| The purpose of this study was to examine principals' perceptions of the extent and frequency to which they implement educational technology leadership in three suburban Chicago school districts. The study also examined the factors that influence these perspectives. A mixed method sequential explanatory research model was utilized to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Technology leadership was measured based a modified version of the Principals' Technology Leadership Assessment (PTLA) (NETS-A, 2009). Data from the quantitative phase of the study were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Data from three focus group interviews were analyzed to identify codes and themes. Data from the quantitative and qualitative phases of the study were triangulated to inform findings, conclusions, and recommendations.;The results of the study revealed that the principals lacked a comprehensive understanding of the NETS-A standards. Moreover, they exhibited low levels of technology leadership across all standards. In particular, principals indicated that they were ill-prepared to provide visionary educational technology leadership at the local school level. In fact, the domain of the NETS-A that addresses visionary leadership was the lowest scoring domain (A=3.12), or somewhat for extent, and (A=2.13) or somewhat often for frequency. The study also found that principals generally use lower level technology applications in their professional practice including, email to various stakeholders and to analyze student assessment data. The study also revealed that whereas, principals engage in professional development to enhance their personal technology skills, they do not, however, engage in professional development to enhance their educational technology leadership skills. Based on the results of this study, recommendations for principal preparation programs, recommendations related to principal professional development, and recommendations for future research are included. |
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