Information and communication technology (ICT) in secondary schools: the role of the computer coordinator

A study was conducted in 2002 to evaluate the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in 21 secondary schools in one region of New Zealand. As part of the study, the role of the ICT coordinator was investigated. All the ICT coordinators were surveyed and 14 of them were interviewed in-depth. It is found that they were all well-equipped to take up a significant leadership role in their schools and some of them have already demonstrated visible leadership. This paper also identifies some obstacles that have reduced their effective leadership in ICT use in their schools. Introduction In the last few years there has been a great increase in the accessibility of computers in schools. For example, in the United States, the computer-to-student ratio in public K– 12 schools has improved from 1 : 9 in 1996 to 1 : 4.2 in 2001 (Market Data Retrieval, 2001). Internet access has also increased from 70% of the public schools having Internet access in 1997 to 92% of schools in 2001 (Market Data Retrieval, 2001). In New Zealand, one recent study (Lai et al , 2002) reported a computer-to-student ratio of 1 : 6.3 in secondary schools, and a subsequent study reported a ratio of 1 : 9.5 in primary schools (Lai and Pratt, 2002). These studies also found that with the increase of accessibility, more teachers had better computing skills and were using more information and communication technology (ICT) in their work than previously; however, the level of technology integration in the school curriculum remained rather low (Lai et al , 2002). It seems that Cuban’s 1999 comments regarding classroom use of ICT as being ‘uneven, slow, and of decidedly mixed variety’ has continued to be the case. A number of factors have been suggested as affecting teachers’ use and integration of ICT in teaching. For example, both our own research (Lai and Pratt, 2002; Lai et al , 2001) and others’ (Becker, 1999; British Educational Communications and Technology Agency [Becta], 2000; Falloon, nd; Murray and Campbell, 2000) found that teachers’ ICT-related skill and confidence levels, and their knowledge of ICT, affected the likeli462 British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 35 No 4 2004 © British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, 2004. hood that they would use ICT, both personally and in their teaching, as did their knowledge of how to utilise and integrate ICT in their classrooms. In addition, we found teachers’ pedagogical beliefs regarding the value of the use of technology, and their attitudes toward technology in general, affected their use of ICT (Lai et al , 2001). At the school level, it is important that schools have a culture in place that encourages and supports the use of ICT (Education Review Office, 2000; Sheingold and Hadley, 1990). Schiff and Solmon (1999) found that in order for ICT to be effectively utilised within US schools, there was a need for a well-designed technology plan driven by strong leadership. A 2002 Becta report on the effect of ICT on educational standards in British primary schools, also emphasised the importance of good leadership, both in terms of ICT leadership and general school leadership, while Somekh et al (2001) commented that the ICT coordinator’s approach to ICT affected the approach of the whole school. Our own research also highlighted the role of the ICT coordinator in managing changes (Lai et al , 2002). While these are factors that need to be considered in integrating technology into the school curriculum, this paper focuses on the leadership role of ICT coordinators, and their roles and responsibilities in providing a vision, developing a school culture and providing a plan for professional development. The importance of the need for informed leadership when innovations are to be implemented successfully is noted. For example, Becta (2002) investigated what factors were necessary for schools to make good use of ICT. Five crucial factors were found: (1) ICT resources, (2) ICT teaching, (3) ICT leadership, (4) general teaching and (5) general school leadership. Each of these five factors needed to be present in schools if ICT was to be used well. The report noted that Although ICT opportunities are typically provided by the classroom teachers, the quality of leadership and management of ICT in a school is crucial to the provision of good ICT learning opportunities. As the quality of ICT leadership improves, so does the percentage of schools providing good quality ICT learning opportunities (20–21). Although recognising the school principal as a key change agent for innovations (Fullan, 1991), the notion of shared leadership at the school level has been suggested as a better model for the implementation of innovations, with the principal not being considered the single source of direction and inspiration (Hopkins et al , 1994). Hopkins and his colleagues argue that school leadership should not be constrained by one individual’s (ie, the principal’s) intellectual, emotional and physical energy. Moreover, task-relevant expertise is considered to be a major factor contributing to leadership effectiveness. For example, school-based professional development is better organised and facilitated by the ICT coordinators, who usually have a deeper understanding of integrating computer technologies into the school curriculum and can provide a role model for teachers (Lai et al , 2001). A search of the ERIC database revealed that little research has been undertaken to investigate the leadership role of the ICT coordinator. Earlier work was mainly conducted by Moursund (1992) and Strudler (1994; Strudler and Gall, 1988), who investigated the roles and responsibilities of the ICT coordinators (also called technology ICT in secondary schools: the role of the computer coordinator 463 © British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, 2004. coordinators) both at the school and district levels in the US. Moursund (1992) suggested that a technology coordinator had four general categories of duties, including working (1) as a computer facilities manager, (2) with school administrators and district-level educators, (3) with teachers and (4) with students. He also listed 13 specific duties for technology coordinators, including technical support; short-term and longterm planning of instructional use of ICT; helping teachers to develop curriculum materials and lesson plans; providing professional development for teachers; managing hardware and software, and resource budgets; supporting students; and evaluating ICT programmes and professional learning. A study conducted by Strudler and Gall (1988), which investigated the role of technology coordinators in three US primary schools, found that the ICT coordinators were responsible for training teachers, providing technical support, organising the school’s instructional computing programme, and supporting and energising teachers. A follow-up study by Strudler (1994) showed that school-based technology coordinators, as change agents, could support teachers to overcome various obstacles encountered when using technology in their teaching. Strudler (1994) suggests that without the support that technology coordinators provide it is unlikely that technology would have an impact on teaching and learning. Similar conclusions were noted by Becker (1994), who found that exemplary computer-using teachers in the US were more likely to be found in schools with adequate professional development and computer coordination. One clear conclusion from the literature is that the ICT coordinators should not end up doing everything related to ICT in the school, simply by default. According to Lucock and Underwood (2001), the ICT coordinator is primarily a teacher, and therefore his/her main responsibility is to guide ICT teaching and learning in the school. Their suggestion is echoed by Reilly (1999), who maintains that the ICT coordinator should be the curriculum leader but not the ‘electronic janitor’. The need for curriculum support is found in a study by Moallem et al (1996). This study investigated the roles and responsibilities of the technology resource teachers and the effects of their roles on the integration of technology in the classroom in six middle schools in the US. They found that although the resource teachers spent around 75% of their time on technical support, teachers in these schools expected their role to be instructional, providing them with instructional support through workshops and demonstrating the application of software. They recommended that these teachers should be trained in the field of instructional design so they could follow the analytical, systematic and evaluative approach necessary to help teachers better integrate technology into their teaching. A study exploring an ICT initiative in British schools (Somekh et al , 2001) found that the ICT coordinators in many of the schools were responsible for a number of areas, including professional development, students’ skill levels, the development of infrastructure, and the use of ICT to support teaching and learning. They noted that coordinating the use of ICT to support teaching and learning was usually the area that received little attention when they were needed to provide technical support. 464 British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 35 No 4 2004 © British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, 2004. In an earlier study of Otago ICT coordinators (Lai et al , 2002), the present authors found that other than spending a lot of time maintaining equipment (ensuring everything was working), the ICT coordinators also had major responsibilities related to professional development and curriculum support such as: • Keeping up-to-date with new innovations in the field • Deciding future directions for their schools • Organising and offering in-school professional development workshops and seminars, mentoring other teachers, and team teaching with other teachers • Provid