The role of the principal's leadership style in the implementation of ICT policy

This paper presents findings of a study in information communication technology (ICT) implementation, on the principal's leadership style in relation to other factors that influence implementation. The principal's leadership style is perceived-on the basis of the characteristics of the context where the study was conducted-as a personal quality, rather than a change/transformational leadership behaviour or related to the principals' positional authority. The study employed firstly a large-scale survey based on which case studies of four schools were selected for further research. The findings have implications for practice, more specifically, for principals' training and for the support provided to schools for embedding ICT. The paper draws on an institutionalist implementation approach to describe the principals' role in theorising the concept of ICT in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[1]  Johan van Braak,et al.  The impact of primary school teachers' educational beliefs on the classroom use of computers , 2008, Comput. Educ..

[2]  Wong Su Luan,et al.  School Principal as a Change Facilitator in ICT Integration , 2008 .

[3]  M. Fullan.  The Change Leader. , 2002 .

[4]  Christina Hadjithoma.  New technologies, new schools? : embedding ICT in primary education : exploring the implementation process in relation to the context and teachers' work (in Cyprus) , 2007 .

[5]  Charoula Angeli,et al.  A Socio-Technical Analysis of Factors Affecting the Integration of ICT in Primary and Secondary Education , 2006 .

[6]  Yiasemina Karagiorgi,et al.  The use of ICT in primary schools within emerging communities of implementation , 2009, Comput. Educ..

[7]  M. Fullan.  The New Meaning of Educational Change , 1990 .

[8]  Lee S. Duemer,et al.  Recovering Policy Implementation: Understanding Implementation through Informal Communication. , 2002 .

[9]  Dorit Tubin,et al.  When ICT Meets Schools: Differentiation, Complexity and Adaptability. , 2007 .

[10]  Dorothy Williams,et al.  Teachers and ICT: current use and future needs , 2000, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[11]  Georgia Pashiardis,et al.  School climate in elementary and secondary schools: views of Cypriot principals and teachers , 2000 .

[12]  Oliver McGarr,et al.  The role of the teaching principal in promoting ICT use in small primary schools in Ireland , 2009 .

[13]  Pamela S. Tolbert,et al.  The Institutionalization of Institutional Theory , 1996 .

[14]  M. Mclaughlin.  Learning From Experience: Lessons From Policy Implementation , 1987 .

[15]  Johan van Braak,et al.  ICT integration in the classroom: Challenging the potential of a school policy , 2008, Comput. Educ..

[16]  Johan P. Olsen,et al.  The Logic of Appropriateness , 2008 .

[17]  Ioannis P. Vlahavas,et al.  "Cultures in negotiation": teachers' acceptance/resistance attitudes considering the infusion of technology into schools , 2003, Comput. Educ..

[18]  John Schiller,et al.  Implementing computer education: The role of the primary principal , 1991 .

[19]  Charoula Angeli,et al.  Evaluating the Use of ICT in Education: Psychometric Properties of the Survey of Factors Affecting Teachers Teaching with Technology (SFA-T3) , 2008, J. Educ. Technol. Soc..

[20]  Steven Merrill,et al.  Theories of Educational Leadership and Management, 3rd edn , 2004 .

[21]  Charoula Angeli,et al.  Evaluating the Use of ICT in Education: Psychometric Properties of the Survey of Factors Affecting Teachers Teaching with Technology (SFA-T[superscript 3]) , 2008 .

[22]  Rafi Nachmias,et al.  Factors Involved in the Implementation of Pedagogical Innovations Using Technology , 2004, Education and Information Technologies.

[23]  M. Mclaughlin,et al.  Federal Programs Supporting Educational Change , 1975 .

[24]  Krista Uibu,et al.  The Roles of a Primary School Teacher in the Information Society , 2008 .

[25]  Tony Bush,et al.  Leading and Managing People in Education , 2005 .