How do independent school leaders build the educational technology leadership capacity of the school? A multi-site case study.

摘要

This multi-site case study explored how independent school leaders build the educational technology leadership capacity of the school. This qualitative research was carried out at three K-12 independent schools and depended on semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups conducted with 30 individuals responsible for promoting the integration of educational technology into teaching and learning. Narratives were presented for each school based on the themes of: the school's stated vision of educational technology, the work of educational technology leadership, the promotion of teacher educational technology leadership, and the independent school culture. Data analysis identified culturally common elements in building educational technology leadership capacity: a culture of shared leadership featuring teacher autonomy which both facilitates and inhibits building educational technology leadership capacity; an emphasis on relationship building featuring respect for individual teachers, establishment of trust, and communication through conversations; and flat organizations that rely on the organic growth of educational technology featuring non mandated professional development and non mandated educational technology use by teachers. An analysis of the conclusions shows that there exists a tension between the independent school culture as exhibited in the schools and their stated vision for the school wide advancement of educational technology to enhance student learning and preparation of students for the 21st century. The broad overarching recommendation of this study is for the educational technology leadership to develop unified, school wide strategies that consider the prevailing cultural norms in order to promote a collective autonomy in support of a shared educational technology vision. A growth continuum in these specific areas of educational technology for capacity building is recommended: an expansion of the implicit vision of educational technology to an explicit, frequently articulated, shared vision; a reevaluation of teacher autonomy expressed as a form of classroom leadership to an expression of whole-school leadership; the enhancement of relationship building with identifiable skill sets to promote purposive conversations; and a movement from a dependence on organic growth to data-based, strategic planning. The cultural components of this continuum are interdependent and should be addressed in the context of their combined impact on the school's educational technology program.