A STUDY ON PROPOSING A DIGITAL COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK  FOR PRINCIPALS IN VIETNAMESE SCHOOLS

Vu Thi Mai Huong; Kim Manh Tuan

Vu Thi Mai Huong*	huongvtm@hnue.edu.vn	Hanoi National University of Education 136 Xuan Thuy street, Cau Giay ward, Hanoi, Vietnam
Kim Manh Tuan	tuankm@vnu.edu.vn	VNU University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 144 Xuan Thuy street, Cau Giay ward, Hanoi, Vietnam

Summary:

The rapid development of digital technologies has brought fundamental changes to educational management and leadership. Today, school principals are expected to move beyond administrative management to become digital leaders capable of creating a strategic vision, making data-driven decisions, building a digital culture, and fostering pedagogical innovation. Globally, several digital competency frameworks such as UNESCO ICT-CFT and DigCompEdu have been developed to guide teachers and citizens; however, a comprehensive framework specifically designed for school principals remains absent, particularly in Vietnam. This study aims to propose a digital competency framework for principals Vietnamese schools, drawing on international references and adapting them to the national context. Twenty five competencies were organized into five domains: Strategic leadership and management, integration of digital technologies in teaching and learning, digital capacity building for staff and students, fostering a digital culture, and enhancing digital infrastructure. The proposed framework not only contributes to academic discourse but also provides practical value for training, professional development, and performance evaluation of school principals, thereby supporting the digital transformation of education in Vietnam.

View file

Keywords:

Digital competence

principals

digital leadership

digital competence framework

general schools.

Refers:

[1] Avidov-Ungar, O. & Eshet-Alkalai, Y. (2011). Teachers in a world of change: Teachers’ knowledge and attitudes towards the implementation of innovative technologies in schools. Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects, 7(1), pp.291–303.

[2] Bộ Giáo dục và Đào tạo. (2018). Thông tư số 14/2018/TT BGDĐT ngày 20 tháng 7 năm 2018 ban hành Chuẩn hiệu trưởng cơ sở giáo dục phổ thông. Hà Nội.

[3] Fazlollah, A., Moini, A. & Azad, N. L. (2020). Principals’ knowledge of data privacy and security in an era of educational technology expansion. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 23(5), pp.582 597.

[4] Fernández-Batanero, J. M., Román - Graván, P. & Llorente-Cejudo, M. C. (2023). An assessment tool for evaluating digital competencies of school principals and administrators. Computers & Education, 195, 104726.

[5] Ghomi, M. & Redecker, C. (2019, May). Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu): Development and evaluation of a self-assessment instrument for teachers’ digital competence. In CSEDU (1), pp.541–548.

[6] Mandinach, E. B. (2012). A perfect time for data use: Using data-driven decision making to inform practice. Educational Psychologist, 47(2), pp.71–85.

[7] Peña-López, I., Baptista-Lucio, P. & Ramírez-Andrade, G. (2022). Digital competencies for school administrators: A systematic review. Education Sciences, 12(3), p.197.

[8] Redecker, C. (2017). European framework for the digital competence of educators: DigCompEdu (No. JRC107466). Joint Research Centre (Seville site).

[9] Schrum, L., Galizio, L. M. & Ledesma, P. (2011). Educational leadership and technology integration: An investigation into preparation, experiences, and roles. Journal of School Leadership, 21(2), pp.241–261.

[10] Sheninger, E. C. (2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Corwin Press

[11] Thủ tướng Chính phủ. (2022). Quyết định số 131/QĐ TTg ngày 25 tháng 01 năm 2022 phê duyệt Chiến lược chuyển đổi số trong lĩnh vực giáo dục và đào tạo đến năm 2025, định hướng đến năm 2030. Hà Nội.

[12] UNESCO. (2018). UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers. Retrieved from https://unesdoc. unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000265721

[13] Yoke, S. K., Law, N. & Tay, L. Y. (2020). A comparative study of principals’ digital leadership practices across three countries. Journal of Computers in Education, 7(1), pp.21–46.

[14] Žajdela Hrustek, N., Kirinić, V. & Mekovec, R. (2022). Methodology for developing a framework for digital competencies of school principals in Croatia. EDULEARN22 Proceedings, pp.5618–5625.

Journal:

No. 3, December 2025

VIETNAM JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES

THE VIETNAM NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES

A STUDY ON PROPOSING A DIGITAL COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK FOR PRINCIPALS IN VIETNAMESE SCHOOLS