School management and technological innovation in educational institutions: a systematic review

This systematic review examines the relationship between school management and technological innovation in educational institutions during the period 2021–2025. Effective management is critical to implementing successful pedagogical innovations, especially in Latin American contexts where structural digital gaps and inequalities in leadership capacities persist. A search was conducted in ScienceDirect, Springer Link, Scielo, Redalyc, and ProQuest (2021–2025), including empirical articles in Spanish and English on school management, technological innovation, and educational institutions, excluding studies without full access and of low methodological quality. From 287 initial records, 89 duplicates were eliminated; after screening titles and abstracts, 128 articles were excluded, and an additional 40 were excluded based on methodological quality, selecting 30 for qualitative synthesis. The results show that transformational leadership acts as the main catalyst for technological integration, increasing teacher collaboration by 23%. Facilitating factors include strategic planning, ongoing training, and institutional support, while limiting factors include organizational resistance, insufficient funding, and the urban-rural digital divide. In Latin America, only 35.60% of principals receive specific training. In conclusion, sustainable technological innovation requires multidimensional school management that integrates transformational leadership, digital leadership skills, and public policies with continuity, prioritizing equity in Latin American contexts.