Emphasizing Technology Over Instruction: Adapting a 20-Year-Old Survey to Examine the Climate of K–12 Instructional Technology Leadership in Public School Districts

Abstract

Current research on computer technology integration in K–12 school classrooms indicates that student learning outcomes remain flat despite heavy investment. Examining school leadership conceptions about technology integration might reveal a way to reverse this trend. This study adapts a survey instrument from Brush and Bannon and applies it to Indiana school district superintendents. Key findings indicate respondents perceive developing technology goals and plans for a school district, providing instructional support, and integrating technology into a core curriculum are very important for instructional technology leadership, but educational experiences and credentials are less important. However, respondents from school districts with smaller student enrollments and who report having little or no knowledge of instructional technology tend to view educational experiences and credentials more highly than respondents from larger schools and who report being very knowledgeable. Implications are that superintendents tend to emphasize the technology-use aspect of instructional technology leadership over instructional proficiencies.

Elevating Teachers’ Professional Digital Competence: Synergies of Principals’ Instructional E-Supervision, Technology Leadership and Digital Culture for Educational Excellence in Digital-Savvy Era

“…The notion of principal technology leadership has been explored in various literature [8,[92][93][94] or in alternative literature that refers to it as digital leadership [6,7]. Principal technology leadership encompasses guiding and directing organizations amid challenges and opportunities in the digital era.…”

“…Likewise, to prepare students for the modern digitalized era, teachers should have digital competency, indicating their adeptness in using digital tools and incorporating them into their instruction with a clearly defined pedagogical purpose [5]. Previous studies have investigated the importance of principal leadership and instructional supervision technology on teachers' technology integration [6][7][8][9][10]. However, teacher technology integration in these prior studies is related to teachers' digital skills in using technology tools in general skills only [11].…”