Roles of principals in ICT integration: A case study of an international school Presented by: Garfield Lem July 5, 2003

Problem statement Roles of principals in ICT integration: A case study of an international school Took me 4 months to formulate this problem statement

Introduction There needs to be a leader to help guide us Leaders have the strongest influence in change Are principals more ICT ready than teachers? Worked on simultaneously with the literature review Constantly being modified Research questions will come to you as you do your literature review

Literature review ICT is changing the school culture. Principals need to ‘rework’ the school vision and get the teachers to participate Roles of principals include student outcomes, internal structures, leadership behaviors, and external structures Took about 3 months to complete Make a strong organized outline (it should be like telling a story) Make sure you take excellent notes (page numbers, referencing) and put a summary into your outline

Literature review cont’d How technology is changing teaching –Aid teachers (Bates, 2000 pg.27-28) –May improve quality of learning (Bates, 2000 pg.16) The need for change –Definition of change (Sergiovanni and Starratt 2002) –Effects of change (Fullan 2001, pg.108)

Methodology Qualitative study 4 principals (2 in elementary, middle school, high school) 37 teacher questionnaires given out Employed observations, questionnaire, and interviews Took me one month Make sure you have clear goals before you begin gathering data (it is difficult to go back) Your research questions are your ‘goals’ which will help you address your problem statement

Principal’s influence Ubben & Hughes’ 1992, and Fullan 2001

Research Questions Student outcomes 1.What are the levels of ICT competency of the principals and teachers? 2.What models of professional growth are principals and teachers using? Internal structures 3.What is the influence of the principal in the school vision and culture? Leadership behaviors 4.What types of behaviors do principals exert in managing change? 5.What is the availability of support and guidance for teachers and students? 6.What and how much collaboration is there amongst teachers and principals? External structures 7.What are the principal’s values and beliefs in ICT integration?

Research Findings Principals were at a basic level of ICT competency Did not seek PD View ICT as a high priority, but do not initiate change Lower elementary principal does not believe in teaching ICT to that age level

Research Findings Most teachers were not receiving sufficient ICT support from principals Lack of collaboration amongst teachers and principals (creation and sharing of knowledge was minimal) Most teachers feel school culture did not reflect change and ICT Took me 2 months I used the structure of my literature review I structured my findings from the framework Organizing the data I collected took the longest

Conclusion Principals need to be more active in ICT if they wish their teachers to use ICT Relationships need to improve to help create and share knowledge If principals do not believe in ICT, then ICT usage will be minimal Took me one month I formulated some conclusions during my research findings

Future Research Should elementary students be learning ICT? What are principals currently doing in creating future leaders? Are there simple models that principals can use in creating a culture of change?

References Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a Culture of Change. San Francisco, Calif. Jossey-Bass Fullan, M. (2001). The New Meaning of Educational Change. 3 rd ed. Teachers College, Columbia University. Ubben, G. & Hughes, L. (1992). The Principal: Creative Leadership for Effective Schools. Allyn and Bacon.