Technology leadership, technology integration, and school performance in reading and math: A correlation study in K--12 public school

This study examined the relationship between K-12 public school principals' and assistant principals' (campus-level leaders') perceived adherence to technology leadership standards with teachers' technology integration; and technology integration with school performance. A survey based on the National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS-A) was developed and validated by the researcher. Teacher technology integration data were collected from the TAGLIT (Taking a Good Look at Instructional Technology) survey. School performance data included percentage of students scoring at the proficient and advanced levels on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) in reading and math.;The NETS-A was completed by 233 campus-level leaders at nine technology leadership workshops throughout Pennsylvania. NETS-A data from thirty schools were correlated with TAGLIT data from 629 teachers at corresponding schools regarding technology integration defined by technology skills, technology use, and constructivist pedagogies. TAGLIT data were also correlated with school performance data on the PSSA. Multiple regression was applied to determine the extent to which technology integration and school performance were influenced by technology leadership and technology integration respectively.;Strong, significant, positive correlations were identified between campus-level leaders' perceived adherence to the NETS-A standards and teachers' multimedia technology skills. However, no correlations were found between technology leadership and teachers' technology use nor constructivist pedagogies. A few significant, moderate, positive and negative correlations were found between teachers' technology use, teachers' constructivist pedagogies, and school performance. However, no correlations were found between technology leadership and school performance.;Regression analysis showed that NETS-A Standard 2, Learning and Teaching, influenced or explained 49% of the variance in teachers' multimedia technology skills. Forty-six percent and 25% of the variance in school performance on the PSSA in reading and math, respectively, were influenced or explained by teachers' use of communications tools and research and problem solving tools. Fifty-one percent of the variance in student achievement on the PSSA in reading was also influenced by three constructivist pedagogies (higher level thinking, time for extra help, and assessment based on progress, product and effort); while 43% in math was influenced by three constructivist pedagogies (higher level thinking, engaging activities, and time for extra help).