Educational Leadership in Blended Higher Educational Contexts

Introduction

As blended higher education evolves, educational leadership has attracted growing attention in academic and practical areas in the past two decades (Siddique et al., 2011). It has been recognized that educational leadership is a necessary and sufficient condition for school performance and student outcomes (De Nobile, 2018). The implications of educational leadership significantly contribute to the development of blended higher education in the context of information technologies (Garrison & Kanuka, 2004). It has highlighted that educational leadership can enhance the teaching-learning process (Strom & Porfilio, 2019). How educational leadership responds to changing education environments in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era is worthy of exploration (Comstock et al., 2021). Researchers and educators have made remarkably persisting efforts to carry out reforms for all students (Price & Mansfield, 2021).

However, educational leadership in blended higher educational contexts has yet to be addressed and is not explored widely (Day et al., 2016). Emphasis on its assessment and evaluation has been given less importance, especially in blended education (Habiballah et al., 2021). As a critical factor in the success of blended higher education, educational leadership determines school management and the role of teachers (Kovačević et al., 2020; Li & Yu, 2022). A lack of educational theory, practice, and policy make it difficult to ensure an education center's success and a smooth transfer from face-to-face classroom learning to blended learning (Wan et al., 2018). Exploratory studies are needed to adapt to the current educational environments in flux (Wenner & Campbell, 2017).

The authors thus seek to explore educational leadership in blended higher education contexts. The study pivots on the research questions: What is the new role of educational leadership in blended higher educational contexts? Can educational leadership directly affect students' academic achievement in blended higher educational contexts? What challenge does educational leadership encounter in blended higher educational contexts? To examine the roles of educational leadership in blended higher educational contexts, the requirements and significant challenges of educational leadership which benefits school management and students’ academic success, are explored.