The Strategic Role of Instructional Leadership in Advancing EFL Teachers’ Digital Pedagogical Practices: A Systematic Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21093/jtikborneo%20Keywords:
Instructional leadership, digital pedagogy, EFL teachers, systematic literature review, teacherAbstract
The integration of smart devices in foreign language teaching requires high pedagogical skills, however, many educators feel cognitive load and operational anxiety. Educational research tends to separate the study of school leadership from the adoption of technology. Therefore, it is not yet clear how institutional leaders specifically stimulate these competencies. This systematic literature review follows PRISMA 2020 to provide a comprehensive mapping of managerial strategies. Searches on Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC identified 50 primary empirical studies (2020-2025) analyzed through thematic synthesis. The results indicate that instructional leadership is very decisive for the pedagogical confidence of educators, as 56% of studies reported that proactive managerial support enhances the self-efficacy and digital literacy of teachers in online classes. Most frequently cited barriers (68%) include limitations in infrastructure, lack of funding and psychological resistance to innovation. 57% of studies identified structured professional development as the most effective intervention for example delegating authority to qualified educators via virtual learning communities to mentor peer colleagues as a solution. This finding extends technology acceptance theory by placing teachers’ psychological safety and principals’ support as dominant facilitating conditions and recommends a shift from bureaucratic inspection to ongoing collegial coaching.
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