Building Instructional Leadership Capacity of School Leaders Through Technology Integration.

摘要

Research suggested that the acquisition of technology instructional leadership skills develops principals' abilities to become agents of change. "A firm foundation in technology knowledge, skills relative to the instructional process, and leadership and managerial skills in technology are required" (Geer, 2002, p. 57). It was critical for principals to enhance their technological communication skills, managerial applications, knowledge on information processing, and promote technology instruction methods in order to increase student learning (Daresh, 2006).;The purpose of this action research project was to provide six school district principals with technology professional development which enabled them to become effective instructional leaders for technology integration into the curriculum. My action research design utilized qualitative and quantitative data collection strategies which were appropriate to effectively answer the research questions. The collection of qualitative research allowed me to triangulate participant observations, interviews, focus groups, and artifact collection to explore the research problem (Yin, 1994). Quantitative data collection employed formative and summative surveys.;I examined my espoused authentic leadership theory within each cycle of my action research. The influence of my leadership practices was realized through the analysis of the Learning Practices Inventory (LPI) (Kouze and Posner, 2002), participant's comments during focus groups, and their reflections within interviews and surveys. The triangulated analysis of the focus groups, interviews, surveys, and field notes revealed that the principals' perceived that their technology training provided them with the competencies, focus, and confidence to implement technology integration leadership through effective planning, evaluation, and enrollment of all stakeholders in the change process. (Fullan, 2007; Senge, 1990; Kotter 1997; Schwahn & Spady, 1998).