The roles of AI and educational leaders in AI-assisted administrative decision-making: a proposed framework for symbiotic collaboration

Education has always been in a state of flux because of technological disruption. As schools head towards a present in which digital technology is normalised as part of the fabric of everyday society, a post-digital paradigm, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the educational administration and leadership. It is crucial to find ways to coexist with AI while striving for a human-centric future. While numerous studies advocate for a collaborative synergy between AI and human leaders in educational governance, there is a gap in explicating the precise roles they undertake. This paper aims to address the void by providing a conceptual framework for the symbiotic roles of AI and educational leaders in the administrative decision-making process. This paper views administrative decision-making in schools as a political process involving negotiations among administrators, teachers, students, and parents. Within the framework, AI shoulders informational roles such as collecting and analysing data with its data analysis capability. Conversely, educational leaders are tasked with establishing the vision, disseminating information, managing conflicts, identifying new opportunities, negotiating and allocating decision-making authority to stakeholders. Moreover, educational leaders should encourage and supervise the implementation of AI in schools. The framework serves as a theoretical lens for prospective studies of AI impacts on education leadership and administration and bears practical implications for the preparation of future school leaders, contributing to the creation of a scenario where AI augments, rather than replaces educational leadership.