STRENGTHENING RURAL PRIMARY EDUCATION THROUGH ADAPTIVE DIGITAL RESILIENCE AND FORESIGHT-DRIVEN LEADERSHIP IN WEST BENGAL: INSIGHTS FROM CHOA PRIMARY SCHOOL, MURSHIDABAD RURAL DISTRICT

Abstract:
Primary education remains a critical stage for embedding lifelong learning capacities and resilience, yet it is precisely in these rural settings where systemic inequities are most pronounced. This study adopts a critical lens, arguing that adaptive digital resilience must be understood as a systemic and dynamic capacity that extends beyond technological adoption to include infrastructure development, human capital enhancement, governance innovation, and community engagement. This study adopted a qualitative-dominant mixed-methods case study design to investigate how adaptive digital resilience and foresight-driven leadership can strengthen rural primary education in West Bengal. Contemporary methodological scholarship emphasises that such designs are particularly suitable for educational research in under-resourced contexts because they enable both contextual depth and limited generalizability. Contemporary policy scholarship advocates for future-oriented and resilience-based frameworks that explicitly integrate strategic foresight, anticipatory governance, digital resilience, institutional resilience, and adaptive leadership to enable rural schools to become future-ready. The study underscores the inadequacy of fragmented policy interventions, advocating instead for holistic and context-sensitive strategies that align with the dynamic realities of rural education. By fostering resilient and adaptive learning ecosystems through strategic leadership and innovation, rural schools can transition from states of vulnerability to sustainability, thereby future-proofing their capacity to deliver inclusive and quality education in an increasingly uncertain and rapidly evolving global landscape.