Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education

ISSN: 0962-029X (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rtpe19

Images of school principals' information and

communications technology leadership

Dianne L. Yee

To cite this article: Dianne L. Yee (2000) Images of school principals' information and
communications technology leadership, Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education,
9:3, 287-302, DOI: 10.1080/14759390000200097

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/14759390000200097

Published online: 20 Dec 2006.

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Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, Vol. 9, No. 3, 2000

Images of School Principals’ Information and

Communications Technology Leadership

DIANNE L. YEE
County Central High School, Vulcan, Canada

ABSTRACT This article describes a qualitative study designed to investigate

information and communications technology (ICT) leadership by considering
the lived experiences of principals in 10 carefully selected ICT-enriched
schools in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. To encourage further
discussion regarding the impact of ICT on educational leadership practice, I
have outlined a framework that suggests eight categories of ICT leadership.
Although this study focussed on principals of ICT-enriched schools, the
practical wisdom of the study participants has potential to assist other
educational leaders who are expected to ensure that ICT becomes a tool to
enhance learning, teaching, and leadership.

Introduction
Principals who advocate that information and communications technology
(ICT) be used as a tool to enhance learning and teaching in their schools
face a myriad of leadership challenges. Yet, the ICT leadership of principals
remains a topic that is not frequently considered when theorists or
practitioners discuss the unfulfilled promise of ICT in education. In
response, this article presents an overview of a study that investigated ICT
leadership by exploring the lived experiences of principals in ten carefully
selected ICT-enriched schools in Canada, New Zealand, and the United
States (Yee, 1999). Although the study of experience with its investigation of
epiphanies, rituals, metaphors, and everyday actions is central to educational
inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 1994), the daily work of school principals in
ICT-enriched environments has not been well examined in educational
leadership research. This study described the challenges these principals
encountered as they developed personal competence with ICT while at the
same time assisting staff members and students to acquire their own skills
and knowledge. In addition, the study examined the perceptions of staff
members, students, and parents regarding the principals’ responsibility for
individual competence with ICT and for the overall use of ICT within their

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schools. This article outlines the framework for ICT leadership suggested by
the study, and it also suggests educational implications and paths of further
inquiry.

A Study of ICT Leadership

The study was originally conceived from questions that emerged in my work
as principal of an ICT project school in Saskatchewan in the early 1990s.
That leadership experience prompted a personal reexamination of the roles
of the principal, the nature of effective professional development, and the
competencies required of educational leaders in light of current expectations
for ICT use in schools. However, a review of relevant literature uncovered
limited information about the relationship between educational leadership
and ICT in education (e.g. Bennett, 1996; Canadian Association of
Principals, 1998; Kearsley & Lynch, 1992; Thomas & Knezek, 1991).
Because of the sparse research with respect to ICT leadership, the literature
that provided a framework for this study also was drawn from the more
prevalent research exploring ICT as a learning tool and as a catalyst for
educational change (e.g. Collins, 1991; David, 1994; Dwyer et al, 1991;
Gonzales & Roblyer, 1996; Jonassen, 1995; McDonald & Ingvarson, 1997;
Riel, 1994; Wiburg, 1997). I also investigated transformational leadership
because of personal reflection on educational leadership theory vis-à-vis my
experience in an ICT-enriched school (e.g. Avolio, 1997; Bass, 1990, 1996;
Bass & Avolio, 1990; Burns, 1978; Gronn, 1995; Hallinger, 1992; Kirby et al,
1992; Leithwood, 1994).

Assumptions
Several assumptions formed the theoretical basis for this study of ICT
leadership. My first assumption was that educational reforms in Canada,
New Zealand, and the United States were influencing educational leaders in
similar ways. Governments in these countries view ICT as instrumental to
creating a highly skilled workforce capable of coping with the rapid
technological change of the twenty-first century. Most educators also believe
that students will need both content knowledge and fluency with ICT in
order to be successful workers and continual learners in a fluid, expanding
global economy (Sparks, 1998). And, ministries of education have placed
emphasis on ICT to ensure that students develop the abilities to make
informed choices about ICT, to use ICT skilfully, and to become
technological innovators (Alberta Education, 1998; Bitter et al, 1997;
Learning Media, 1995). Thus, use of ICT in schools had become both a
pedagogical and a political issue in these nations.
A second assumption was that information and communications
technology may be used in a variety of ways in education. But, not all ICT

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use in schools is meaningful, pedagogically sound, fiscally responsible, or

ethical. The study focussed on using ICT as a teaching and learning tool,
and the selection criteria for principals to participate in the study reflected
this emphasis.
In using intensity sampling (Patton, 1990) to structure the study, I
intended to select participants and research sites that would contribute to
rich description and create opportunities for me to learn. I also considered
the concept of maximum variation sampling (Patton, 1990) in selecting
principals and their schools. I wanted the study to present the rich
descriptions of each case that would document its uniqueness, but I was also
searching for shared patterns that appeared across cases and derived their
significance as generic processes or constructs (Huberman & Miles, 1994).
I also assumed that a constructivist qualitative research methodology
with interview, observation, and document analysis data collection methods
was a valid means of acquiring a description of the lived experiences of
principals in ICT-enriched schools (e.g. Guba & Lincoln, 1994; Marshall &
Rossman, 1995; Schwandt, 1994). Developing understandings from within
participants’ experience permits their unique interpretations to emerge.
Seeking understanding in this way acknowledged that the principal’s
knowledge of ICT leadership was valued and worthy of study.
A final assumption was that researcher knowledge and experience in
the fields of educational leadership and educational technology strengthened
this study. Bringing my experience as principal of an ICT-enriched school to
bear on the study assisted in formulating questions for the participants, in
establishing trust with them, in understanding what was heard and seen
during the periods of gathering data, and in the final data analysis.

Methods
As sole researcher, I conducted individual semi-structured interviews with
the principals and staff members of the three core research sites, and I
conducted focus group interviews with students and parents (See Table I). I
also observed a variety of classes and other staff member and student
interactions. I reviewed relevant print and electronic documents from the
individual schools and their school districts – items such as ICT plans or
handbooks, web sites, ICT competency guidelines for students and teachers,
and principal appraisal criteria. In addition, I spent time in several other ICT-
enriched schools located in the same geographical area as the core research
site. In these seven schools, described in my study as authentication sites, I
interviewed the principal, toured the school, and met with staff members and
students to develop a sense of the local context of ICT-enriched schools.
In order to refine the subsequent data collection and analysis, I
personally transcribed the interviews with the assistance of voice recognition
software and quickly returned transcripts to the participants for editing.
After I left the research sites, I continued to make contact with the study

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participants – using the Internet, telephone, and mail – to clarify issues that
arose. Thus, data analysis was a recursive process that occurred across all
phases of the investigation rather than a distinct final stage of research. I
used qualitative coding and generally adhered to the process suggested by
Strauss & Corbin (1990) in developing the ICT leadership framework,
although not in a linear fashion from open coding to axial coding to
selective coding.

CORE RESEARCH SITE PARTICIPANTS – CANADA

Individual Semi-structured Interviews
Principal
Assistant principal
Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher and ICT facilitator
Project teacher
Student Focus Group Interview (participants selected by the principal)
Grade 6 students – one girl and one boy (ages 11-12 years)
Grade 7 students – two girls and two boys (ages 12-13 years)
Parent Focus Group Interview (participants selected by the principal)
Two mothers and one father

CORE RESEARCH SITE PARTICIPANTS – NEW ZEALAND

Individual Semi-structured Interviews
Principal
Deputy principal
ICT specialist teacher
Three classroom teachers
Student Focus Group Interview (participants selected by a classroom teacher)
Form 1 students – four boys and one girl (ages 11-12 years)
Parent Focus Group Interview (participants selected by the principal)
Two mothers and two fathers

CORE RESEARCH SITE PARTICIPANTS – UNITED STATES

Individual Semi-structured Interviews
Principal
Staff developer and partnership coordinator
Information specialist
Two classroom teachers
Intern teacher
Student Focus Group Interview (participants selected by a classroom teacher)
Sixth grade students (ages 11-12 years) – three girls and three boys
Parent Focus Group Interview (participants selected by the principal)
Two mothers and three fathers

Table I. Summary of core research site interviews.

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ICT Leadership Findings and Discussion

In using case format for reporting qualitative research, Patton (1990)
suggested that ‘important shared patterns that cut across cases derive their
significance from having emerged out of heterogeneity’ (p. 172). The
principals in this study were certainly heterogeneous. They were located in
three different countries with varying educational governance structures.
The principals were at different stages of their administrative and teaching
careers. Both men and women were included in the study. Their schools,
varying in size from 250 to 850 students, were located in rural areas, in
small cities, and in the suburbs of large urban areas. The schools also were
at varying stages in the cycle of ICT planning, implementation, and
evaluation. Despite their personal and professional differences and the
differences in their school contexts, the principals shared an unwavering
vision that ICT had the potential to improve student learning. These
principals also portrayed a passionate commitment to providing appropriate
ICT professional development for their staff members. And, each principal
was a very skilful entrepreneur who used a carefully constructed social
network to locate creative sources of ICT hardware, software, and expertise.

An ICT Leadership Framework

In the framework that arose from the study, I suggested that ICT leadership
as demonstrated by these principals might be organized into eight
categories, each with specific characteristics or properties that will be
explained in subsequent sections of this article. Using descriptors selected
from the language of the participants, I characterized ICT leadership as
equitable providing, learning-focussed envisioning, adventurous learning,
patient teaching, protective enabling, constant monitoring, entrepreneurial
networking, and careful challenging. I concluded that each of the principals
in the core research sites demonstrated these characteristics, but in varying
degrees. Also, these characteristics were evident in the principals of the
authentication sites – again, in varying degrees. To assist with clarity of
discussion, the characteristics might be considered as located on a
continuum (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) from baseline to moderate to strong. As
an example, the principal from the Canadian core research site might be
described as a beginning administrator with expert ICT skills who showed
strong protective enabling characteristics. Or the American principal, as an
experienced administrator with competent ICT skills who showed strong
constant monitoring characteristics but moderate careful challenging
characteristics. And finally, the New Zealand principal, as a veteran
administrator with novice ICT skills who showed strong equitable providing
characteristics but baseline adventurous learning characteristics. However in
my study, there was no intent to create a rating scale for principals or to
suggest that an exemplary principal could, or even should, possess strong

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characteristics associated with all of the ICT leadership categories. Also

there was no assumption that these characteristics were static. It is
reasonable to question whether the dimensions (e.g. baseline, moderate,
strong) of various ICT leadership characteristics change throughout the
principal’s experiences in a particular school. To rephrase this: are the
dimensions of the ICT leadership characteristics cyclical as principals move
through the process of planning, implementation, evaluation, and planning
again that is inevitable with ICT use in schools?

ICT Leadership Characteristics

As explained earlier, transformational leadership research provided a
foundation for this study. Therefore, it was not unexpected that the ICT
leadership characteristics and practices demonstrated by the principals also
resonated with transformational leadership factors (e.g. charisma,
inspiration, individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation),
dimensions, and practices described by Burns (1978), Bass & Avolio (1990),
Leithwood (1994), and others. And, I will suggest possible linkages in the
descriptions that follow. (Please note that, in the descriptions of the ICT
leadership characteristics and in the remainder of the article, the phrases in
quotation marks indicate the specific language of the study participants.)

Equitable Providing. The principals in the study were the ‘providers’ of

school ICT hardware, software, and complementary resources:
The teachers believe it’s my job to find ways for us to do things [with
ICT]. I never take no for an answer ... even if I run into a dead end. If
it’s really important to us, they know I’ll make it happen. (Principal
interview, January 1999)
The descriptor ‘equitable’ indicated the perceived importance that the
principals, staff members, and students placed on the principal ‘providing
access’ to the ICT for all staff members and students, not only for select
‘techie’ teachers and students. Leithwood’s (1994) summary of
transformational leadership practices also described the principal treating
staff members equitably and not showing favouritism to individuals or
groups. A teacher explained that ‘It’s not hard to get the computers because
of the way the school is laid out. It’s not in a lab you have to go into in a
formal sense. The physical layout allows that [flexible access] to happen.’ In
one school, the principal mentioned that ‘any student from any room [could]
use any of the computers on demand’, and he employed a computer desktop
warning system to ensure that ‘students [could] be easily found when
necessary’. Associated with ‘equitable providing’ was the value placed on the
principal securing the technical support to keep the ICT ‘infrastructure
robust’:

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[Teachers] get their students out there to research something or to do

math, and [an ICT failure] happens two or three times, and they don’t
try it again. With students twirling around and poking one another,
[teachers] are going to give up. They’re willing to give this a try, but if
they have too many glitches, they’ll just give up. (Teacher interview,
January 1999)
In order to create essential on-site technical support, the principals often
readjusted staffing formulas to provide ‘small parcels of time’ for interested
staff members to do ICT work:
In many schools [creating a school web site or maintaining the servers]
is another task that is added on to the technologically competent
teacher in the school after the rest of the day is complete. If something
is of value, then you need to give time and resources to do that. That is
something that we probably do more than many other school
environments do. (Principal interview, February 1999)
Learning-focussed Envisioning. These principals were the ‘keepers of the
[school ICT] visions’. The ability of a leader to transmit a vision or sense of
mission and to create enthusiasm in followers is also characteristic of
charisma, a transformational leadership factor (Bass, 1990, p. 22). A teacher
explained that most principals, who were very different than her current
principal, were unable to ‘hold the vision and support people towards that
vision’. She indicated that:
... the rest of them deek out all of the time. Their images of teaching and
learning have not progressed ... because they are not fluent enough or
comfortable enough with the technology. They can spout the words of
teaching and learning changing, but when you start to make some of
those changes they are really uncomfortable with it. (Teacher interview,
January 1999)
‘Learning-focussed’ described the value that the principals, staff members,
and parents placed on the principal keeping student learning at the centre
of ICT decision making. Another teacher reiterated the importance of the
principal’s clear vision and ‘personal investment in the idea of using
technology’ for teaching and learning: ‘There has to be a passion in the
principal’s mindset that this is something that is going to improve the
achievement, the education, of students’. Leithwood (1994) indicated that
‘demonstrating an unflagging commitment to the welfare of students’ (p. 10)
is characteristic of transformational leaders. Similarly, one principal
explained his commitment to authentic student learning with ICT:
A big part of what I think technology enables us to do is to allow
students to be able to make the work their own. We’ve all seen
classrooms where all of the kids are doing the same worksheet at the
same time. We’ve seen the art projects where all the students are
pasting tissue paper onto the same picture the same way. [ICT] allows

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us to go beyond that paradigm and enable students, not to do

schoolwork, but to do their own work. That’s what makes the difference
in our school. If you look at the way the kids are working and you talk
to them about their work, they’re not doing schoolwork any longer. It’s
not the teacher’s work; it’s their work. (Principal interview, February
1999)
Another principal reinforced the importance of continually reexamining the
value of ICT in student learning:
[ICT] is a recent addition to the [teacher’s] toolbox that we need to
examine and explore and look at what the possibilities are. I don’t think
we know what all of the possibilities are yet. But, if we keep asking
questions about how does it impact, or how could it impact [on student
learning], we will have a better understanding of how we might use
technology [skilfully]. (Principal interview, February 1999)
Adventurous Learning. The principals in the ICT-enriched schools
demonstrated a desire to be an ICT learner along with staff members and
students. ‘Adventurous’ described the importance that the principals and
staff members placed on the principal developing personal competence with
ICT and being willing to experiment with new technologies and learning
strategies. Consistent with Leithwood’s (1994) description of
transformational leadership practices, the principals sought out new ideas by
visiting other schools, attending meetings and conferences, and ‘doing their
homework’ through reading and research. One principal explained that all
principals should be expected to have some degree of skill with ICT use: ‘If
you don’t use it and have an understanding of what is possible; how can you
possibly have any vision of how [ICT] can add value [to teaching and
learning].’ Although most staff members did not expect their principals to be
ICT experts, they did expect principals to make learning ICT ‘a big part of
their professional improvement every year’ so that they would be able ‘to
imagine the possibilities that technology might offer’ to schools. One teacher
expressed concern that the principal ‘wouldn’t know what the opportunities
[with ICT] were,’ and he ‘wouldn’t know how to mentor or work with the
teachers’ if he did not have the experience of learning how to work with ICT
himself. Another teacher believed that a principal’s ICT skill and experiences
often determined the school’s financial allocation for ICT: ‘Unless you have
had experience with technology yourself, you don’t tend to recognise what
the capabilities are. The budget doesn’t allow for it because the budget is
not seen as needing to allow for it.’

Patient Teaching. These principals were ‘close to the classroom’. They were
‘very keen to teach’ students, staff members, and parents, and they
attempted to create many flexible learning opportunities. Several
transformational leadership studies also described the importance of the

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principal creating and supporting opportunities for professional growth and

development (Kirby et al, 1992; Leithwood, 1994). The descriptor ‘patient’
indicated the importance that staff members placed on the principal being
non-judgmental when they requested assistance to learn ICT. A teacher
explained:
He made [ICT instruction] very available to absolutely everyone that
wanted it, and if you couldn’t come at those times he would sit down
with you at noon hours and show you how to do these things ... He will
take the time. He’s one of those people who will not ask you to do
anything he can’t do or that he does not have the time to help you with.
(Teacher interview, January 1999)
Associated with ‘patient teaching’ was the value placed on the principal
encouraging all staff members to participate in appropriate, individualized
ICT professional development activities. This ICT leadership characteristic
was consistent with the transformational leadership factor of intellectual
stimulation, in which leaders show followers new ways of looking at old
problems and teach them to view difficulties as problems to be solved (Bass,
1990; Bass & Avolio, 1990).

Protective Enabling. The principals in the study often created shared

leadership activities for staff members and students. Although these
principals understood that they possessed ‘positional power’, they valued
shared leadership because it allowed for creation of ‘energized and
committed’ staff members:
When you help people to pursue their passions you’re going to have
tremendous commitment [from staff members] ... because you have two
things running in alignment, the personal and professional goals and
aspirations of the teacher and the organisational goals that we have set
collectively. (Principal interview, February 1999)
Leithwood (1994) also suggested that transformational leaders assist
teachers to develop consistency between their goals and the school goals.
According to one principal, his ‘enabling leadership [had allowed] leadership
to emerge in various places in the school’ and as a result he had ‘the
enviable role of being a leader of leaders’. ‘Protective’ described the value
that the principals and staff members placed on the principal being willing
to ‘remove the roadblocks’ that are often characteristic of educational
bureaucracies. A teacher also explained the necessity for the principal to
support innovative teaching practice:
Even if colleagues line up against you, somehow that administrator
conveys to you that they believe you’re on the right track and will
support you even if you don’t fill all of the papers out or attend to all of
the details ... so we don’t have to spend all of our time deflecting arrows.
(Teacher interview, January 1999)

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Associated with ‘protective enabling’ was the importance placed on the

principal advocating ICT as a learning tool and being willing to defend the
school ICT vision when it was threatened by public or school system forces.
According to Avolio (1997), leaders in transformed organisations also
demonstrated the courage to stay true to the vision, regardless of the
pressures to maintain the status quo. A parent explained that ‘The teachers
that we really value highly would never do what they’re doing or be
supported in another school. Their hands would be slapped, to put it mildly,
for doing what they’re trying to do’.

Constant Monitoring. These principals also ensured that staff members and
students were using the ICT according to the vision of the school, the
district, the provincial/state, or the country. One principal explained ‘I
expect teachers to use technology here. They know that. They’re really clear
on that. If it is true that it is a powerful tool ... then why wouldn’t they be
using it?’ If the district had not mandated teacher ICT competency, then the
principals and staff members often developed their own standards or
‘benchmarks’ based on the outcomes articulated for students. ‘Constant’
illustrated the value that the principals, staff members, and parents placed
on the principal providing close supervision of teaching staff. Another
principal explained that ‘I also know that there are people who are not too
certain about letting go of the control that a teacher has always had in the
classroom. They need to be supported, but they also need to be pushed.’
Leithwood (1994) also suggested that transformational leaders directly
challenge teachers’ basic assumptions about their work as well as their
unsubstantiated or questionable beliefs and practices. In one school several
staff members explained that the principal communicated a strong focus on
classroom practice and accountability for their ICT professional
development:
It’s one thing to just say, ‘Here is someone who’s going to teach you
this particular technology. Have a good day!’ It‘s another thing to say,
‘This person is going to give you the technology tools. Once you have
this information you need to report back with what you’ve learned and
how you can use it [in your classroom].’ (Teacher interview, January
1999)
Another teacher summarised the principal’s ICT supervisory competencies
and highlighted her ability for ‘multi-tasking’:
I see here with ___ an excellent model of a principal who supports the
use of technology because she’s so good at supervising people and
programs. She provides a structure and a support to really encourage
the use of technology. She makes sure we get the people to come in and
troubleshoot. She’s great at making sure committees run well, and we
have a really strong technology committee. She’s excellent at being on

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top of budget and in finding resources to make things happen. She’s

great at delegating, but she’s there supervising making sure the work
gets done. She’s always doing several things simultaneously ... It’s the
structures that are in place and her constant supervision, constant
monitoring to make sure things are happening. (Teacher interview,
January 1999)
Entrepreneurial Networking. In addition, the principals in the study were
very skilful ‘partnership builders’ with school district administrators, ICT
vendors, and higher education personnel. One principal explained the
importance of developing ‘ethical partnerships’ in education:
We have tried to define clearly what the values and benefits are in
advance of implementing any kind of partnership, and we’ve talked
about the benefits for us and for potential partners. We’ve learned how
best to capitalize on these relationships, but it’s been through
identifying and adhering to what we said was really important [about
student learning]. (Principal interview, January 1999)
‘Entrepreneurial’ described the value that the principals, staff members, and
parents placed on the principal being able to ‘groom relationships’ and
develop a support network in order to find the necessary ICT resources for
the school. Another principal explained that ‘Some of my dearest colleagues
are the maintenance workers for the district, and they know that I respect
them for what they do.’ As a result, she consistently received positive
responses regarding ICT infrastructure issues. Still, these principals had ‘to
scrounge and to be in the right spot at the right time ... always looking for
opportunities’ in order to find the necessary ICT resources for their schools:
I guess I’ve always believed that if you want something, and you know
that it’s right to want something, it’s okay to ask ... If I know that the
___ Center is remodelling and giving away desks and chairs, I’ll make a
contact and see what I can do about it ... We just cut deals with
everyone. (Principal interview, January 1999)
Careful Challenging. The principals in the ICT-enriched schools were
innovative educators – individuals ‘on the edge of knowledge’ regarding ICT
and learning. A principal compared the ‘commitment and passion’ associated
with learning both in kindergarten and in graduate school to explain his
desire to create a similar learning environment for his students:
So what happens in between [kindergarten and graduate school]? We do
something totally different. A big part of it is historical. That’s just the
way things have evolved in our educational system. It’s based on a time
that no longer exists and needs that are no longer present, yet we
continue to live out that legacy. We really need to change. (Principal
interview, February 1999)

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These principals often valued opportunities to ‘challenge [educational]

assumptions’ and found inspiration ‘in breaking those barriers that are so
traditionally entrenched’ in school bureaucracies. Similarly, Bass (1990)
explained that transformational leaders sometimes are ‘mavericks’ (p. 26)
who are willing to take unpopular positions and who know when to reject
conventional wisdom. One principal explained that for him, ‘Leadership
doesn’t set the limits ... It helps people break limits.’ This type of leadership
often required that he did not limit his thinking to ‘what we have
conventionally seen the roles [of principals] to be’. Another principal
especially valued developing business and higher education partners as
allies ‘to break through some of the constraints of the forces that exist in
the district’. ‘Careful’ described the importance that the principals, staff
members, and parents placed on the principal having enough political
sophistication to understand how much risk taking would be accepted or
tolerated within the organisation, without jeopardising her career or
creating difficulties for his school. For several principals there was an
underlying sense that their ‘butts [were] out on a line’ and that ICT
leadership could be ‘a very uncomfortable place’ at times.

ICT Leadership and its Practical Applications

Although this study focussed on principals in ICT-enriched schools, it also
has potential to assist other educators. As one of the teachers in the study
suggested: ‘It’s an obligation now. We just have to accept that [ICT] is all
around us.’ As a principal, I believe we must ensure that ICT becomes a tool
to enhance learning, teaching, and leadership, or we risk squandering
valuable student and teacher time – and school district money.
Imagine a scenario where principals from the ten ICT-enriched schools
included in this study are participants in a discussion regarding ICT,
leadership, and learning. And, another principal poses the question: ‘What
have you learned from your experiences that would help me cope with the
daily issues related to ICT in my school?’ I suggest that their practical
wisdom could be stated rather simply:

o Shift your personal vision to value ICT as a learning tool rather than as a
course to be taught in isolation.
o Accept that a shared leadership style will help you manage your
workload and will foster staff member commitment to developing a vision
for ICT in teaching and learning.
o Deploy computers in ‘easy-access, high-use areas’ such as classrooms,
libraries, or hallways.
o When you purchase ICT hardware and software, buy ‘top of the line’; the
‘best [ICT equipment] you can afford’ generally provides increased
longevity and durability.

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o ‘Put the best machines in the hands of teachers’ rather than in computer
labs.
o Promote ‘any technology at any time for any learning purpose’ access to
ICT by students and staff members.
o Remove the ‘computer coordinator/teacher’ position from your staff
roster, and be clear about your expectations for all teachers to learn to
use ICT in their classrooms.
o Follow up with appropriate supervision, so that teachers know you really
care about whether or not they use ICT in teaching and learning.
o Provide ‘appropriate training and adequate time’ so that several staff
members can assist with on-site network administration and
troubleshooting.
o Understand that neither principals, nor teachers, develop comfort or skill
with ICT by listening to experts talk; instead, support ‘hands-on, needs-
based, just-in-time’ professional development for all staff members.
o ‘Groom’ a network of people who can help you find answers to ICT
questions: teachers, students, parents, ICT vendors, ‘switched-on’
principals, university faculty, maintenance workers, technical support
people…
o Actively search for ‘ethical partnerships with credible organisations’
outside of your school to provide additional sources of ICT equipment
and expertise.
o Become an ICT learner along with your staff members and students.

Further Questions Regarding ICT Leadership

At the completion of a research project, suggesting answers to initial
questions is an expected outcome. In this area of sparse educational
leadership research, I suggest that being able to ask more informed
questions is also an important outcome. While I have suggested a general
framework for ICT leadership as a springboard to further discussion, there
are many questions to consider. This study only investigated the lived
experiences of principals in ten ICT-enriched elementary and middle schools
(ages 5-14 years). Most importantly, is it possible for other researchers to
identify the ICT leadership characteristics and practices suggested by this
study? And, how might these ICT leadership categories apply to principals at
other levels in schools that are not considered to be ICT enriched?
The principals of the ICT-enriched schools in this study faced many
challenges. Are principals who possess the suggested ICT leadership
characteristics selected for such ICT-enriched schools? Or, once principals
are placed in ICT-enriched schools do they develop these characteristics as
survival mechanisms in the chaotic environments that, according to Kearsley
& Lynch (1992), almost exclusively require new procedures, policies, and
interactions?

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Finally, this study focussed on the ICT leadership of school principals.

How might the ICT leadership characteristics suggested by the study apply
to ICT coordinators, ICT specialist teachers, information specialists, or
classroom teachers who accept ICT leadership roles in schools or in teacher
education departments?

A Final Reflection on ICT Leadership

One of the principals in the study explained his image of ICT leadership
using a mountain climbing analogy:
We’re on the edge, and it can be a very uncomfortable place ... The
climbers show a clear sense of direction; they know where they are
going ... The things that are most memorable to us as people are those
things that happen in those [challenging] kind of circumstances ...
Leadership [in this context] doesn’t set the limits. It helps people break
limits ... Leadership is about being able to recognise and identify the
best person to lead that particular pitch on the way up a mountain.
Leadership has everything to do with maintaining the focus on the
summit that you’re climbing toward and also being focussed on what
needs to happen in the next ten metres. To seek out those handholds
and footholds and not to be limited by what we have conventionally
seen them to be. (Principal interview, February 1999)
For the past 15 years, I have approached my work as principal, which is
fraught with interruptions and challenges and crises specifically as it relates
to ICT, mostly with optimism. And, I have had to consider each day as an
opportunity to learn something new, along with my students and staff
members. This study strengthens my view of the inherent complexity of
schoolwork for students and teachers, and for principals, in our ICT age.
But, it also reinforces an essential joy of contemporary leading, learning, and
thinking – using ICT tools to develop insight and create shared knowledge
with ‘individuals of like minds’.

Correspondence
Dianne L. Yee, 52 Point Drive North West, Calgary, Alberta T3B 5B3,
Canada (dlyee@ucalgary.ca).

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