Critically reflecting on the human and environmental costs of digital technology use in education: considering the role of leadership and school culture

While there has been an ever-increasing drive to digitally transform educational institutions over the past decade, concerns related to the environmental and human impact of digital technology consumption appear absent from policy in this area. Such concerns about resource depletion, environmental degradation, and human exploitation are likely to be downplayed and met with resistance from advocates of the digital transformation agenda. For schools to seriously consider the damaging effects of the ever increasing digital technology consumption, effective leadership is needed. Traditionally the idea of digital leadership in schools was seen as a specified role often undertaken and attributed to singular change agents or individuals. This paper argues that more democratic and inclusive leadership is needed to enable teachers to take ownership of this change agenda, thereby enabling schools to proactively respond to this sustainability crisis in an ethical and empathetic manner. This alone is not sufficient, however, as a shift from the dominant techno-positive mindset is also needed to allow teachers to critically reflect on this digital transformation agenda. The paper argues that if such conditions are established, more ethically driven responses to digital technology practices are likely to emerge.