Jacoby, Jill Michaela
(2007)
Relationship between Principals' Decision Making StylesandTechnology Acceptance & Use.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Educational leaders are at the forefront for implementing policies and practices that promote rigorous teaching and learning. In order to plan, implement, and evaluate appropriate programming, educational leaders, especially principals, must make data driven decisions. Educational leaders can afford themselves the opportunity to make informed decisions through the acceptance and use of technology. Through the utilization of technology, educational leaders can incorporate appropriate educational planning through the obtainment of information and knowledge in an efficient and effective manner. This study attempts to investigate to what extent a principal's decision style influences his/her acceptance and use of technology. The study surveyed 97 K-12 public school principals in western Pennsylvania. The survey consisted of four parts: 1) initial questions, 2) Technology Acceptance/Use Inventory, 3) Decision Style Inventory, and 4) demographics. The technology inventory investigated the acceptance and use of five technology applications--the Internet, email, word processing, database, and spreadsheet. The decision style inventory categorized each principal as analytical, behavioral, conceptual, or directive.The findings indicate that a principal's decision style has no bearing on his/her acceptance and use of technology. A large number of the principals surveyed were characterized as having an analytical decision style. Further, the study did find that the most widely accepted and used technology application by K-12 principals is email. The study concluded that most principals feel comfortable using technology, use it on a daily basis, and attend a variety of technology trainings. Lastly, of the principals surveyed, the majority stated that they use technology the most to make decisions regarding student achievement. Although the findings did not support the research tenets of the study, there are several recommendations to be offered. Technology can be an important tool to assist with data driven decision making. However, educational organizations should support the acceptance and use of technology. Educational leaders should embrace the use of technology and be willing to use it as an assistive tool for decision making. If educational leaders are not affording themselves this opportunity, then they may be inhibiting the ability to provide the most optimal learning environments for their students.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
| Title | Member | Email Address | Pitt Username | ORCID |
|---|
| Committee Chair | Gorman, Charles | | | | | Committee CoChair | Trovato, Charlene | trovato@pitt.edu | TROVATO | | | Committee Member | Hughes, Sean | shughes@pitt.edu | SHUGHES | | | Committee Member | Zullo, Thomas | | | |
|
| Date: |
30 January 2007 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
11 December 2006 |
| Approval Date: |
30 January 2007 |
| Submission Date: |
2 January 2007 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Education > Administrative and Policy Studies |
| Degree: |
EdD - Doctor of Education |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
school administration |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-01022007-223237/, etd-01022007-223237 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 19:30 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:35 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/6247 |
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