Digital Transformation in Madrasahs: Optimizing the Role of Madrasah Principals in Developing Teachers’ Digital Competencies

Abstract

Digital transformation in education has emerged as an inescapable imperative, and Islamic educational institutions known as madrasahs are no exception to this global shift. This study is motivated by the observable gap between teachers’ relatively limited digital competencies and the escalating demands of twenty-first-century learning environments in these institutions. The primary objective is to examine and analyze strategies through which madrasah principals can systematically and sustainably advance their teachers’ digital competencies. A qualitative case study methodology was employed, with data gathered via in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and document analysis across three madrasahs in Sumenep Regency, Indonesia. Thematic data analysis followed the interactive model proposed by Miles, Huberman, and Saldana. The findings indicate that effective madrasah principals function as catalysts of digital transformation by pursuing three interconnected strategies is cultivating a conducive digital ecosystem through transformational leadership practices, designing needs-informed digital competency development programs for teaching staff and establishing sustainable professional digital learning communities. These findings contribute both theoretically and practically to the discourse on madrasah governance in the digital era.