Digital Education Ecosystems And Teacher Commitment: The Roles Of Instructional Leadership, Learning Culture, And Digital Pedagogical Competence Through Psychological Empowerment

Willem Yacob Hetharion; Claudia Monique Pattiruhu

doi:10.63922/ijevss.v5i03.4041

Willem Yacob Hetharion Institut Agama Kristen Negeri (IAKN) Ambon
Claudia Monique Pattiruhu Institut Agama Kristen Negeri (IAKN) Ambon

DOI: https://doi.org/10.63922/ijevss.v5i03.4041

Keywords: Instructional Leadership, Psychological Empowerment, Teacher Commitment, Digital Competence, Learning Culture

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the influence of Instructional Leadership, Organizational Learning Culture, and Digital Pedagogical Competence on Teacher Professional Commitment through the mediation of Psychological Empowerment in the context of the digital education ecosystem. The study used a quantitative explanatory approach with a sample of 100 high school teachers in Ambon City selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected through an indicator-based questionnaire for each variable and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling based on Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS). The results showed that the three independent variables had a positive and significant effect on Psychological Empowerment, and Psychological Empowerment significantly mediated the relationship between Instructional Leadership and Organizational Learning Culture with Teacher Professional Commitment. Conversely, the effect of Digital Pedagogical Competence on Teacher Professional Commitment through Psychological Empowerment was not significant, indicating that teachers' mastery of digital competencies needs to be supported by psychological factors and the organizational environment to increase professional commitment. These findings emphasize the importance of the role of the principal and organizational learning culture in empowering teachers psychologically so that they can increase their professional attachment to the profession. This research provides practical implications for the development of digital leadership strategies, strengthening organizational culture, and psychological empowerment of teachers as an effort to create adaptive, innovative, and sustainable education in the era of digital transformation.

References

Aithal, P. S., & Aithal, S. (2023). How to empower educators through digital pedagogies and faculty development strategies. International Journal of Applied Engineering and Management Letters (IJAEML), 7(4), 139–183.
Connolly, C., O’Brien, E., & O’Ceallaigh, T. J. (2023). Ensuring knowledge sustainability in a digital era: Empowering digital transformation through digital educational leadership. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-023-09658-4
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2022). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
Hallinger, P. (2022). Leadership and learning in schools: The evolving role of instructional leadership. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 50(2), 163–176.
Lukman, F., & Yune, E. K. (2025). Digital leadership and teacher digital competence as keys to successful integration of digital culture in education. Development: Studies in Educational Management and Leadership, 4(1), 21–36.
Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1997). Commitment in the workplace: Theory, research, and application. Sage Publications.
Norman, E., Masruri, A., Wahid, J., & Hasbian, Y. (2025). Managing teacher competence improvement through leadership, professional development, and digital innovation: A systematic literature review. Journal of Educational Management Research, 4(5), 2322–2348.
Rasdiana, Wiyono, B. B., Imron, A., Rahma, L., Arifah, N., Azhari, R., et al. (2024). Elevating teachers’ professional digital competence: Synergies of principals’ instructional e-supervision, technology leadership and digital culture for educational excellence in digital-savvy era. Education Sciences, 14(3), 266. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14030266
Siswadi, S., Sari, K., Hartono, H., & Mukroji, M. (2025). Digital leadership and organizational quality culture in education in the era of disruption. Tarbawiyah: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan, 9(2), 86–97.
Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442–1465.
Ta’yid, M., Nazarzāde Zāre, M., & Khākpoor, A. (2023). The impact of digital leadership style on teachers’ digital teaching with the mediating role of psychological empowerment. Journal of Educational Innovations, 22(1), 147–163.
Watkins, K. E., & Marsick, V. J. (2021). Sculpting the learning organization: Lessons in the art and science of systemic change. Routledge.
Xu, X. (2025). Technology and innovation: Transforming educational leadership. In Cultivating inclusive educational leadership ecosystems: Women trailblazers and the path forward (pp. 33–86). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-3156-8.ch002
Yang, Q., Alias, B. S., & Nor, M. M. (2025). Principals’ technology leadership and teachers’ ICT integration: A systematic review on capacity building for quality improvement and sustainable education. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 24(9), 211–234.