Chinese American Educational Research and Development Association
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Educational Research & Development Journal
Vol 17, No 1 (2014)
Educational Leadership Program Faculty as Technology Leaders: What Support Will They Need? |
| Marcus P. Howell, Ellen H. Reames, Carey E. Andrzejewski |
Abstract |
| Educational leadership programs have the responsibility of preparing and supporting school leaders to embrace technology. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between educational leadership higher education faculty beliefs about the importance of technology integration and the extent they felt prepared to model best technology practices in their preparation of future school leaders. Educational leadership faculty perceived it important to model technology best practices with their students but reported a deficit between this measure and the overall preparedness of their program to fulfill these duties. The Internet is changing the way we conduct business, socialize, and learn. Wikis, Facebook, and Google are just a small part of the vast digital resources that are changing how we interact and perceive the world around us (Bennett & Maton, 2010; Madden & Fox, 2006; McLeod, 2011; Prensky, 2009; Silva, 2009). The skills necessary to participate in this digital landscape are now considered to be part of the instructional goals of K-12 educational institutions (Charamlambous, Ioannou & Tsounta, 2011; O’Reilly & Battelle, 2009; Williams, Foulger, & Wetzel, 2009) and the nation’s educational leadership programs (ISTE, 2009; Keengwe, Kidd, & Kyei-Blankson, 2009; Nyirongo, 2009). These skills, often referred to as 21st century skills, include consuming available data in discriminating ways, collaborating, communicating, and problem-solving (Prensky, 2009; Silva, 2009; Williams, Foulger & Wetzel, 2009). Educational leadership programs and their faculty have the responsibility to prepare K-12 school leaders to serve as technologically savvy leaders for both teachers and students (Meier & Mineo, 2011). School leaders will need training and ongoing support in order to provide this kind of leadership, develop 21st century skills, and successfully implement technology initiatives in their schools (Flanagan & Jacobsen, 2003). To accomplish preparing school leaders in the 21st century the more than 500 university leadership preparation programs across the United States offer Master’s (M.Ed.), Specialists (Ed.S), and Doctoral (Ph.D, Ed.D) degrees (Young & Brewer, 2008). Educational leadership programs do the lion’s share of leadership professional development through their advanced degree programs. Because technology is so critical to K-12 student learning outcomes, teacher pedagogical practices, and school leadership, university professors are tasked to stay abreast of current technological trends. The professors must adopt technology best practices to engage in productive programming (Keengwe, Kidd, & Kyei-Blankson, 2009), but the extant literature suggests they may not be providing best practices models for technology leadership (Sahin & Thompson, 2006; Schrum et al, 2003). Moreover, Javeri and Persichitte (2010) argued that college faculty may be “lacking in technology integration skills and knowledge outside their content specialty” (p. 615). |
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ISSN: 1526-8659