Journal of Intelligent Strategic Management

Journal of Intelligent Strategic Management

Presenting a Digital Governance Model in the Education System

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Katayoon Yazdan Panah 1
Akbar Etebarian Khorasgani 2
Fariba Karimi 3
1 Department of Public Administration, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
2 Department of Management, Isf.C., Branch, Islamic Azad university, Isfahan, Iran.
3 Department of Educational Management, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
10.87453/bumara.2026.373601.1795
Abstract
Objective: The digital age has confronted educational systems with the need to redefine their governance structures. Despite extensive investments in the field of educational technologies, the lack of a comprehensive and indigenous model for digital governance in the Iranian education system is considered a fundamental theoretical and practical gap. The present study was conducted with the aim of designing a digital governance model in the education system.
Methodology: This study was applied in terms of purpose and was conducted with a qualitative approach and content analysis method. The research participants included 14 experts, senior and middle managers, university professors, and specialists in the fields of information technology and curriculum planning, who were selected using a purposive snowball sampling method. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the six-step method of Brown and Clark (2006).
Findings: Data analysis led to the identification of 5 organizational themes and 25 basic themes. The overarching theme of digital governance in education includes: drivers of digital governance (including infrastructure and access, human development and empowerment, educational and content system transformation, and data-driven governance), dimensions of digital governance (including infrastructural-technical, legal-political-supervisory, human-empowerment, smart learning-educational innovation, and data-driven management dimensions), digital governance strategies (including technological, human and digital competency strategies, smart learning, digital transparency, and justice and participation), digital governance challenges (including the challenge of transitioning from traditional infrastructure to smart ecosystem, the challenge of developing human competency and digital culture, the challenge of innovative learning, the challenge of institutional integrity, and the challenge of educational justice and digital diplomacy), and the requirements for developing digital governance (including structural-infrastructural requirements, human capacity and digital leadership, education and technological innovation, governance and cybersecurity, and the dynamics of participation and digital diplomacy). The findings also showed that the realization of digital governance, beyond a technological measure, requires a paradigm shift in The cultural, legal, managerial, and structural layers of the education system.
Conclusion: The extracted research model provides a systematic and multidimensional framework for policymaking and implementation of digital governance in the education system. The realization of this model can lead to outcomes such as increased transparency and accountability, improved learning quality, reduced educational inequalities, improved administrative system efficiency, and institutionalized participatory and data-driven culture. Based on the findings, it is recommended to develop a comprehensive document on digital governance in education, design digital empowerment programs for teachers and administrators, create integrated and secure technical infrastructure, and provide electronic participation platforms for stakeholders.
Keywords
Governance
digital governance
digital transformation
education system
educational governance
content analysis
Subjects
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Journal of Intelligent Strategic Management
Volume 5, Issue 3 - Serial Number 15
Autumn 2026
Pages 591-608