District Information Technology Leadership: Fundamentals to Achieving Ubiquitous Effective Integration

• In Event: Technology Leadership for Successful Technology Integration in Education: In-Depth Studies Throughout the World

Abstract

Objectives and purposes. A study of information technology (IT) leaders in highly effective school districts was conducted to ascertain the nature of these districts and their IT leaders with regard to their demonstrated success in IT integration in classrooms. Key characteristics of both the IT leaders and their organizations were identified.

Theoretical frameworks. The field of IT Leadership remains a relatively new domain with largely sporadic results in classrooms (Cuban, 2001; Albion, 1999). While information technology has progressively seen increasing utilization within schools and districts across the past few decades, it has remained a highly dynamic field with substantive change as a core ingredient. Senior level leadership is recognized as a crucial element to bringing change within educational systems (Shuldman, 2004). Only during the last decade have some broad efforts been undertaken, somewhat mirroring societal and workplace utilization of technologies, in an attempt to realize universal, effective use in classrooms. Subsequently, there are few frameworks specific to this domain. The current research will propose a general framework to assist in conceptualizing the nature of the district IT Leadership role and identify core characteristics found within districts successfully integrating information technologies.

Methods. One hundred thirty senior school-district leaders were asked to rank the top five districts from a pool of sixty-five, that had demonstrated long-term (10 years or more) effective IT integration in classrooms. From this set, the top three districts were selected. Researchers conducted and video-recorded one-hour structured interviews with 78 interviewees from these three districts. Interviews questions were rooted in a Life Role Analysis model (Redekopp and Day (n.d.)), which provided a balance of reflective, non-directed questions.

Data sources and evidence. Interviewees were selected from each of the districts using a snowball sampling technique. The resultant set of interviewees included all district superintendency staff, all district IT leaders, school principals, associate principals, teachers, and support staff. In addition to formal interviews, the researcher toured several schools in each district, observing classes in progress as well as technology infrastructure.

Results. A thematic analysis was conducted using all recorded video, then subsequent refined analysis was conducted across specific domains of leadership expertise. Results were reported across three veins: demographics data, organizational data and IT Leadership data. These districts tended to be highly innovative districts, showing long-term innovation across many years. Four key organizational characteristics were identified and two related models for understanding district IT leaders were garnered.

Scientific or scholarly significance.
In spite of several decades of efforts in attempting to achieve pervasive, meaningful integration of information technologies into instruction in classrooms, there is a paucity of such application. There are sporadic instances of such excellence, but not at a broad ubiquitous level (Hollingsworth et al, 2004). Understanding the nature of effective IT Leadership at district and school levels is seen as a keystone to unlocking the broader implementation of effective and transparent IT integration.

Author

• Maurice Hollingsworth, Learning Designs Inc.