JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW

North American University

Education Department
M.Ed. in Educational Leadership
EDUC 5324
Name: Recep Batar

Date: 7/4/2015

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):

(a) What are principals perceptions of the importance of technology?

(b) Do principals perceptions of technology differ by years of experience and gender?
Purpose of the research:

The purpose of this study is to decide school principals perception of the importance of
technology in schools and perspectives on technology planning. Find out if the perception
is influenced by the gender and years of experience of the principals.
METHODOLOGY
What is the methodology for the research or approach used to understand the
issue? Provide information regarding the following:

Participants:
A convenience sample of 310 principals from a large metropolitan area in the
southwest region of the United States.
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 (Waxman, Boriack, Lee, & MacNeil, 2013).
Procedures:
A cognitive interview questionnaire that asked principals about their perceptions
regarding the importance of technology for their schools was administered.
The survey instrument was designed specifically for this purpose and included

both qualitative and quantitative questions.

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 (Waxman, Boriack, Lee, & MacNeil, 2013).

Data Collection Methods/Data Source:

The researchers used a cognitive interview questionnaire that included both qualitative
and quantitative questions.
Data Analysis:
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 inter-coder reliability results revealed a high level of
agreement (Cohens kappa = .94).
RESULTS
Findings or Results (or main points of the article):
1. Principals Perceptions of the Major Function of Technology

o The principals responses divided into six categories:

35% of the principals indicated that technology was used as a primary
communications tool.
28% of principals responded that technology was integrated with teachers
classroom instruction.
14% of the principals stated that they were using technology for data sharing and
management
Using technology as a resource to find information was reported by 15% of the
principals.
10% used technology for administrative tasks.

10% used technology for student learning.

2. Principals Perceptions of the Major Function of Technology by Sex

Using technology for communication got the highest percentage.
Use for instruction was the second most widely reported technology use.
Males and females somewhat differed in their perceptions of using technology
as a resource (16%, 14%), for data sharing and management (15%, 15%), for
administrative tasks (12%, 9%), and for student learning (10%, 12%),
respectively.
3. Principals Perceptions of the Major Function of Technology by Years

of Experience
Principals perceptions of the major functions of technology were examined by
years of experience: 0-3 years, 4-7 years, 8-11 years, 12-15 years, and more than
15 years (Waxman, Boriack, Lee, & MacNeil, 2013).
The two primary functions of technology with the highest percentage were
communication and instruction.
The maximum rate for principals with 0-3, 4-7, and 8-11 years of experience was
in communication (39%, 33%, and 31%, respectively) followed by instruction
(24%, 30%, and 24%, respectively).
Principals with 12-15 and more than 15 years of experience had the highest
percentage in instruction (31% and 39%, respectively) followed by
communication (28% and 36%, respectively) (Waxman, Boriack, Lee, &
MacNeil, 2013)
DISCUSSIONS
Conclusions/Implications (for your profession):

In this study, I understant that school administrators how important to support technology
usin in the schools. Principals who are happy with technology become role models of
technology use in schools. Principals not only helping by using tecnology aslo they
sholud support funding and financing for imporovmet of tecnology for their school.
This suggests that administrators need to become technology leaders in their schools by
using technology themselves, developing technology policies, and providing funding and
training for new technology (Anderson & Dexter, 2005).
REFLECTIONS
Students Reflections (changes to your understanding; implications for your
school/work):

As a school principal, we are the educational leader of our schools, and we have to realize
that the importance of integration of different technology in the schools. As we are
technology leaders showcase by using technology during in our meetings, and we can
demonstrate to the teachers technology integration in lessons. Also, we can encourage our
teacher by using technology for our follow up and our communications and the same way
they can encourage their students and their parents. As a principal, our job is to support
our teachers to use technology integration for their classes and training them the new
educational technology in our meetings.

Reference;
Waxman, H. C., Boriack, A. W., Lee, Y.-H., & MacNeil, A. (2013). Principals
Perceptions of the Importance of Technology in Schools. Contemporary
Educational Technology, 187-196.