Artificial intelligence in school leadership: a structured literature review of organisational benefits and ethical challenges

Purpose This study investigates how artificial intelligence (AI) integrates into school leadership by examining organisational benefits and ethical challenges. As AI permeates educational administration, school leaders must navigate risks and opportunities in data privacy, fairness, and accountability. Design/methodology/approach A PRISMA-aligned structured literature review was conducted on publications from 2019 to 2025. Searches were performed in Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and Google Scholar, focussing on K–12 school leadership, with selective higher education sources included only for transferable governance mechanisms (e.g. policy, procurement, documentation/explainability, and auditability). Studies were screened for leadership relevance and ethical-legal engagement. Findings were synthesised using reflexive thematic analysis and conceptual mapping, yielding a final corpus of 50 publications. Findings AI affords benefits for school leadership, including administrative efficiency,