JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW TEMPLATE

North American University

Education Department
M.Ed. in Educational Leadership / M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction
EDUC 5324 Integrating Technology into Education
Name: Kelly Burnham

Date: 9/24/16

Cite the reviewed article in APA format:

Waxman, H., Boriack, A., Yuan-Hsuan, L., & MacNeil, A. (2013). Principals' Perceptions of the
Importance of Technology in Schools. Contemporary Educational Technology, 4(3), 187-196.

INTRODUCTION
Research Questions (if research questions are not specifically mentioned, what is
the theoretical background or overarching theme):
(a) What are principals perceptions of the importance of technology?
(b) Do principals perceptions of technology differ by years of experience and
gender?
Purpose of the research:
This study examines principals perspectives and orientation toward technology.
The study focuses on principal characteristics such as years of experience and
gender.
METHODOLOGY
What is the methodology for the research or approach used to understand the
issue? Provide information regarding the following:

Participants:
A convenience sample of 310 principals from a large metropolitan area in the
southwest region of the United States consisted of 126 males and 184 females.
There was a range of years of experience with 104 participants having 0-3 years
experience, 82 participants having 4-7 years, 55 participants having 8-11 years,
32 participants having 12-15 years, and 31 participants having greater than 15
years experience.
Procedures:
Graduate students in the Educational Leadership program were trained on how
to administer the survey instrument and were required to interview a specific
number of current public school principals
The questionnaire, a cognitive interview questionnaire, was designed to examine

public school principals perceptions about whether technology has had an

impact on their schools, and if so, in what specific ways had it made a difference.
Data Collection Methods/Data Source:
Principals responded to a cognitive interview questionnaire
The survey instrument was designed specifically for the purpose of this study
and included both qualitative and quantitative questions
For this study, only data from the interviews was used
Data Analysis:
Analysis of the data began with a process of data reduction wherein the
participants responses were read several times so that the responses would
become familiar [to the researcher]
The data was then coded into meaningful categories:
Communication
Instruction
Data Sharing and Management
Resources
Administrative Tasks
Student Learning
The data was further analyzed school principals perceptions of the major function
of technology by participant gender and years of experience
Once the categories were established, another researcher independently coded
a 10% sample of responses to determine the consistency of the coding
The inter-coder reliability results revealed a high level of agreement (Cohens
kappa=.94)

RESULTS
Findings or Results (or main points of the article):
In responding to the questions: Has technology had an impact in your school? And If
so, in what specific ways has it made a difference? the interview data revealed the
overall results of principals perceptions of their major functions of technology:
Communication (34.5%)
Instruction (27.7%)
Data Sharing and management (13.6%)
Resource (14.5%)
Administrative tasks (10%)

Student Learning (9.7%)

The results for the major functions of technology by gender reveal the highest
percentages of males and females discussed using technology for communication (33%
and 36% respectively), and the next highest percentage of males and females felt that
technology was used for instruction (33% and 25% respectively). The other categories
revealed a difference in perception between males and females in order of decreasing
percentage for the other categories. For males: technology as a resource, for data
sharing and management, for administrative tasks, and for student learning. For
females the decreasing order was technology for data sharing and management, as a
resource, for student learning, and for administrative tasks.
For principals perception of technology by years of experience, the two major functions
of technology with the highest percentage were communication and instruction. For
principals with 0-3, 4-7, and 8-11 years of experience, the highest percentages were in
the categories of communication, followed by instruction. Principals with 12-15 years
and more than 15 years experience had the highest percentage in the areas of
instruction, followed by communication. The other four categories revealed varied
percentages by years of experience.
According to Waxman and colleagues (2013), Future studies need to explicitly
investigate principals visions for educational technology in order to better understand if
principals are truly technology leaders in their schools, because none of the principals
discussed their vision for this in the questionnaire. Since the outcome of this study
revealed a difference in principals perceptions of the major functions of technology
based on gender and years of experience, the authors suggest future studies should
further examine why these differences are occurring.
DISCUSSIONS
Conclusions/Implications (for your profession):
As school leaders in a world influenced by a technology culture, it is inevitable that
technology would enter into the realm of education. As school leaders, principals
attitude towards, expertise in, and vision of integrating technology into education can
influence the adaption and implementation of a technology culture on a campus. By
incorporating the integration of technology into the schools vision, and by being an
educated leader in the use of technology to positively impact academic outcomes for
students, teachers view principals as being supportive of integrating technology into
instruction. Teachers further view principals support of the integration of technology
into the school culture through their investment in technology, including professional
development for staff members.
REFLECTIONS
Students Reflections (changes to your understanding; implications for your
school/work):

School principals are clearly viewed as the campus leader, and consequently, have the
power to influence the school climate and culture. When principals emphasize

educational theories, philosophies, principles, instructional practices, and resources,

teachers perceive these as being valuable to the principal and his vision for the school.
Technology connects people. It has the potential to connect people across boundaries that
might otherwise divide us, such as social class, gender, or religion, to name a few. It also
has the potential to education and informs people en masse. Not all of the powers
technology hold are used for good, but in schools, if used ethically, responsibly, and
through researched based methods and practices, technology can have a profound impact
on the school culture (through communication, outreach, connecting parents to teachers)
as well s academic achievement (data analysis to guide targeted instruction, guided math
or reading programs, coding programs). Overall, principals can and should create a
vision for technology at schools and support the integration of it onto campuses through
investing in technology and professional development for classrooms and teachers.