School Leadership Management and Students’ Engagement in High-Quality Development of Rural Schools in Lishui: Basis for a Framework

In the context of distance learning, student engagement has increasingly become a key concern for school administrators and educators. This study examines the impact of leadership management on the high-quality development of rural schools in Lishui, Zhejiang Province, focusing on four aspects: the responsibilities and decision-making of school leaders, organizational design, talent development, and curriculum planning. A quantitative approach was adopted, involving a questionnaire survey of 130 teachers and 262 students from rural schools in Lishui. The findings reveal that, in terms of high-quality development, both the level of school leadership management and student engagement are relatively low, with gender differences observed in student participation. This suggests that the leadership and management practices influencing the high-quality development of rural schools in Lishui are closely related to student engagement. The study recommends that efforts be made to enhance school leadership skills through targeted activities, to further improve student participation and foster high-quality school development.