Pedagogical leadership and educational quality: A case study in higher education

In recent decades, different educational institutions have made a clear commitment to improving the quality of education. There are different elements to consider and which have an impact on the improvement of this quality within a Higher Education institution. The literature, both nationally and internationally, highlights the importance of leadership as well as the key role of ICT in the teaching-learning process as the starting point for e-leadership. Against this background, this paper analyses the case of the Faculty of Education of the UNIR [International University of La Rioja], focusing on understanding the degree of influence that pedagogical leadership has on the improvement of the quality of higher education institutions in online environments. It is based on a descriptive and quantitative methodology, through the application of the VAL-ED questionnaire, translated into Spanish and adapted to the university context, and the analysis of the different indicators of the quality system of the institution itself. It demonstrates that the pedagogical leadership of the leadership team has an impact on the quality of the institution and on the perceptions of the main interest groups, especially students, teaching and research staff, and administrative and management staff.