Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic as the global tsunami of an era of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA), presented school leadership teams with forced opportunities for adaptive leadership. Much of the adaptations have dissipated, hence the aim of this research was to examine the implications of forced opportunities for adaptive leadership by exploring the sustainability of such leadership practices post the pandemic. Utilizing a qualitative comparative multiple case study, we scrutinised school leaders’ experiences regarding the role of leaders in ICT implementation at three schools before, during and post the COVID-19 pandemic. This provided insights into the shift in leadership practices as it reflected the experiences of South African school leaders from polarizing realities. We employed two data collection tools: open-ended face-to-face, semi-structured interviews, and practical observations of the six school leaders. We found that the school leaders in the educational settings demonstrated sustainable leadership in ICT implementation. Much of the adaptive leadership practices adopted had a limited time frame ensuring continuity of leadership practices throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The readiness of school leadership to drive digital and technological transformation within their respective schools was raised, with socio-economic realities as the most prominent inhibitor or propellant. Our recommendation for the Department of Basic Education, South Africa, is to consider ways to intentionally build capacity within teachers and school leaders regarding the use of digital and technological tools, the objective being to incorporate leadership practice on a digital and technological spectrum. We propose this exploration by considering tools like the Microsoft package for testing suitability, which is vital prior to introducing digital and technological tools at a whole-school level. Through our recommendations, our study makes a significant contribution to policy that underscores the advancement of digital and technological tools during and post the pandemic. This research adds to the existing body of knowledge pertaining to the VUCA era, which in our view made a prominent arrival during the COVID-19 pandemic.