Transforming Teacher Leadership in the Social Media Era: The Role of Digital Agency, Professional Identity, and Character Education in Islamic Primary Schools
Abstract
The transformation of teacher leadership in the social media era has reconfigured the pedagogical and ethical authority of educators, but studies on these dynamics in Islamic elementary education are still limited. This study aims to analyze the transformation of teacher leadership, the role of digital agency and professional identity, and their contribution to character education in the social media ecosystem in Islamic elementary education. This study employs a library research method with a conceptual and content analysis approach. Data were collected from various primary and secondary sources, including peer-reviewed journals, academic books, and relevant educational reports, focusing on the intersection of digital agency, professional identity, and character education. The data were analyzed through thematic coding and conceptual synthesis to construct a new theoretical framework. The results of the study show: (1) teacher leadership transforms from classroom-based practices to networked and digitally mediated leadership, which operates beyond institutional boundaries through the social media ecosystem; (2) digital agency and professional identity form a reciprocal mechanism that gives birth to a new construct in the form of Digital Islamic Teacher Identity—a hybrid identity that integrates digital competence with the values of murabbi and uswah hasanah; (3) Social media-mediated leadership contributes substantively to character education through digital role models as a hidden curriculum and Islamic-themed content curation, which strengthens students' moral resilience and digital citizenship. This study proposes an integrative conceptual model that offers a paradigm shift from technology adoption to value-framed technology integration in educational leadership. Policy and practical implications for the development of teachers' digital leadership are also discussed.