A Profile of Early 21ST Century Teachers of Northwest Ohio: The Relationship Between Teachers\u27 Technology Integration and Leadership Practices

In 2010, U. S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, encapsulated the national concern and immediate need for educational change in order to prepare our students for the 21st century by stating, “The urgency to improve our children\u27s schools has never been greater.” Therefore, in order to develop students with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in college, careers, and/or citizenship in the 21st century, teachers must be prepared—including, but not limited to, their pedagogical methodologies as well as their technological and leadership knowledge, skills, and practices. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between teachers\u27 leadership practices and their classroom technology integration within the framework of ISTE NETS, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and TPACK. Teachers (N = 361) from six northwest Ohio suburban school districts participated in the online 21st Century Technology Integration and Teacher Leadership (21-TITL) inventory, made up primarily of the Overall Technology Integration Scale (OTIS) and Teacher Leadership Practices Inventory (T-LPI), a modified version of Kouzes and Posner\u27s Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). Numerous significant results were discovered, including: a correlated sixth T-LPI subscale (Refine the Craft); moderately correlated technology and leadership factors (Reflection and Modified Stage of Technology Adoption); a T-LPI subscale (Challenge the Process) that predicts Overall Technology Integration; a two-factor model that predicts Technology Integration, a six-factor model that predicts Teacher Leadership, and various group differences for both Overall Technology Integration (Technology Efficacy, Professional Development, Reflection, Modified Stage of Technology Adoption, Computers in the Classroom, Total Computing Hours Per Week, and Total Leadership Positions) and Leadership Practices (Gender-Female, Technology Efficacy, Social Trait-Extrovert, Professional Development, Reflection, Modified Stage of Technology Adoption, Computers in the Classroom, Total Computing Hours Per Week, and Total Leadership Positions). Implications and recommendations are presented (relating to Classroom Technology Integration and Teacher Leadership Practices) for 21st century teachers, administrators, schools, and government or legislative leadership in order to preserve institutional knowledge and transform teaching and learning through support and funding for embedded, continual, reflective professional development focused on TPACK + Leadership (or CPTaLK)