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: Nazokat U. Yakubova

Date:

September 20, 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):
What are principals perceptions of the importance of technology? and
do principals perceptions of technology differ by years of experience
and gender?

Purpose of the research: The purpose of the study is to examine

the principal's view of technology use and determining how their
perspectives differ by years of experience and gender.

METHODOLOGY
What is the methodology for the research or approach used to
understand the issue?
- The study is built on the prior research and based on an open-ended,
cognitive interview questions.
Provide information regarding the following:
Participants: 310 principals from a large metropolitan area in the
southwest region of U.U. that consisted of 126 males and 184
females with 104 participants having less than 3 years of
experience, 137 participants between 4-11 years, 63 participants

having more than 12 years of experience.

Procedures: Collecting the responses to open-ended, cognitive
interview questions

Data Collection Methods/Data Source:

- The questionnaire was administered by graduate students who were trained
on how to administer the questionnaire interviewed 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 Analysis:

Analysis of the interview data started with a process of data reduction.

The participants responses were read then "coded into meaningful
categories". To determine the consistency of the coding, another
researcher independently coded a 10% sample of responses. The intercoder reliability was used to check the level of agreement.

RESULTS
Findings or Results (or main points of the article):
The results of the study suggested that principals view technology as
important tool for carrying out communication and instruction. They also
see the importance of using technology for data sharing and
management, as a resource, for administrative tasks and for student
learning indicating that principals have a positive view of technology and
are using technology themselves. Also, the study indicated that
principals perceptions of the major functions of technology in their
schools are varied by sex and years of experience.
Male principals felt that technology was used as a resource and for
administrative tasks more than female principals. Furthermore,
principals with 12 or more years of experience perceived that technology
was used for instruction, data sharing and management, and
administrative tasks more than principals with less than 12 years of
experience.

DISCUSSIONS
Conclusions/Implications (for your profession):

Once again this research shows the importance of using technology in a

school system. Knowing that school leaders are embracing the technology use
and applying it to perform everyday tasks, and keeping up with today's
generation is a success. Implication of technology in the school system has
major advantages. Here are some of them:

Sharing data with teachers, staff members and district professionals.

Resource Management for teachers, principals, and district employees
(HR management, supplies, vendors)
Administrative tasks
Organizational tasks
Student learning (curriculum, grading, record keeping, review)
Communication tool with school communities.

REFLECTIONS
Students Reflections (changes to your understanding; implications for your
school/work):
I've noticed yesterday, during the professional development meeting in
my school, 90 % of teachers, including the principal were using
notebooks with the Skyward application. Teachers were taking notes,
sharing their instruction plan with each other, reviewing TEKS
requirements, referring to PBIS worl.org website for behavior
management tips during the meeting. I'm amazed how technology lets us
multitask and save time If used properly. As the study results and the
literature review, and the most importantly our everyday life experience
in the school system show that using technology is not only useful, it is
an essential tool for management, communication, and instruction. I has
its own challenges for beginners. It requires patience, and constant
progress since technology is outdating us fast.
I agree with the study results that male principals use technology for
administrative purposes more than females. However, the result "
principals with 12 or more years of experience perceived that technology
was used for instruction, data sharing and management, and
administrative tasks more than principals with less than 12 years of
experience" is less reliable because only 63 participants out of 310 had
more than 12 years of experience. I also believe that younger
generations are more likely to embrace the technology use than veteran
principals.