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: Maggie Harris Date: July 5, 2019

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):
The overarching theme is to investigate how principals’ perceptions about the major
functions of technology in terms of communication, instruction, data sharing and
management, resource, administrative tasks, and student learning impact their job
performance.
Purpose of the research:
The purpose of the research is to evaluate the perspectives and orientation of
principals categorized by sex and a number of years of experience regarding
technology integrated in school settings from a large metropolitan area in the
southwest region of the United States.

METHODOLOGY

What is the methodology for the research or approach used to understand the
issue? Provide information regarding the following:

Participants:
o A sample of 126 male and 184 female principals participated in a cognitive
interview questionnaire from the area, in which they provided their perceptions
about the importance of technology for their schools.

o The principals were categorized by the number of years of experience listed as

following:
a) 0-3 years of experience: 104 participants
b) 4-7 years of experience: 82 participants
c) 8-11 years of experience: 55 participants
d) 12-15 years of experience: 32 participants
e) Greater than15 years of experience: 31 participants
Procedures:
o The questionnaire, designed in qualitative and quantitative questions, was
conducted by graduate students in the Educational Leadership program
located in the south-central region of the United States.

o Interviews were conducted by the trained students interviewing a specific

number of current public-school principals to satisfy their principal’s
certification course requirements.

Data Collection Methods/Data Source:

The data were collected via the questionnaire and interviews.

Data Analysis:
o The data was designed and coded in meaningful categories to which
researchers assessed their consistency, reliability, and validity with a series of
coding levels.
o The data results of principals’ perceptions and cognitions towards technology
were found reliable and valid.
o The results showed Cohen’s kappa =.94
RESULTS

Findings or Results (or main points of the article):

The findings grouped into six categories were summarized in terms of general, sex,
and years of experience (categorized in the alphabetical order given in the above
Participants paragraph) statistically.
o Communication: 34.5% in general, 32.5% in males and 35.9% in females,
38.5% a), 32.9% b), 30.9% c), 28.1% d), and 35.5% e)
o Instruction: 27.7% in general, 32.6% in males and 24.6% in females, 24.1% a),
30.4% b), 23.6% c), 31.3% d), and 38.7% e).
o Data sharing and management: 13.6% in general, 15% in males and 15.2% in
females, 10.6% a), 18.3% b), 14.6% c), 21.9% d), and 19.4% e).
o Resource: 14.5% in general, 15.95 in males and 13.6% in females, 21.2% a),
7.3% b), 9.1% c), 12.5% d), and 25.8% e).
o Administrative tasks: 10% in general, 12% in males and 8.7% in females, 6.7%
a), 12.2% b), 3.6% c), 15.6% d), and 19.4% e).
o Student learning: 9.7% in general, 7.2% in males and 11.5 % in females, 9.6%
a), 14.6% b), 3.6% c), 12.5% d), and 6.4% e).
The statistics reveal that principals with over 12 years of experience tend to
use technology in date sharing and management and administrative tasks
significantly greater than less than 12 years of experienced principals. On the
other hand, implementing technology in student learning seems to decline
among principals with over 15 years of experience remarkably.
 DISCUSSIONS

Conclusions/Implications (for your profession):

Principals need to consider implementing technology in their schools to enhance
communication, improve instruction, and create a meaningful learning environment, in
which students are more productive in their learning outcomes with digital visuals,
audio, hands-on simulations, and computer educational games. As technology and
social media are evolving rapidly, teachers must gain the knowledge and skills to use
of WebQuests, webcams, digital storytelling, Internet websites, and other instructional
technologies in classrooms (Moore, 2015)

REFLECTIONS

Student’s Reflections (changes to your understanding; implications for your

school/work):
The principals in my previous after-school programs need to promote technology in
instruction and student learning to maximize learning. Although robotic coding courses
are provided in the enrichment classes, teachers rarely have used technical tools in
their curricula. To instruct learning objectives effectively, teachers must have the
knowledge and skills in the fundamental applications such as PowerPoint, Excel,
Word, and Data-base Management. Training should be provided for teachers so they
can incorporate one or more applications in their curriculum activities to create a
meaningful learning for students in order to achieve academic performance.
Undeniably, technology plays a vital tool in our professional and personal life.

References

Moore, K. D. (2015). Effective instructional strategies: From theory to practice (4th ed).

USA: Sage Publications, p. 139.

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.