The purposes of this research study were to determine: (a) how educational technology resources are being used to support student learning and achievement and (b) if secondary school principals credit educational technology with having influenced student achievement gains. The five research questions that guided the study addressed: (a) the educational technology methods and strategies that secondary school principals perceive as effective means to improve student achievement, (b) the extent to which a relationship exists between a school's use of educational technology and student achievement, (c) the difference in student achievement between secondary schools that have technology plans and those that do not, (d) the difference in student achievement between secondary schools that have on-site technology related professional development and technical support and those that do not, and (e) the difference in student achievement between secondary schools in which there is a principal support for technology implementation and those that do not have principal support. Data were collected using a survey instrument that contained 20 questions designed to elicit information that addressed the research questions. The surveys were mailed to the principals of 214 randomly selected secondary schools in three southeastern states: Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. Descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, and t-tests were used to analyze the data for each independent variable. In addition, data were collected from open-ended questions on the survey instrument. Results indicated that most of the respondents approached technology implementation through a formal planning process. A majority of respondents reported that a school technology plan existed in the form of either a stand-alone document or as part of the school improvement plan. Significant results were obtained indicating that student achievement was higher at schools where a formal technology plan was in place. Although the research revealed that the principal's role was critical to the successful implementation of technology, the results of this study indicated that there was no significant correlation between the principal's participation in technology implementation and student achievement. There was, however, a correlation between technology assets and principal involvement and a correlation between accepted educational technology practices and principal involvement. The implications for policy and procedure drawn from this study were: (a) a written technology plan is essential to successful technology implementation, (b) the technology plan must be continually reinvented to adequately address student achievement goals, (c) principals may wish to consider how to accomplish a general infusion of technology applications that contribute to student achievement.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:rtd-1776 |
| Date | 01 January 2003 |
| Creators | Burhans, Carolyn M. |
| Publisher | University of Central Florida |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Retrospective Theses and Dissertations |
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