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The present study aims to model the structural equations of digital educational leadership on teachers' organizational commitment, mediated by organizational dynamics. The research method is descriptive-correlational, and the analysis method is structural equation modeling. The study population consists of 906 elementary school teachers in Kermanshah during the academic year 2023-2024. The sample size was determined using Cochran's sampling formula and simple random sampling, resulting in 284 participants. A questionnaire was used for data collection.The findings indicate that digital educational leadership has a direct and significant effect on teachers' organizational commitment, with a path coefficient of 0.08 and a t-value of 0.89. However, this variable has a direct, positive, and significant effect on organizational dynamics, with a path coefficient of 0.58 and a t-value of 9.98. Additionally, organizational dynamics have a direct, positive, and significant effect on teachers' organizational commitment, with a path coefficient of 0.55 and a t-value of 5.62. Ultimately, digital educational leadership has an indirect, positive, and significant effect on teachers' organizational commitment through the mediation of organizational dynamics, with an indirect path coefficient of 0.84 and a t-value of 11.87 at the 0.05 significance level. Considering the research findings, the existence of digital leadership alone cannot directly increase teachers' organizational commitment. However, digital leadership creates positive changes and dynamics in the educational environment, providing a space that leads to increased motivation and commitment among teachers. In fact, digital leadership acts as a driving force that enhances dynamics, which in turn strengthens teachers' organizational commitment
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Several concepts in environmental psychology explore the reciprocal relationship between the environment and human behavior. One key concept is Affordance, introduced by Gibson. This concept suggests that architectural projects can shift their focus from merely considering function and form to creating environments that effectively meet the diverse needs of users. In-between spaces in school architecture are often overlooked in the design process, yet they can offer numerous affordances. This research aims to highlight the various design affordances of these spaces in schools and categorize them based on their ability to address different aspects of children's intelligence, as outlined by Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory. Using the framework of affordance theory, this qualitative study aimed to identify the various environmental characteristics of in-between spaces in schools that support children's multiple intelligences. The results of this research indicate that in-between spaces, due to their high design flexibility, are rich environments for accommodating the diverse intelligences of students. These spaces can support various types of children's multiple intelligences if designers and school leaders are aware of their diverse affordances.
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The present exploratory mixed-methods research, grounded in metaphorical realism, aimed to develop and validate a Cognitive Competency Model for School Principals. In the qualitative phase, 25 cognitive education specialists were selected through purposive sampling for semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using Glaser’s grounded theory method, employing open, selective, and theoretical coding to extract key cognitive dimensions related to educational leadership. To ensure credibility, the researchers applied expert validation and iterative refinement of the categories and concepts. In the quantitative phase, a Delphi technique supported by a questionnaire was used to validate the identified categories and concepts. Out of 25 experts in the field of cognitive education, 23 participated in the survey. The collected data were analyzed using a one-sample t-test to determine the level of expert agreement. The analysis confirmed the significance of all dimensions (p < 0.01). The finalized Cognitive Competency Model for School Principals includes 13 components: Metacognition, Mental Representation, Self-awareness, Psychological Capital, Linguistic Abilities, Neuroscience of Emotions, Social Cognition, Comprehensive and Systematic Approach, Neuro Leadership, Neurocognitive Principles of Learning, Multiple Intelligences, Perceptual and Mental Ability, and Cognitive-Organizational Readiness. Developing these competencies can enhance school principals’ cognitive efficiency and leadership performance.
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The purpose of this study is to examine and evaluate the financial brand value of educational centers, aiming to expand school branding by addressing the question of which factors influence brand financial value and by analyzing the relationships among the identified factors and components. This research employs a mixed-methods (qualitative-quantitative) approach. Initially, qualitative meta-synthesis analysis was used to identify the determinants of brand value in non-profit schools. Subsequently, structural equation modeling was employed to develop the financial branding model. The qualitative sample comprised academic articles and books published between 2012 and 2023 on the subject of brand financial value, while the quantitative population consisted of all education staff in the schools of Tonekabon County, Mazandaran Province, during 2023–2024, selected through unlimited census and stratified random sampling in person. The findings indicate that, in the qualitative phase, components such as brand sentiment, brand credibility, brand competence, brand meaning, and brand attributes were identified as key determinants of financial brand value. In the quantitative phase, statistically significant relationships among the dimensions and components were established. The overall model fit, based on the GOF formula, was calculated at 0.69, indicating strong model validity and alignment with empirical data. The results of this study can provide substantial support to managers and decision-makers in non-profit schools for enhancing and promoting financial brand value—particularly by increasing credibility, attracting students, securing greater financial opportunities and resources, strengthening community engagement, and fostering a sense of belonging and identity.
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Despite research on the destructive consequences of toxic leadership, existing studies have predominantly focused on industrial settings and relied on quantitative, outcome-oriented approaches. Consequently, the processes through which toxic leadership emerges and persists within educational organizations, particularly from the perspective of employees’ lived experiences, remain insufficiently theorized. This research was conducted with the aim of addressing this gap. This study adopted a qualitative grounded theory approach following Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) procedures. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 24 employees and subject-matter experts who had direct experience with toxic leadership. Participants were selected using purposive and theoretical sampling, and data collection continued until theoretical saturation was reached. Data analysis involved open, axial, and selective coding. Trustworthiness was ensured through peer debriefing, member checking, and intra-coder consistency via re-analysis. Findings reveal that toxic leadership is not a static or purely behavioral phenomenon but a dynamic, multi-layered, and context-dependent process. It emerges and is sustained through the interaction of leaders’ motivations and power resources with dysfunctional organizational structures, toxic cultures, and employees’ cognitive–behavioral responses. The analysis generated 359 concepts, 55 components, and 16 core categories, which were integrated into a paradigmatic model encompassing causal, contextual, and intervening conditions, and action/interaction strategies and consequences. This study contributes by conceptualizing toxic leadership as a processual and institutionalized phenomenon embedded in the interplay between leaders, followers, and organizational contexts. The proposed model offers both theoretical advancement and practical insights for preventing, managing, and mitigating toxic leadership.
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The aim of the present study was to present a curriculum model based on executive functions of the brain. The approach of the present study was qualitative and its method was synthesis research. The research population was all articles (211 articles) that have been presented from 1385 to 1403 AH and 2010 to 2024 AD on curriculum and education and executive functions of the brain. The research sample was 30 articles, which were selected purposefully based on thematic monitoring, theoretical saturation of data, and research data were collected from qualitative analysis of the articles studied. By analyzing the data, the dimensions of the curriculum based on the executive functions of the brain were classified into 4 dimensions, 14 factors, and 105 categories, including individual factors (behavioral dimension, psychological dimension, cognitive dimension); scientific factors (knowledge factors and content factors); school factors (school management indicators, physical indicators, school context) and educational factors (teaching and learning approach, interactions, teacher characteristics, classroom management style, and program characteristics). The results showed that to create a curriculum based on the executive functions of the brain, paying attention to only one factor is not effective and there is a need to pay attention to different dimensions and aspects
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between psychological capital, teachers' job satisfaction, and organizational climate with teachers' innovative behaviors. The method of conducting the current research was descriptive correlation. The study population was public school teachers in Mahabad city, who selected 341 people by random sampling method and participated in the research (N=3000). A standard questionnaire was used to collect field data. The questionnaires included the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (Luthans et al, 2007), Job Satisfaction (Spector, 1985), Organizational Climate (Jao and Leo, 2009), and Employee Innovative Behavior (DeJong and Dan Hartog, 2008). The results showed that the correlation coefficient of psychological capital and its components i.e. hope, optimism, resilience and self-efficacy with teachers' innovative behaviors is positive and significant. The correlation coefficient of job satisfaction and its components i.e. pay, promotion opportunities, supervisor, working conditions and job benefits, colleagues and work environment factors with teachers' innovative behaviors is positive and significant. The correlation coefficient of the organizational atmosphere and its components, i.e. group spirit, intimacy, disinterestedness, distancing, considerateness, influence and dynamism and emphasis on production with innovative behaviors of teachers is positive and significant. The results obtained from the step-by-step regression analysis showed that psychological capital, organizational atmosphere and job satisfaction have a significant effect on teachers' innovative behaviors. Therefore, it can be concluded that psychological capital, teachers' job satisfaction and organizational atmosphere lead to an increase in teachers' innovative behaviors.
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This research investigates the interaction between leadership styles and managers' self-efficacy on teachers' psychological empowerment and creativity using a neural network approach. It is a descriptive-correlational study applied to the teachers in Iranshahr city during the 2024-2025 academic year, with a population of 1,800 individuals. A sample size of 317 was determined using Krejcie and Morgan's table, and 310 completed questionnaires were analyzed. Four established questionnaires measured the variables: Leadership Style (Bass and Avolio, 1969), Managers' Self-Efficacy (Bandura, 1986), Psychological Empowerment (Spreitzer, 1995), and Creativity (Amabile, 2001). Validity was confirmed by expert opinions, and reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, yielding values of 0.92, 0.83, 0.77, and 0.79, respectively. Hypothesis testing employed variance-based structural equation modeling and a multi-layer perceptron neural network, implemented in SMARTPLS 0.4 and SPSS27 software. The neural network model featured three input layers, one hidden layer with two units, and two output layers. The hyperbolic tangent function determined the hidden layers. The training model error was 0.19, while the test sample error was 0.07. The study confirmed the impact of leadership styles and managers' self-efficacy on teachers' psychological empowerment and creativity, with a coefficient of determination of 63%, indicating a significant explanation of creativity influenced by independent and mediating variables. The mediating role of self-efficacy was fully confirmed.
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Use of artificial intelligence benefits such as personalization, improved participation, immediate feedback, easy access, productivity, and data analysis. The problem is that artificial intelligence is a type of this type of education can be a machine-driven issue that helps students work together in a classroom at various levels. It also helps the teacher in facilitating education and students in learning. Education plays an important role in educating the future generation and the process of socializing students, which has allocated large amounts of financial and human resources. The use of new technology in the field of education creates important changes in student learning, and the optimal use of the capacities of these technologies gives learning a certain breadth and richness. The main goal of artificial intelligence is to optimize routine processes and improve their speed and efficiency. The global adoption of artificial intelligence technology in education will transform the way of learning. The research method is qualitative. An interview with managers, experts specializing in the field of artificial intelligence and educational management was conducted to identify the components and dimensions of the application of artificial intelligence and the contribution of each of these dimensions and components. The findings of the present study are that eight factors: learning, interactive learning , adaptive blended learning , problem-based and collaborative learning , educational technologies, intelligent monitoring LIRAM, interactive learning cultural monitoring , and educational policies can be effective in the use of artificial intelligence in the education and learning system
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This study explores the rationale behind the decision-making process for selecting educational applications (apps) from the perspective of parents, teachers, and students. The research utilized a qualitative, exploratory approach based on van-Manen’s interpretive phenomenological research to extract the selection criteria from the lived experiences of these primary mediation groups in the Iranian context. In-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with a total of 47 participants, including parents (N=15), students (N=16), and teachers (N=16). Data analysis was performed using thematic analysis of lived experiences. Finding show that parents largely relied on user ratings and developer descriptions as their main source of information. They demonstrated a restricted understanding of learning, often associating it strictly with school curricula (e.g., math, language). They prioritized features related to safety (e.g., age-appropriate, adult permission for purchase) and privacy. The least valued feature for parents was personalization, a feature highly preferred by students. Students often had a more unlimited understanding of learning (e.g., exploration and problem-solving). Teachers emphasized features related to content quality (e.g., avoiding mere textbook review, content accuracy). They also highly valued open-ended design that allows users to create their own content, and the availability of real-time, personalized assessment or performance analysis. Criteria most frequently referred to by teachers were content, assessment, access, and reporting. The least valued features were interaction and cooperative learning. The findings reveal a gap in selection priorities: students and teachers prefer manipulable and constructive apps that offer open-ended and personalized structures, while parents favor instructive apps aligned with the school curriculum.
