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Artificial intelligence in
educational leadership: a symbiotic
role of human-artificial
intelligence decision-making
Yinying Wang
Educational Policy Studies, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Abstract
Purpose –Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to a type of algorithms or computerized systems that resemble
human mental processes of decision-making. This position paper looks beyond the sensational hyperbole of AI
in teaching and learning. Instead, this paper aims to explore the role of AI in educational leadership.
Design/methodology/approach –To explore the role of AI in educational leadership, I synthesized the
literature that intersects AI, decision-making, and educational leadership from multiple disciplines such as
computer science, educational leadership, administrative science, judgment and decision-making and
neuroscience. Grounded in the intellectual interrelationships between AI and educational leadership since
the 1950s, this paper starts with conceptualizing decision-making, including both individual decision-making
and organizational decision-making, as the foundation of educational leadership. Next, I elaborated on the
symbiotic role of human-AI decision-making.
Findings –With its efficiency in collecting, processing, analyzing data and providing real-time or near real-
time results, AI can bring in analytical efficiency to assist educational leaders in making data-driven, evidence-
informed decisions. However, AI-assisted data-driven decision-making may run against value-based moral
decision-making. Taken together, both leaders’individual decision-making and organizational decision-
making are best handled by using a blend of data-driven, evidence-informed decision-making and value-based
moral decision-making. AI can function as an extended brain in making data-driven, evidence-informed
decisions. The shortcomings of AI-assisted data-driven decision-making can be overcome by human judgment
guided by moral values.
Practical implications –The paper concludes with two recommendations for educational leadership
practitioners’decision-making and future scholarly inquiry: keeping a watchful eye on biases and minding
ethically-compromised decisions.
Originality/value –This paper brings together two fields of educational leadership and AI that have been
growing up together since the 1950s and mostly growing apart till the late 2010s. To explore the role of AI in
educational leadership, this paper starts with the foundation of leadership—decision-making, both leaders’
individual decisions and collective organizational decisions. The paper then synthesizes the literature that
intersects AI, decision-making and educational leadership from multiple disciplines to delineate the role of AI in
educational leadership.
Keywords Organization, Decision-making, Technology, Leadership, Administration
Paper type Conceptual paper
The fields of educational leadership and artificial intelligence (AI) have been growing up
together, and mostly growing apart till the late 2010s. As AI forges ahead, what is the role of
AI in educational leadership? This position paper aims to explore the answer to this
question. This paper focuses on the role of AI in a fundamental element of educational
leadership being decision-making which includes leaders’individual decision-making and
organizational decision-making. To do so, I synthesized the interdisciplinary literature that
intersects AI, decision-making and educational leadership.
The paper unfoldsas follows. I first define whatAI is, followed by an overview of educational
leadership in an age of AI. The discussion of AI is grounded in the conceptualizations of
decision-making as the foundation of education leadership, followed by an elaboration of
the impact of AI on two prevalent decision-making approaches in educational leadership:
JEA
59,3
256
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Received 8 October 2020
Revised 9 December 2020
22 January 2021
31 January 2021
1 February 2021
Accepted 1 February 2021
Journal of Educational
Administration
Vol. 59 No. 3, 2021
pp. 256-270
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/JEA-10-2020-0216