The purpose of this study was to focus on how the high school principals role has changed as a result of the integration of technology. This was a qualitative study, which utilized semi-structured interviews to obtain the data necessary from practicing high school principals in western Pennsylvania. The goal was to identify the strengths, weaknesses, and barriers of technology that have affected education and the role of the high school principal. Another goal was to identify what the principals found to be effective professional development from their perceptive and where the principals perceived technology moving toward in the future.
The results of this study showed that a majority of the high school principals claim to be tech savvy. The study also found that based upon the perspectives of the high school principals, technology was beneficial when completing daily duties, housing student information, and analyzing test data. Furthermore, communicating with staff and parents has become more efficient according to the high school principals. Based upon the perspectives of the high school principals, technology can improve instruction, but in and of itself, does not make instruction effective. While technology can enhance instruction, sound pedagogy is firmly rooted in effective methods of instruction. The results from this study as outlined through the principals perspective stated that funding, staff resistance, and poor infrastructure all can become significant barriers when integrating technology into the high school.
This study provided the high school principal with suggestions about successfully accepting technology into the high school and utilizing it effectively. It outlined many of the barriers present and the appropriate professional development to help with the integration process.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04172008-085643 |
| Date | 30 June 2008 |
| Creators | Pasquerilla, Joseph W. |
| Contributors | Dr. Bill Bickel, Dr. Charles Gorman, Dr. Richard Seckinger, Dr. Otto Graf, Mr. Joseph S. Werlinich |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04172008-085643/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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