Principals Roles and Responsibilities in Technology Integration in Rural Georgia

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the elementary school principal’s roles and responsibilities in the use of technology for instructional purposes in Title I rural schools. Three principals, three technology coordinators and 8 teachers in the Southeastern area of Georgia participated in the study. Interview questions for the participants were created after a careful review of the literature on the subject and with input from leadership professors at Georgia Southern University. An analysis was conducted on data provided by the participants from the interview questionnaire and analyzed as separate entities to authenticate results. Data from principals’ interviews were analyzed and three themes emerged that principals felt were their roles and responsibilities: (a) technology training opportunities for faculty and staff, (b) prevalence of technology use for instructional purposes, and (c) comprehensive school planning for integration of technology with regard to principal responsibility. Three themes emerged from interviews with technology coordinators: (a) availability of technology resources for faculty, (b) support in technology integration for teachers, and (c) comprehensive planning for technology instruction. Three themes emerged in the teachers interviews for the principals’ roles and responsibilities in these areas: (a) availability of technology resources for instruction, (b) support from the principal in the integration of technology, and (c) planning for the use of technology in the classroom for instructional purposes. A common theme for all participants included planning at the classroom level, school building level, and district wide level. Technology coordinators and teachers themes demonstrated that their views on the principals’ roles and responsibilities for technology integration were consistent with one another. All categories were compared to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards for principals. Data on the obstacles of technology integration for instruction was analyzed from principals, technology coordinators, and teachers. A concern for principals was how to allocate funds for technology resources. Technology coordinators concern was not having enough maintenance personnel. Teachers felt the biggest obstacles to technology integration were these: (1) lack of training, (2) outdated equipment, (3) large classroom size, (4) need for more challenging software, and (5) service limitations in technology maintenance