in other countries is advised. To conclude, this study is one of the first exploratory efforts of the wider change in mainstream principalship as it adopts broad digital forms.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Izhak Berkovich

Izhak Berkovich, PhD, is a faculty member in the Department of Education and Psychology at the Open University of Israel. His research interests include educational leadership, ethics and social justice in school management, emotions in schools, politics and policy making in education, and educational reforms.

Tahani Hassan

Tahani Hassan, PhD, obtained her doctoral degree from Brunel University London. Her current research interests include leadership, management and organisational behaviour.

Appendix

Table

Principals’ digital transformational leadership items

During the COVID-19 pandemic…

(1) My principal communicated a clear and positive vision of remote schooling using digital communication and collaboration tools (e.g., WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Slack, etc.).

(2) My principal used digital communication and collaboration tools (e.g., WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Slack, etc.) to treat staff as individuals, and to support and encourage their development in remote workenvironment.

(3) My principal used digital communication and collaboration tools (e.g., WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Slack, etc.) to provide encouragement and recognition to staff for their efforts in remote schooling.

(4) My principal used digital communication and collaboration tools (e.g., WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Slack, etc.) to foster trust, involvement, and cooperation among teachers in remote work environment.

(5) My principal used digital communication and collaboration tools (e.g., WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Slack, etc.) to encourage thinking about remote schooling problems in new ways and to question assumptions.

(6) My principal used digital communication and collaboration tools (e.g., WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Slack, etc.) to clarify the values and practices the principal sought to promote in remote schooling.

(7) My principal used digital communication and collaboration tools (e.g., WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Slack, etc.) to instil pride and respect in the teachers and their work in remote schooling, which inspired me.

Teachers’ organisational commitment items

During the COVID-19 pandemic…

(1) I thought I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career at this school.

(2) I really felt as if the problems of this school were my own.

(3) I didn’t feel like being “part of the family” at this school (R).

(4) I didn’t feel emotionally attached to this school (R).

(5) This school had a great deal of personal meaning for me.

(6) I didn’t feel a strong sense of belonging to this school (R).

Perceived school effectiveness in remote schooling items

During the COVID-19 pandemic…

(1) The quality of online learning and remote school services in this school was outstanding.

(2) The quantity of online learning and remote school services in this school was high.

(3) The teachers in my school did a good job coping with emergencies and disruptions.

(4) Most everyone in the school accepted and adjusted to the changes related to online learning and remote school services.

(5) When changes related to online learning and remote school services were made in the school, teachers accepted and adjusted quickly.

(6) Teachers at this school were well informed about innovations related to online learning and to the remote services that could affect them.

(7) Teachers at this school anticipated problems related to online learning and remote school services and prevented them.

(8) Teachers at this school used available resources related to online learning and remote school services efficiently.

Note. Items 5, 6, 7 in the digital transformational leadership scale were omitted because of structural and reliability adaptions.