Developing a Digital Governance and Policy-Making Model to Enhance Educational System Resilience in the Face of Crises: A Grounded Theory Study

Abstract

This applied qualitative study aimed to develop a digital governance and policy-making model to enhance the resilience of the educational system in the face of crises. A grounded-theory approach based on the Strauss and Corbin paradigm was used. The study population comprised senior educational managers and policymakers, crisis-management experts, university faculty members, school and district administrators, experienced educational personnel, and other experts in education and crisis management in Mazandaran Province, Iran. Participants were selected purposively on the basis of theoretical saturation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 experts; theoretical saturation was reached after approximately 12 interviews, and interviewing continued to the fifteenth participant to strengthen data adequacy. Data were organized and analyzed in MAXQDA through open, axial, and selective coding. The findings showed that policy-making for educational system resilience is shaped by causal, contextual, and intervening conditions. The main causal conditions were structural crises in the education system, educational and social inequalities, ineffective past policies and planning, the increasing intensity and recurrence of natural and social crises, weak preparedness and skills among educational human resources, and weak governance and institutional coordination. Contextual conditions involved the institutional and administrative structure of education, geographic and climatic conditions, household economic circumstances, educational and social culture, digital infrastructure, higher-level policies and regulations, and regional scientific capacity. Intervening conditions included financial support and resource allocation, the quality of educational management and leadership, digital technology and infrastructure, human capital and professional skills, institutional participation, and political and managerial stability. Six policy strategies were identified: developing virtual education and digital learning infrastructure, empowering educational human resources, reforming educational governance and policy structures, developing an educational crisis-management system, strengthening social and inter-institutional participation, and promoting educational equity while reducing access gaps. Consequences included continuity of education during crises, greater institutional resilience, improved learning quality, reduced inequalities, stronger human-resource preparedness, greater social capital and public trust, and educational innovation and transformation. The resulting paradigm model positions flexible, participatory, future-oriented, and risk-informed policy-making as the central mechanism through which educational systems can sustain essential functions and adapt under crisis conditions.