Content area
Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the essential technology skills expected of K–12 site administrators, the way technology leadership capacity is built, and the way recent shifts in educational platforms influenced technology leadership. The perspectives of site administrators from a Southern California unified school district provided insight on the current evolving and expanding roles toward effective educational technology leadership and experiential sources of technology knowledge.
Framework. The frameworks for this study included Bandura’s self-efficacy theory and the ISTE framework including the technology standards for leaders.
Methodology. This study followed guidelines for a single instrumental qualitative case study investigation, which focused on a concern or issue of a case that is bounded by time and place (Creswell & Poth, 2017). The similar cases were administrators from a single school district; the phenomenon was the perception of technology leadership self-efficacy beliefs of administrators, bounded by a common experience of leading schools during a period of shifting educational environments during 2020–2022. A purposeful sampling of administrators participated in a semistructured interview protocol and technology questionnaire.
Findings and Conclusions. The review of the data led to the identification of 16 codes resulting in 12 categories, synthesized to three overall themes, with 34 formulated meanings correlated to the research questions. The results of the study produced the following themes:
• Self-efficacy and ISTE technology standards are essential for successful educational technology integration
• Administrators built technology leadership capacity through a self-driven community of practice
• The recent shifts in educational platforms positively impacted perceived capacity of technology leadership skills and new educational practices amidst the challenges endured
This study found the role of the administrator to be instrumental in the way pedagogies and practices shifted postpandemic. Educators embraced the learned technology and merged it with existing teaching pedagogy and administrative practices to enhance learning and engagement.
Recommendations. This study adds to the literature regarding educational technology leadership and the importance of continued structures for building capacity for leaders. Future research should be conducted to expand data sources and population samples, including longitudinal studies to help define 21st-century roles of technology leaders.
