A Systematic Review and Framework for Teachers’ Digital Leadership Research

Abstract

Since the COVID-19 epidemic triggered a drastic shift in the teaching paradigm, many colleges and universities have accelerated the pace of digital transformation. Although the current research on digital leadership in education has made some progress, there is still a lack of research focusing on college teachers, especially in the construction of theoretical frameworks and summarization of practice mechanisms. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically review the existing research results, clarify the core components of teachers' digital leadership, and propose a future-oriented research path and practice framework. This study adopts a systematic literature review method, following the PRISMA process, to screen key publications on teachers' digital leadership in higher education between 2020 and 2025. The review extracts the theoretical foundations, research themes, and major findings from the selected literature. Based on this, this paper constructs a comprehensive framework for analyzing “teachers' digital leadership”, covering its definition, functioning mechanism and influence path. The framework not only provides theoretical support for future empirical research, but also provides reference for policy formulation and practice innovation in the construction of teacher digital leadership in universities, filling the key gaps in the existing literature.