Madene-based educational leadership in digital education for strengthening student character
Abstract
This study examines the role of Madene-based educational leadership in digital education implementation and student character strengthening in Rote Ndao Regency. Digital education transformation in Indonesia continues to face challenges in aligning technological innovation with local cultural values, creating tensions in character development efforts. This study aims to analyze the effect of Madene-based leadership on digital education and student character, as well as to examine the mediating role of digital education. A quantitative explanatory survey design was employed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The sample consisted of 270 elementary school teachers selected through proportionate random sampling. Data were collected using validated Likert-scale questionnaires. The findings reveal that Madene-based leadership significantly influences digital education and student character. Digital education also exerts a significant positive effect on student character and partially mediates the relationship between leadership and character development. The structural model demonstrates substantial predictive capability. This study introduces a novel culturally grounded leadership model that integrates Madene cultural values with transformational and digital leadership practices, providing empirical evidence that local wisdom can serve as a strategic foundation for digital transformation and character education in primary schools.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.17509/ijpe.v10i1.99463
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