SUPERVISORS' DIGITAL COMPETENCE AND DIGITAL-BASED SUPERVISION IMPLEMENTATION: A HIGHER-ORDER CONSTRUCT ANALYSIS IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS

Although digital supervision has been extensively examined at a conceptual level, empirical evidence directly linking supervisors’ digital competence to the quality of digital-based supervision implementation in the Indonesian context remains scarce. This study investigates the influence of Supervisors’ Digital Competence (SDC) on Digital-Based Supervision Implementation (DBSI) in senior high schools in South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. SDC was operationalized as a reflective-formative higher-order construct comprising four dimensions: Technology Leadership Strategy (TLS), School Digital Culture (SDCu), Teacher Technology Coaching (TTC), and Student Digital Preparation Focus (SDPF). DBSI was measured across four dimensions adapted from Cogan’s (1973) clinical supervision model: Digital Supervision Preparation Quality (DSPQ), Digital Observation Quality (DOQ), Digital Post-Observation Conference (DPOC), and Digital Follow-Up and Support Quality (DFSQ). A quantitative approach with a cross-sectional survey design was employed, involving 318 respondents (teachers, principals, vice-principals) from 78 schools across 17 districts/cities. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS 3.0, applying the disjoint two-stage approach for HOC estimation. Results indicated that SDC exerted a positive and significant effect on DBSI (β = 0.708; t = 11.962; p < 0.001), with R² = 0.499 and effect size f² = 1.003 (large). The SDPF dimension contributed the highest formative weight (outer weight = 0.481), followed by TLS, TTC, and SDCu. These findings confirmed that supervisors’ digital competence is the primary predictor of successful digital-based supervision, with important policy implications for the professional development of educational supervisors in the digital age.