JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW TEMPLATE

North American University

Education Department
M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction
EDUC 5324
Name: Murat Atlihan

Date: 7/3/2015

Waxman, H., Boriack, A., Yuan-Hsuan, L., & MacNeil, A. (2013).

Principals' Perceptions of the Importance of Technology in
Schools. Contemporary Educational Technology, 4(3), 187-196.
INTRODUCTION
Research Questions (if research questions are not specifically
mentioned, what is the theoretical background or overarching
theme):
(a) What are school principals perceptions of the importance of technology?
and (b) Do principals perceptions of technology differ by years of experience
and gender?
Purpose of the research:
The purpose of this research is to find out about principals opinions of the
importance of integrating technology in schools and also if these opinions
have characteristic differences according to the experience and gender of the
principals.
METHODOLOGY
What is the methodology for the research or approach used to
understand the issue? Provide information regarding the following:
Participants:
o
o
o

310 principals from a large metropolitan area in the southwest region

of the United States were given a cognitive interview questionnaire.
126 males and 184 females.
104 participants had 0-3 years of experience, 82 participants had 4-7
years, 55 participants had 8-11 years, 32 participants had 12-15 years,
and 31 participants had more than 15 years of experience.

Procedures:
o Graduate students in the Educational Leadership program at a major,
urban doctoral-granting university located in the south central region
of the U.S. who were trained on how to administer the tool, conducted
the survey.
o

The questions were Has technology had an impact in your school?"

and "If so, in what specific ways has it made a difference?

Data Collection Methods/Data Source:

Data was collected by interviewing participants.
Data Analysis:
Only the data from the interviews
Analysis of the interview data began with a process of data reduction. The
participants responses were read several times to become familiar with the
data. The data was then coded into meaningful categories. Once the
categories were established, another researcher independently coded a 10%
sample of responses to determine the consistency of the coding. The intercoder reliability results revealed a high level of agreement (Cohens kappa = .
94).

RESULTS
Findings or Results (or main points of the article):
General:
35% of the principals stated that technology was utilized for communication
like in school messaging and emailing parents.
28% responded that technology was integrated in teachers classroom
instruction.
14% of principals indicated that it was used for data sharing and
management.
14.5% stated that it was used to as medium to reach resources.
10% stated that it was used for student learning.
By Gender:
The results were alike for both male and female principals for highest
percentage answers. More female principals answered that technology was
used for student learning.
By Experience:
The highest percentage for principals with 0-3, 4-7, and 8-11 years of
experience was in communication (39%, 33%, and 31%,) followed by
instruction (24%, 30%, and 24%). Principals with 12-15 and more than 15
years of experience had the highest percentage in instruction (31% and 39%)
followed by communication (28% and 36%).
DISCUSSIONS
Conclusions/Implications (for your profession):
The results show the importance technology for principals especially for
communication and instruction. The perception of the functionality of
technology changes by gender and experience.
Planning for purchasing and implementation of technology was not discussed
by any of the principals.

REFLECTIONS
Students Reflections (changes to your understanding; implications
for your school/work):
Technology has a major role in all aspects of our lives. Educators must use
technology effectively to deliver a more engaging and relevant instruction. I
think that most principals already know the importance of technology
implementation in schools but they dont always know how to do it. We can
see in this study that there are no significant differences in principals
opinions about technology according to their gender or age. Even the senior
principals are aware of the importance of technology in schools. In my
opinion, Professional development in technology implementation is a must for
all school leaders regardless of their age, experience or gender.