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Leading the hidden school: a principal’s presence in social media networks

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Abstract

This study highlights the importance of educational leaders’ responsibilities in virtual spaces, as they are perceived by school faculties and provides a validated tool to measure teachers' perception of a "principal's leadership presence in social media networks". 235 Israeli teachers participated in the study –180 (77%) females and 55 (23%) males, using a questionnaire consisting of 14 items scaled in a 6-point Likert format. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) reveal four modalities of the principal’s on-going leadership presence in social media networks: branding and communicative, transformational, supportive-protective and enforcement presence. The questionnaire may provide principals and educational policy designers with a plan to regulate the socio-professional relationship among a school's stakeholders.

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The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Leadership and Management at Orot, Israel College of Education, Rehovot, Israel

    Nitzan Elyakim, Yaffa Buskila, Haia Altarac & Lea Shaked

  2. Michlalah Jerusalem College, Jerusalem, Israel

    Nitzan Elyakim

  3. Talpiot College, Holon, Israel

    Nitzan Elyakim

  4. Faculty of Education, Technology and the Arts, Kibbutzim College of Education, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Tamar Chen-Levi

  5. Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Tamar Chen-Levi

  6. Open University, Ra’anana, Israel

    Haia Altarac

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  1. Nitzan Elyakim
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Elyakim, N., Buskila, Y., Chen-Levi, T. et al. Leading the hidden school: a principal’s presence in social media networks. Educ Inf Technol 28, 13323–13347 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-11702-y

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