Digital Technology: A Double-Edged Sword for a School Principal in Rural Pennsylvania

Abstract

This case study was inspired by visits to several different rural high schools in Pennsylvania. The case illuminates the challenges faced by rural principals and superintendents who want to integrate digital technology into their curriculum, but who lack certain financial and human capital resources. Although this case occurred in a remote, rural area, school leaders in various settings deal with similar dilemmas. The following case is designed for principal preparation courses such as instructional leadership, organizational leadership, and school budgeting. In addition, this case could be utilized in educational policy courses examining school choice policies and how traditional public school districts respond to competition from online charter schools.

Leading and Improving Schools in Times of Digitalization: Findings From an Exploratory Study in Germany

“…The finding thatsimilarly to other innovations in schoolthe principal's actions and attitudes influence those of the teaching staffsupports findings from other contexts (Ottestad, 2013). Similarly, the findings on the importance of people who know how to use ICT in schoolin other words the availability of human capitalexpands on findings from the US (Kotok & Kryst, 2016). Yet, it remains unclear how a principal is supposed to be a digital leader without the appropriate training or formal development or how how IT can be used without leaving anyone behind.…”

Bildung im digitalen Wandel

“…Die Aufgaben von Schulleiterinnen und Schulleiter sind komplex. Um sie analytisch zu fassen, können unterschiedliche Ebenen des normativen, strategischen und operativen Managements voneinander unterschieden werden (Lindemann, 2010; (Gilmore & Deos, 2020;Kotok & Kryst, 2017).…”

School Principal Leadership in Remote South Africa: A Leadership and Management Challenge

“…Taking into account the fact that South Africa is one of the worst-performing countries in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, having untrained (mathematics and science) teachers on staff is a big problem for school principals in remote areas. Furthermore, principals face the challenge of integrating digital technology into their curriculum, in addition to the lack of trained teachers and financial shortcomings complicating their task (Kotok & Kryst, 2016). This puts a lot of pressure on principals, who "find themselves caught between the competing demands of the school, the local community and an 'upward accountability' environment, where accountability to the systems they are located within holds the dominant voice" (Guenther & Osborne, 2018, p. 59).…”