Evaluating Information Technology-supported Local Management of Schools: The User Acceptability Audit

Abstract

In the second of two papers which consider aspects of the Local Management of Schools, P. Wild and S.J. Richardson of the University of Loughborough and J. E. Scivier of Nottingham Polytechnic comment that whilst many LEAs have implemented new information technology systems to support LMS much less attention has been given to establishing techniques for evaluating the success of these systems. Working from a human factors perspective they report on a study which aims to apply and refine a set of 'tools' developed by the Human Sciences and Advanced Technology Research Institute (HUSAT) at the University of Loughborough as a means of identifying harriers and promoters to systems acceptance. The study focuses on direct users in secondary schools within an LEA and its findings suggest that the 'tools' can elicit useful infor~~tation 1-ullich can be fed into the LEA's IT strrttegy thus reducing the 'risk of Ï1nplenzentationproblelns which l1zay lead to system rejection.Background ne of the consequences of the Education Reform Act 1988 has been to I increase the delegated responsibility of I schools for financial and overall management I of their establishments. The new Act has placed I a legal requirement on schools to make available additional information to parents, governors and LEAs. As a result it can be anticipated that the type and nature of the information which schools needed to hold and the flow of that information would alter (Figures 1 and 2), information flowing primarily between bodies in order to monitor performance and within schools to support administration and management decisions. Coopers and Lybrand (1988), in a report commissioned by the government, recommended that the introduction of LMS should be supported by computerised systems. In July 1988 the government made available £325 million over three years to facilitate this initiative and, during September 1988, LEAs were given the opportunity to bid for sums of money to support their IT strategy. As a result many LEAs have begun implementing new IT

Evaluation of the Use of Computer-Assisted Management Information Systems in Dutch Schools

“…Valuable aspects of the quality of information systems (B) have been derived from Dale andHabib (1991), Fulmer (1995), Honeyman and Honeyman (1988), Visscher (1991), and Visscher and Spuck (1991). Fullan (1991Fullan ( , 1993; Hopkins, Ainscow, and West (1994); Nolan (1995); Visscher (1996); Visscher and Spuck (1991); and Wild, Scivier, and Richardson (1992) point to aspects of the implementation process (C), school organizations (D), and the use and effects of SISs (E and F) that were considered valuable for inclusion in the research. Each of the blocks in Figure 1 shows the variables that have been studied in this research.…”

The Acceptance of Education Information System: An Empirical Study Based on UAA Model

“…Based on the previous studies, Wild and his colleagues (1992) proposed the User Acceptability Audit (UAA) model to investigate the influential factors of information system [10]. The findings proved that the user acceptability had the integral problems related to the data, including the inaccurate and role of the system effectiveness [1].…”

“…Four sets of variables are Figure 1 The construct of User Acceptability Audit (UAA) model discussed: task match, ease of use, user support and user acceptance. The following research hypotheses are addressed in the study for testing their relationships [10]: UAA overcomes many difficulties to access and predict the user's acceptance. For instance, Hirschheim and Smithson H1.…”

“…In the following sections, related theories and factors influencing students' acceptance towards information system are discussed. To identify the effects of influencing factors on students' acceptance of information system, the research model used by this study is UAA model, adopted from the study by Wild et al (1992) [10].…”

The Use of Task Analysis and User Acceptability Audits in Implementing Information Technology Systems in Schools

“…This approach is being developed at the Human Seiences and Advanced Technology Research Unit at Loughborough University [12]. The audit focuses on the user, the task, context variables and the technology tool [13] through the consideration ofthree core concepts: Usability -the extent to which systems match user characteristics and the skills for the task concerned. Functional utility -how weil a system fits a set of panicular task needs.…”