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Working with
Working with ICT ICT
Perceptions of Australian principals
John Schiller
School of Education, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia 171
Keywords Leadership, Schools, Computer users, Professionals, Development
Abstract Without the support of school leaders, particularly the principal, the educational
potential of information and communications technology may not be realised. Principals need to
assume a major responsibility for initiating and implementing school change through the use of
information and communications technology and can facilitate complex decisions to integrate it
into learning, teaching and school administration. However, little is known about its use by
principals, their perceived competence in it and their preferred means of acquiring these skills and
understandings. This paper will report on these issues from an initial analysis of baseline data
gathered from a survey of all elementary and secondary principals in government, Catholic and
independent schools in the coastal Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. Findings indicate
that there were considerable variations in the use of information and communications technology
by principals and in their perceived competencies. Preferences for learning more about it and
possible professional development strategies to cater for these variations are explored and
recommendations made for the attention of decision makers and policy developers.

Introduction
In the last seven years, state governments in Australia have invested millions
of dollars to facilitate integration of information and communications
technologies (ICT) in schools. A large proportion of this money has been
spent on hardware, software and infrastructure with lesser amounts on staff
development for teachers and principals. Yet, despite this large expenditure of
funds, there are concerns that the potential for ICT to alter how teachers teach
and how children learn in Australian schools has not been fully realised
(Meredyth et al., 1999). These concerns echo those in reports on ICT integration
overseas (Technology Counts ‘99 (1999)) and suggest, that, for many teachers,
use of ICT is something that is added on to regular instruction or as something
to reward pupils after their work is completed; that is, ICT is used to extend
traditional practices. The challenge is for teachers to use ICT in ways which
change their pedagogy so that ICT is integrated into the learning processes
(Riffel and Levin, 1997).
In exploring the literature about the implementation of ICT into classrooms
to find strategies for improving learning opportunities through greater
integration of ICT, an area which is noticeably absent in research on ICT
implementation and integration is the role of the school principal. Books such
Journal of Educational
as those by Maurer and Davidson (1998) and Picciano (1998) as well as print Administration
Vol. 41 No. 2, 2003
and online articles provide guidelines for principals in helping their schools pp. 171-185
make more effective use of ICT (e.g. Hoffman, 1996; NAESP, 2002). However, q MCB UP Limited
0957-8234
apart from recent small scale research studies which demonstrate that ICT is DOI 10.1108/09578230310464675
JEA having a huge impact on the ways in which principals work (Gurr, 2001;
41,2 Schiller, 1997), and exploration of possible relationships between
administrative leadership styles and uses of technology (Hughes and
Zachariah, 2001), the ICT research literature has tended to overlook the role
of the principal (Michael, 1998; Riffel and Levin, 1997). This gap in the research
literature is rather odd as there is substantial literature relating to school
172 effectiveness, school improvement and change which identifies the school
principal as a key factor in bringing about successful change in schools (e.g.
Fullan, 1996; Hall and Hord, 2001; Hallinger and Heck, 1996). As leaders of
school development, including integrated use of ICT, principals need to
understand the capacities of the new technologies, to have a personal
proficiency in their use, and be able to promote a school culture which
encourages exploration of new techniques in teaching, learning and
management. Principals are expected to assume a major responsibility for
initiating and implementing school change through use of ICT and therefore
facilitate complex decisions about integration of ICT into learning and
teaching. However, little is known about the actual use of ICT by principals,
their perceived competence, or their preferences for gaining these skills and
understandings. Moreover, most principals have not been prepared for their
role as technology leaders, nor have they had opportunities for meaningful
experiences in using computers with children. Sometimes, they are faced with
the prospect of relying on inexperienced peers and over-eager sales people for
advice and guidance when making decisions about ICT. Although the role of
the principal in supporting ICT integration is seen as critical (Hoffman, 1996)
there is limited research to substantiate how these implementation strategies
actually work (Michael, 1998; Riffel and Levin, 1997) and little Australian
research on the role of the principal in the implementation of ICT.
Exploratory research by the author has shown that implementation of ICT
in schools is perceived by principals to be complex and fraught with difficulties
(Schiller, 1997). Principals identified concerns about: access to and maintenance
of appropriate hardware and software, apprehension about personal computer
use, providing appropriate staff development programs, and coping with
strategic planning processes required to integrate ICT into teaching, learning
and management practices. However, these research findings have been limited
by a small sample size, a focus on “early adopters”, a lack of comparative data,
and lack of currency of some of the data due to rapid changes in ICT and recent
changes in government ICT priorities (for example, by the end of 1999, all
principals in NSW government schools were required to be familiar with
computerised school reporting systems and to use a personal e-mail address
provided by the NSW Education and Training Department). Therefore, this
study was seen as timely and inclusive because it sought information from
every principal (n ¼ 369) of all public and private schools in a large urban
region of New South Wales, Australia.
 The following research study, which is the focus of this paper, considered Working with
the following questions: How do principals facilitate the implementation of ICT ICT
in their schools? Specifically, what is the extent of principal use of and concern
about ICT in elementary and high schools? This study is the first in a series to
examine the influence of the principal in determining “best practice” in using
ICT in Australian schools. It was conducted in two phases involving
quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. First, baseline data on the
173
extent of elementary and secondary principals’ use of ICT and their concerns
about ICT, in the Hunter area of NSW, were established. Second, the nature and
impact of interventions of selected elementary principals in ICT
implementation were examined. The focus of this paper is the analysis of
part of phase one of this study which mapped the extent to which principals
use ICT in their schools and identified their perceived ICT competencies.

Study methodology
To determine the extent of principals’ use of ICT, their perceived competency in
using various components of ICT, and their views on how they acquired these
skills and understandings, all principals in four local area government school
districts (n ¼ 288), the regional Catholic education system (n ¼ 61) and the
independent schools (n ¼ 20) in one geographic area of NSW, Australia (in and
around the city of Newcastle), were invited to complete a questionnaire. This
questionnaire sought baseline data to determine the extent of personal use and
concerns about ICT by principals in one geographic area and allowed for
comparison between groups of principals on criteria such as age, gender, school
context, experience and perceived levels of computer competency. The
questionnaire included a competency rating scale to determine perceived skills
in use of ICT so that all principals could rate themselves on competencies such
as use of word processing, databases and spreadsheet applications, knowledge
of educational and management software, and use of the Internet. A four-point
Likert-type scale ranging from “not at all competent” to “highly competent”
was provided. Open-ended responses were sought to add “richness” to the data.
In addition, demographic data were collected. This questionnaire was posted to
the principals with pre-paid return postage. Follow-up letters and phone calls
were used to improve the response rate. Data were analysed through SPSS
statistical processes focussing on analysis of variance using a number of
independent variables such as age, sex, experience, and size and type of school
in relation to subcategory data from the questionnaire.

Findings
Despite the length of the survey (11 pages) 217 principals (62 percent of the
total population) returned usable responses. Of the respondents, 66 percent
were male. Only 3.7 percent of all principals who responded were below the age
JEA of 40 and of the respondents, 65 percent had been principals for more than six
41,2 years.

Use of computers by principals

Most principals (93.5 percent) used computers at home and school. Most
computers used by principals were PCs (88 percent) with 86.6 percent of all
174 principals’ computers connected to the school’s network. Interestingly, 45.2
percent of principals who responded use a laptop computer at work. Comments
indicated that they preferred the convenience of being able to take their laptop
computer home to work on newsletters, correspondence, planning, and other
administrative tasks.
Principals spend a lot of time working on their computer with 56.7 percent
spending more than five hours per week on their office computer and 60
percent indicating that they spend more than three hours per week on their
home computer. Although 30 percent indicated a slow typing speed, 60 percent
stated that they could type “reasonably well” while 10 percent stated they could
type “very rapidly”.
The main use for both their work and home computers was in word
processing, sending and receiving e-mail and accessing the World Wide Web
(WWW), whereas construction of spreadsheets, databases and presentations
(such as Powerpoint) was either “never” or “occasionally” used, either at home
or at work. Only 20 percent of principals stated that they read spreadsheets
“frequently” at work with 40 percent indicating occasional use, while 30
percent indicated that they had never read a spreadsheet. Many principals (35
percent) indicated never having used a digital camera or scanner but 58 percent
indicated frequent use of WWW search engines.
As all principals in NSW government schools have been provided with an e-
mail address in the last 18 months, it was not surprising to find that 51.6
percent receive more than 20 e-mail messages per week and that the receipt of
attached files is high with 45.6 percent indicating 25-50 percent of e-mail
messages with attached files and 20.7 percent indicating more than 50 percent
of their e-mail messages have files attached. Feedback during interviews
indicated that management of this electronic information is becoming a major
issue of concern to principals as they try to determine whether to save printed
versions of attached files, who should take responsibility for filing them, and
where to locate them for appropriate and easy access.

Perceived ICT competencies of principals

The survey provided an opportunity for each principal to rate themselves on a
range of ICT competencies. Table I indicates responses to the question “how
competent do you regard yourself in undertaking the following tasks?” and
demonstrates a wide variation of perceived competencies.
Table I demonstrates that the ICT competencies of principals, or at least
their perception of them, can be roughly grouped into three categories:
 Working with
Not Basic Reasonably Highly
competent competence competent competent ICT
% % % %

Use basic word processing - 8 50 42

Use advanced word processing 13 22 36 29
Read and interpret a 175
spreadsheet 7 34 40 19
Create and use a spreadsheet 28 33 31 8
Interpret a database 13 38 37 12
Create and use a database 38 37 22 3
Send e-mail messages 2 8 47 43
Send an attached file 13 21 30 36
Arrange e-mail messages in
folders 23 28 23 26
Use a WWW search engine 3 20 44 33
Use an URL to locate a page 17 22 32 29
Bookmark a WWW page 16 21 26 37
Edit bookmark properties 30 33 16 21
Arrange bookmarked pages in
folders 38 28 17 17
Create a Powerpoint
presentation 42 27 20 11
Scan a photo to create a file 38 26 24 12 Table I.
Use a digital camera 27 29 25 19 Perceived ICT
Edit digital images 48 22 20 10 competencies of
Create a WWW page 72 20 4 4 principals

(1) those competencies in which most principals feel they have developed
reasonable levels of skills; such as basic word processing, sending e-mail
messages, sending attached files and using WWW search engines;
(2) those competencies in which the majority of principals felt they lacked
appropriate levels of skill or were at a basic level; such as creating and
using databases, editing bookmark properties, creating Powerpoint
presentations, creating WWW pages; and
(3) those competencies in which there are huge variations in perceived
skills; such as reading and interpreting spreadsheets, interpreting a
database, using e-mail folders, using a uniform resource locator (URL)
and bookmarking a WWW page.
Interestingly, the addition of more than 12 open-ended comments in this section
of the survey demonstrated that the skill of creating presentations using
Powerpoint was seen as something that a principal needed to know how to do.

Impact of age and gender

To determine whether independent variables such as age, gender, years of
experience as principal might reveal statistically significant variations between
JEA groups of principals, ANOVA tests, as part of a SPSS software package, were
41,2 used. At the 0.05 level of significance, relatively few variations were found
between groups of principals in terms of ICT use and perceived ICT
competencies. However, the following statistically significant variations are
worthy of note. First, using the variable of age, the data revealed that principals
below the age of 50 are: (levels of statistical significance are indicated in
176 parentheses):
.
faster typists (0.007);
.
use a word processor more often both at home and at school (0.03);
. access the Internet more often (0.04); and
.
use a digital camera more often (0.01),
than principals who are over the age of 50. Second, principals below the age of
50 regarded themselves as more competent in:
.
using basic word processing (0.001);
.
using advanced word processing (0.007);
.
using an Internet search engine (0.021);
.
using an URL to locate a WWW page (0.010);
.
scanning a photo to create a file (0.046);
. using a digital camera (0.014); and
.
editing digital images (0.040).
The variable of gender also revealed statistically significant differences. There
were statistically significant differences between male and female principals (at
the 0.05 level of significance) in that female principals:
.
are faster typists (0.008);
.
send and receive more e-mail from work (0.025);
.
send and receive more e-mail at home (0.040);
.
prepare more Powerpoint presentations at home (0.024);
.
have learnt more about using computers in their work as principals
through talking with other principals (0.016); and
.
have learnt more about using computers in their work as principals
through undertaking a course on computers, e.g. TILT, TAFE (0.043).

Learning about computers

In response to the question “how have you learned about computers?” 86
percent of principals stated that experimenting (or playing) with a computer at
home was “very useful” while 70 percent said that playing with a computer at
work was “very useful”. Of principals that responded, 86 percent stated that
getting help from a colleague was very useful in helping them learn about
computers. In contrast, learning about computers from magazines and books Working with
was regarded as either “useless” or of “low usefulness”. Assistance from ICT
technology advisors at the district level and participation in workshops were
both viewed by 60 percent of respondents as being “very useful” whereas
undertaking a course in computing was only seen by 39 percent of the
principals as “very useful”; while 43 percent regarded courses in ICT as low in
177
usefulness with 18 percent regarding them as “useless”.
Further insight into the preferences of principals was found in analysis of
the 187 open-ended comments (86.6 percent of respondents) in response to the
question: “How would you prefer to learn more about using ICT more
effectively in your role as principal?” A wide range of preferences was listed.
The most frequently stated preference was for targeted, short workshops (31
percent), with one-on-one assistance or personal tuition (19 percent) the second
preference. The third most preferred approach identified “hands-on”
experiences with ICT although, obviously, actually using computers would
need to feature prominently whichever strategy were to be used. The following
responses to the question, “I would prefer to learn more about using ICT more
effectively in my role as principal through . . .” were indicative of the
preferences expressed (NOTE: numbers in backets are the identity code of the
respondent):
.
“a brief demonstration of capabilities/options/opportunities, followed by
brief one-on-one tutorials. Information should be on a needs-to-know
basis; not through a uniform, structured format” [13];
.
“small workshops or one-on-one at the point of need” [30];
.
“short workshops, with computer equipment like mine, in small groups,
when I am ready to use the new skills” [25];
.
“having specific, timetabled weekly training in my office by a kind, caring
trainer who can work with low ability learners” [47];
.
“having time to play with support of a person with more knowledge who
is available when needed” [54];
.
“working with another principal on real tasks” [65];
.
“short courses which allow time to practice” [102];
.
“small group workshops with adequate time provided by the employer”
[129];
.
“being given time to work with an in-house expert. At the moment it
occurs on the run” [149]; and
.
“short workshops but designed at beginner, advanced and very
competent levels. Then follow-up activities after the workshop” [216].
A wide range of comments was received to the question: “What have been the
main factors in assisting you to understand the role of ICT in teaching, learning
JEA and administration at your school?”. Of the respondents, 88 percent provided
41,2 comments with the most frequently cited reason (21 percent) stating that
“necessity” was the main factor. This reason was highlighted through
comments such as:
.
“the information demands thrust upon us internally and externally” [31];
178 .
“necessity to keep abreast of current trends” [55];
.
“driven by need, not desire” [61];
.
“better/more efficient work practice” [69];
.
“awareness of the need to develop my skills in the use of technology”
[104];
.
“forced change – the whole direction has changed to ICT” [108];
.
“necessity – the Department and community expectations, peer pressure”
[130];
.
“compulsory, no choice in the matter” [156];
.
“computers and related technologies are an everyday part of my job. This
necessitates my becoming as knowledgeable and as competent as
possible” [158]; and
.
“I am forced to embrace this idea of training and development because as
principal I am supposed to be the leading learner – it is my responsibility
to my staff” [199].
Other factors listed by principals as assisting them understand the role of ICT
included interaction with staff and colleagues (19 percent), their own personal
beliefs, interest and enthusiasm (16 percent), actually working with ICT (14
percent), reading about ICT in journals, books and the media (12 percent),
participating in workshops and seminars (10 percent), and talking with
technology consultants (10 percent).
The final question in relation to how principals learnt about ICT was “what
additional professional development or support do you need to implement ICT
more effectively at your school?” Although, once again, there was a wide range
of responses from the 86.5 percent of principals who wrote an open-ended
response to this question, the main factor identified by 23 percent of the
responses was time, as exemplified by the comments:
.
“the greatest need is time to practise skills and to ‘learn by doing’ on a
trial and error basis ” [44];
.
“time to learn and to implement” [61];
.
“more time as the technology keeps changing and I can’t keep up – it
becomes very frustrating” [181]; and
.
“time is the key element as the school culture is demanding more training
than there is time to provide it” [184].
The next most frequently listed comment called for assistance from an in- Working with
school ICT coordinator or support technical person. Perhaps the comment ICT
which summarised this need most was “I need quick, easy access to someone
with technical support skills – not having to rely on a teacher who cannot
possibly support all colleagues when there are hardware problems, decisions
about ongoing planning or development to be made. Principals cannot nor
should teachers be expected to be technicians as well as effective users of
179
technology” [103]. Additional funding and more training as well as assistance
in helping staff see how to appropriately integrate ICT into their classrooms
were also listed as factors needed to provide support.

Discussion
One of the important findings from this study is that principals spend a great
deal of time working on their computer – 78.8 percent use their work computer
for more than three hours in an average week with the majority spending over
one hour per day at their work computer. Significantly, over 61 percent of the
principals surveyed also use their home computer for more than five hours in
an average week, indicating that over two hours of every work day is spent at
the computer. As most principals have probably only been using computers as
a regular component of their work over the last few years, this is either a
considerable shift in how principals spend their time, or it is an increase in their
workload. Although more research is needed to clarify this conclusion, both
explanations appear to be relevant and both possibilities have implications for
changing how principals are prepared for their role. It is clear that knowledge
of the role of ICT in the work life of the school principal and the acquisition of
appropriate skills to use this knowledge needs to be understood by principals.
The other major finding from this study is that, despite some specific
variations linked to age and gender, there are enormous variations between
principals on most issues relating to their use of ICT and their perceived ICT
competencies, as shown in Table I. In light of the increased availability of
computers in schools as a result of considerable expenditure over the last few
years and as a result of the dramatic increase in home computer use, it is not
surprising that basic word processing is a skill in which most principals are
competent. Similarly, the high degree of competency in using e-mail and WWW
search engines is not surprising as these skills are being developed by most
sectors of society. However, the variations in perceived ability to read and
interpret, create and use spreadsheets and databases, or use a URL to locate a
page on the WWW is of concern as these skills are essential for those in
leadership positions where use and interpretation of data is increasingly
becoming a critical skill. The relatively low skill proficiency of principals in
these areas needs attention and focus within professional development
programs for principals. Other skills, such as advanced word processing,
organising e-mail, creating WWW pages and using a variety of digital aspects
JEA of ICT, are not as critical for principals as they can call on the expertise of other
41,2 members of clerical and teaching staff to assist in these areas. Several
principals commented to this effect by saying that their clerical staff have
developed considerable expertise in these areas and therefore the principal
could spend his or her time on other aspects of ICT more profitably.
Approximately 38 percent of the total population of principals in this
180 geographic region did not respond to the survey. Anecdotal comments at
meetings of principals and the personal experience of the researcher in visiting
schools in this region over many years would suggest several possible reasons.
First, the majority of those who did not respond may perceive their ICT
competencies to be at the basic level or non-existent and therefore not of
interest to the researcher. Many principals do not see the need to develop ICT
skills as they rely on other staff (Schiller, 1997). Second, the age profile of the
principals in this region, where the majority of principals are in the latter stages
of their career (50 percent over the age of 50), may have resulted in a nil
response from some principals who saw themselves as too close to retirement
to respond. The older age profile of principals in this particular region can be
partially explained by the desire of many principals to serve the final years of
their career in this popular coastal region, which is dominated by the presence
of the second largest city in the state and is only a two-hour drive from the
largest city in Australia. In the centralised NSW state educational system, most
principals have served in rural towns across the state and view appointment to
this particular region as a “reward” for many years of service in more remote
country towns. Therefore, the older age profile of principals in this region may
have particular implications for professional development in ICT. Finally, the
failure to return the survey by some principals may relate back to an earlier
theme: namely, that one of the key factors in implementation success in schools
is the role of the principal. Although this is understood by principals in relation
to other areas of schooling, it has not been applied by some principals to ICT.
Further, this role appears to have been largely ignored by policy makers and
educational change facilitators promoting greater use of ICT in schools. Their
focus has been on teachers and what goes on in classrooms despite the growing
documentation that an important key to change success in schools is the school
principal (Fullan, 1996; Hall and Hord, 2001; Hallinger and Heck, 1996). When
Hall and Hord (2001) report a correlation of 0.76 between how principals
facilitate change and how successful teachers are in implementing an
innovation, the principals’ role in facilitating ICT integration cannot be ignored.
Just as with other organisations, in schools, leadership makes a difference.
Perhaps some principals still do not see these relationships?
Returning to the main theme of this paper, this exploratory study clearly
demonstrates that there are enormous variations between principals regardless
of age, gender, school size or experience in terms of their use of ICT and their
perceived ICT competency. More needs to be known about how these
variations impinge on the knowledge, skills and dispositions of principals Working with
about ICT so that principals understand and have strategies which assist them ICT
to more effectively carry out their ICT leadership role. For example, what is
known about these variations in ICT use?

Levels of computer use 181

There is agreement in the literature that there are distinct stages through which
a person progresses in terms of computer usage and developing classroom and
school applications for computers. What is not agreed is the number of these
stages or phases! At one level, “resister” and “volunteer” can be used to
categorise staff. Four stages of “survival”, “mastery”, “impact”, and
“innovation” are often used. The levels of technology implementation (LoTi)
uses a seven-level model ranging from “non-use” through “awareness”,
“exploration”, “infusion”, “integration”, “expansion” to “refinement” (Moersch,
1995). Regardless of the number of phases or stages, the major issue is that
principals also progress through phases or stages in their ICT skill
development, their knowledge of ICT applications and their dispositions to
using ICT in their work. Policy makers and staff developers need to accept that
different sorts of activities and assistance may be required at these various
phases. Adult learning theories and practices need to be taken into account
when planning professional development activities. For example, there is a
need to consider the relevance to the present situation, past experiences and the
fact that adults reconstruct as they learn, that adults need to critically evaluate
any new materials before they are used, and there is need for a clear rationale
and purpose.
In exploring the variations which exist between the principals in this study,
an important educational change model assists in explaining use and concerns
about ICT. Insight can be provided through examination of the concerns-based
adoption model (CBAM), a conceptual framework incorporating research
techniques and methodologies developed at the Research and Development
Centre for Teacher Education (RDTCE) at Austin, Texas in the 1970s. The
focus of this model is the way in which the individual responds to a change.
Assumptions underlying this approach to change, and the results of over 20
years of intensive research, have been fully documented and provide a
framework for looking at change (Hall and Hord, 2001). As the author was
involved in an earlier study in which the CBAM constructs were used (Schiller,
1991), analysis of data from this study indicates that the CBAM model is
relevant in explaining the variations between principal responses in this study.
One of the key diagnostic tools within the CBAM construct is that of levels
of use (LoU) of an innovation where individuals progress through three levels
prior to use, namely, non-use, orientation and preparation, followed by five
levels of use. Data from this questionnaire clearly demonstrate considerable
variations in levels of use of ICT which conform to this model. Some principals
JEA are only at Level II (preparation) in that they have not actually begun to use
41,2 some aspects of ICT, for example, Powerpoint. Many principals are at Level III
(mechanical use) in that their focus is on the day-to-day efforts to master a
particular ICT skill or application, while others are clearly at Level IVA
(routine use) where use of a particular skill is stable with little thought being
given to improving innovation use or its consequences. Some principals are at
182 Level V (integration) use in that they use aspects of ICT such as e-mail
discussion groups to achieve a collective impact on colleagues. A few principals
appear to be at a Level VI (renewal) in that they are examining new
developments or seeking major modifications of or alternatives to present use.
The purpose in highlighting the CBAM model of educational change is that
different interventions are needed for individuals who are at different LoU or
different stages of concern (another CBAM construct) in using ICT. For
example, in the questionnaire, the rating of usefulness of various strategies to
learn about computers such as experimenting with them, reading about them,
attending workshops, getting help from colleagues, participating in short
workshops etc. varied considerably thereby highlighting that everyone’s needs
will not be met by a specific approach or strategy. The CBAM model points out
the importance of different staff development approaches at different times,
according to need.
Despite the length of the questionnaire, many principals also included
comments. The nature of these comments demonstrated their willingness to
elaborate on their involvement with ICT and highlighted their considerable
concerns about the use of ICT and integration into their work. Their
willingness to share their concerns was further demonstrated when more
than 40 percent of the respondents identified themselves at the end of the
questionnaire and offered to discuss these issues further with the
researcher.

Professional development in ICT for principals

Responses throughout the survey, including significant portions of it not
explored in this paper, indicate that most principals are aware of the
importance of ICT in education and are attempting to do something about
facilitating its use in their school. However, to fulfil this role, considerable
ongoing, professional development opportunities need to be provided for
principals. This study has highlighted a number of features of such
professional development. To be effective, principals prefer short, targeted
workshops. They also prefer assistance that can be provided in a one-on-one
situation at the time of need. Actual hands-on experience with computers is
seen by principals as the critical element of any professional development
strategy. Finally, principals prefer professional development activities in which
they can participate with small groups of peers and colleagues. In light of the
unique responsibilities of school leadership regarding the integration of ICT
this needs to be taken into account by those involved by providing professional Working with
development opportunities. Principals need some pressure to change to greater ICT
use of ICT but can only do this if support is also provided. However, two
comments from principals highlight main factors in helping principals
understand the role of ICT in teaching, learning and administration:
(1) “I have a passionate belief in the potential of ICT to assist the role of the 183
principal” [38] and
(2) “my own drive to learn to find out more, to be at the front of the
educational experiences and activities, to provide the best for children, to
have a vision of the big picture, to be a risk taker, to get off my butt and
spend extra time learning” [63].
The key role of the principal in effectively leading the integration of ICT has
recently been acknowledged by acceptance of the ISTE National Educational
Technology Standards (NETS and Performance Indicators for Administrators
in the United States of America (ISTE, 2002)). These standards identify the
need for high levels of understanding and competence of principals in the major
dimensions of leadership and vision; learning and teaching; productivity and
professional practice; support, management and operations; assessment and
evaluation; and social, legal and ethical issues as they relate to ICT in schools.
Acceptance of these standards highlights the need for Australian decision-
makers to develop similar expectations for Australian principals.
Consideration of these issues obviously has implications for training,
networking, changes in role description and approaches to the preparation of
and ongoing professional development of principals.

Conclusion
The major finding from this study is that there are huge variations between
principals in terms of their use of ICT, in their perceived competencies, and
in their preferences for learning about ICT. Although these data were
gathered from only one geographic area of Australia, this study gives useful
material for policy makers, providers of professional development programs
for principals, professional associations of principals and for systems level
decision makers to reflect on and devise support mechanisms and strategies
to assist principals further develop their knowledge, skills and dispositions
about ICT in their work and at their schools. This study has demonstrated
that many principals in Australian schools now recognise the critical role
that they play in facilitating the implementation of ICT in their schools to
improve teaching, learning and administrative processes. Preferences for
specific types of professional development activities for principals, based on
their current level of use and their particular level of proficiency, to assist
them in learning more about ICT skills in their work and improving their
understanding of their role in ICT, have been suggested. Encouragement to
JEA explore ways of using ICT, for example, devising more appropriate file and
41,2 data management strategies for principals, creating support networks among
groups of principals and highlighting the critical nature of the principals’
role in implementation of ICT in schools will assist. Moreover, this study
demonstrates that more research is needed to more clearly determine the
extent and nature of the critical role of the principal in effective
184 implementation and integration of ICT in schools.

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