Evaluation of digital competencies and transformational leadership of school managers :The case of Adana

This study aims to examine the digital competencies and transformational leadership of school managers. Analyses were conducted to investigate potential differences in digital competence levels among school managers based on demographic variables such as gender, age, duration of administration, and school type. The study investigated the potential relationship between the transformational leadership characteristics of school managers and their digital competencies.The study was conducted using the relational survey method, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The study sample comprised 395 school managers working in public schools under the Ministry of National Education in Adana province in the 2022-2023 academic year. The study used a 5-point Likert-type scale consisting of the Teacher Digital Competence Scale developed by GümüĢ (2021) in the first part, the Transformational Leadership Scale developed by Berger, Romeo, Guardia, Baldó, & Soria (2012) in the second part, and a personal information form contsisting demographic information of the participants in the last part. Data were collected using a convenience sampling method and analyzed with the SPSS 26 Package Program. The scales underwent validity and reliability analyses, and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to determine normal distribution of the data. As the data did not show normal distribution, nonparametric tests such as Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis were used to analyze the hypotheses. The Spearman correlation test was used for the determination of the relationship between digital competence and transformational leadership.As a result of the research, there was no differentiation in the digital competence levels of school managers according to gender, district of working, educational status and administrative roles of managers. However, it was seen that there was a significant difference in the digital competence levels of school managers according to age, school type, duration of administration and branch variables. A positive, medium and significant relationship was found between the transformational leadership levels of managers and their digital competence levels.