JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW TEMPLATE

North American University

Education Department
M.Ed. in Educational Leadership / M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction
EDUC 5324 Integrating Technology into Education
Name: Elif Ozturk

Date: 09/25/2016

Cite the reviewed article in APA format:

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):
Thestudyspecificallyexaminesthefollowingtworesearchquestions:(a)Whatareprincipals
perceptionsoftheimportanceoftechnology?and(b)Doprincipalsperceptionsoftechnology
differbyyearsofexperienceandgender?
Purpose of the research:
Purposeoftheresearchwasbuiltonthepriorresearchandincludesanopenended,cognitive
interviewquestionthatallowsfortheexaminationofprincipalsperspectivesandorientations
towardtechnology.
METHODOLOGY
What is the methodology for the research or approach used to understand the
issue? Provide information regarding the following:

Participants:
-The sample consisted of 126 males and 184 females. A range of years of experience
was present with 104 participants having 0-3 years of experience, 82 participants having
4-7 years, 55 participants having 8-11 years, 32 participants having 12-15 years, and 31
participants having greater than 15 years of experience.
-A convenience sample of 310 principals from a large metropolitan area in the southwest
region of the United States responded to a cognitive interview questionnaire.

Procedures:
The questionnaire was administered by graduate students in the Educational Leadership
program at a major, urban doctoral-granting university located in the south central region
of the U.S. As part of the principals certification course requirements, students were
trained on how to administer the instrument and required to interview a specific number
of current public school principals. The survey instrument was designed specifically for
this purpose and included both qualitative and quantitative questions.

Data Collection Methods/Data Source:

Forthisstudy,onlythedatafromtheinterviewswasused.TheinterviewquestionswereHas
technologyhadanimpactinyourschool?"and"Ifso,inwhatspecificwayshasitmadea
difference?

Data Analysis:
Analysisoftheinterviewdatabeganwithaprocessofdatareduction.Theparticipantsresponses
werereadseveraltimestobecomefamiliarwiththedata.Thedatawasthencodedinto
meaningfulcategories.Oncethecategorieswereestablished,anotherresearcherindependently
codeda10%sampleofresponsestodeterminetheconsistencyofthecoding.Theintercoder
reliabilityresultsrevealedahighlevelofagreement(Cohenskappa=.94).
RESULTS
Findings or Results (or main points of the article):

Table1.PrincipalsPerceptionsoftheMajorFunctionofTechnology
MajorFunctionofTechnology(n=3)%
Communication34.5
Instruction27.7
Datasharingandmanagement13.6
Resource14.5
Administrativetasks10.0
Studentlearning9.7

Table2.PrincipalsPerceptionsoftheMajorFunctionofTechnologybySex
MajorFunctionofTechnologyMale(n=126)Female(n=184)
Communication32.5%35.9%
Instruction32.6%24.6%
Datasharingandmanagement15.0%15.2%
Resource15.9%13.6%
Administrativetasks12.0%8.7%
Studentlearning7.2%11.5%

Table3PrincipalsPerceptionsoftheMajorFunctionofTechnologybyYearsof
Experience
MajorFunctionofTechnology03Yrs47Yrs811Yrs1215Yrs>15Yrs
(n=104)(n=82)(n=55)(n=32)(n=31)
Communication38.5%32.9%30.9%28.1%35.5%
Instruction24.1%30.4%23.6%31.3%38.7%
Datasharing&Management10.6%18.3%14.6%21.9%19.4%
Resource21.2%7.3%9.1%12.5%25.8%
Administrativetasks6.7%12.2%3.6%15.6%19.4%

Studentlearning9.6%14.6%3.6%12.5%6.4%

DISCUSSIONS
Conclusions/Implications (for your profession):
Theresultsfromthepresentstudysuggestthatprincipalsviewtechnologyasimportantfor
carryingoutcommunicationandinstruction.Theyalsoseetheimportanceofusingtechnology
fordatasharingandmanagement,asaresource,foradministrativetasksandforstudentlearning.
Thisindicatesthatprincipalshaveapositiveviewoftechnologyandareusingtechnology
themselves.

REFLECTIONS
Students Reflections (changes to your understanding; implications for your
school/work):
Thepresentstudyindicatesthatprincipalsperceptionsofthemajorfunctionsoftechnologyin
theirschoolsarevariedbysexandyearsofexperience.Thismayinfluencetheleadershipthat
principalsprovidewhenimplementingtechnologyintheirschoolsandneedstobestudiedfurther
inordertobetterunderstandtheimplicationsfortechnologyuseinschools.Principalpreparation
programsmaywanttoconsideraddressingtechnologyleadershipsothatschoolleadersarebetter
preparedtoeffectivelyimplementtechnologyintheirschools(Hines,Edmonson,&Moore,
2008).Furthermore,schoolsshouldprovidefundingandopportunitiesforprincipalstoattend
technologytraining.Thiscouldincreasetheirtechnologyleadershipandleadtobetter
implementationoftechnologyinentireschools.Thisstudyprovidesinsightintoprincipals
perceptionsoftechnologyimportancebutfurtherresearchisneededtofullyaddresstheissueof
howtheseperceptionsinfluencetechnologyleadership.