Ambivalent Leadership in Technology- Enhanced Education

Ambivalent Leadership in Technology- Enhanced Education

📅 Monday 18/05 16:00-17:30h

📍 Workshop Space B

🔎 Needs Analysis

PhD candidates in Technology-Enhanced Learning often encounter a gap between linear models of technology adoption presented in research and the complex realities of educational leadership. In practice, leadership decisions around educational technology are frequently shaped by competing demands, uncertainty, and mixed positions.

This workshop addresses the need for conceptual tools that help PhD candidates understand and analyze such complexity. Ambivalent leadership provides a valuable lens for examining how educational leaders simultaneously support and question technological innovation. The topic aligns strongly with TEL and EdTech research, as leadership plays a central role in shaping how technologies are adopted, scaled, or constrained. Experiencing this perspective enables PhD candidates to develop more nuanced research questions and interpretations grounded in real educational contexts.

📒 Session Description

This 90 minute workshop combines short conceptual input with interactive group activities to support active engagement and reflection. The session will begin with a brief introduction to the concept of ambivalent leadership and why it is relevant for understanding decision-making around educational technology.

Participants will then work in small groups to discuss short scenarios and guiding questions that illustrate common leadership dilemmas related to technology use in educational settings. These discussions will focus on identifying tensions, contradictions, and mixed positions rather than evaluating decisions as simply “successful” or “failed”.

Throughout the workshop, participants will be invited to share insights, compare perspectives, and relate the concept of ambivalence to their own research contexts. As an outcome, participants will develop a clearer understanding of how ambivalent leadership can be used as an analytical lens in TEL research and how it may inform their own.

💡 Learning Objectives

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Understand what ambivalent leadership means in the context of technology-enhanced education.
• Recognize common tensions and contradictions in leadership decisions related to educational technology.
• Distinguish ambivalence from resistance, inconsistency, or lack of competence.
• Use ambivalence as a lens to reflect on leadership practices in real educational settings.
• Connect the concept of ambivalent leadership to their own PhD research questions and theoretical framing.