REFLECTIVE PAPER
After going through the current studies, my understanding and perception about leadership changed as I had perceived leadership a fixed position but the literature based evidences and classroom interactions were too dominant and convincing to accommodate (Illeris, 2003) new learning which came as leadership a set of functions and leadership as a concept (Leithwood & Steinbach, 2000) rather than a formal role (Leithwood, 2004; Lieberman, 1988). Based on this understanding this reflective paper focuses on how a trust team views its role as a leader. I will try to critically examine and analyze the practices of a trust, based on two visits to explore the leadership and its pedagogy. However, I feel that two visits were insufficient to have a deeper understanding of the topic which is of-course a huge area to discuss. This paper will outline the background information, state of the existing leadership model and practices and lastly will try to put forward some recommendations.
The trust was a result of an inspiration of a worst situation observed by a renowned singer of Pakistan, when he observed some children in a far-flung area of Sindh, Pakistan who were constrained to drinking contaminated water from a well where birds and animals were lying dead. This situation was a though provoking event for him. Hence, he, with the support of his friends and fans, launched XYZ trust, with the aim to provide basic needs for the children, specifically with the vision that trust will be a leader in providing opportunities to a better life through education to the underprivileged working children of Pakistan. However, the focus has now been expanded towards the ‘children in public schools’ besides ‘underprivileged working children’. Under this trust, currently there are 34 schools operational in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore where almost 2155 working children are getting educational benefits, while 148 teachers are employed. One government schools is also handed over by government to the trust while negotiations for others are in process.
Of-course, it seems a noble cause, and at the other hand there is a harsh reality that currently there are 8 Million Child Labors in Pakistan (Chaudhry, 1999) caused by constant poverty which forces the parents to send their children to work for an additional income. The childhood rights to get education, the chance to play and opportunities for the normal physical development are basic human rights, denied to these 8 million children. Perhaps, now in Pakistan, we are so used to child labors that we don’t even notice it. I reflect on my own behavior that when this task was given, I explored different materials on child laboring and started taking notice of child labors around me, else, I never critically thought about. (Absolutely, it is my new learning). It could be probably the cultural context and mind-set of every common person in Pakistan.
With above worst situation of child labouringly in Pakistan, will the trust be able to accommodate and achieve its goals and vision? Of-course not, but the trust has taken initiatives to fill the gap being within its capacity and limitations, not to facilitate all these 8 millions children but to contribute its share with the slogan that, ‘no differences can only make the difference’. This can be through provoking message to every one of us.
XYZ Trust mainly endeavors to facilitate non-formal primary education to the underprivileged working children of Pakistan to make them better citizens for a brighter future. It has introduced a new notion of education as ‘Education as Labor’, because it also extends financial support to these deserving working children by providing a fixed stipend of Rs 10/- daily in exchange for the time they take out from their every day jobs to attend schools. Through this initiative XYZ Trust is trying to make a difference in the society. The education imparted to these children would help them to take on board with the mainstream society and become useful citizen of Pakistan.
Initially I was exactly not aware of the structure of this trust and its leadership style, and I had thought of sampling one of its trust members to explore his/her pedagogy of leadership. But after going through the whole system of the trust and its schools network, I opted the whole XYZ Trust officials as leadership for the schools whom I found occupying various roles in the school and leadership was not static. They were providing direction and exert influence in order to achieve the school’s goals (Leithwood, 2004).
The leadership style, which I perceived was purely based on the given criteria and tasks proposed by Sergiovanni (1998) as the trust is striving hard for capital development through focusing their ministerial roles seriously and embodying it by emphasizing the practices purposing, maintaining harmony, institutionalizing values, motivating, problem solving, managing, explaining, enabling, modeling and supervising. I found the evidences of every task in Trust leadership and in their controlled schools with compassion that the organization, its employees and other stakeholders believe in concern and sympathy for the underprivileged, especially the working children. I observed that every individual to whom I met showed a culture of collaboration in trust as well as in schools, which reminded me of a live example of learning community (Lovely & Buffum, 2007) because to create a learning community the major components like respect, caring, inclusiveness, trust, empowerment and commitment (Retallick, Cocklin, & Coombe, 1999) are the essential ingredients and all these were very evidently present.
The second major characteristics of the institutions was the distributed leadership (Gronn, 2003) which starts from willingness to share authority, the capacity to facilitate the work of staff, and the ability to participate without dominating, this was very much evident through out the institution, as every body seemed independent to work toward the achievement of their goals.
The students brought to school are not the normal school students, but they use to come from the background of working class children, and they use to have problematic behaviors. I found the leadership of school emphasizing on character building, as they consider character building to be an integral aspect of their programs, as learning without personal integrity will be of little value to the individual and the society.
I also found that the trust in terms of cultivation, courage, creativity, commitment, and communication is very much consistent, with a culture of high expectations as in the beginning of this paper I have already given the statistics of child labor in Pakistan, but the trust is still striving hard to impart quality education to these underprivileged children and gradually approaching toward its goal. Likewise they have the creativity to create solutions to the potential barriers like the problems in terms of dealing with government schools as they faced some resistance from parents and teaching staff. Trust created a good link and partnership with government to overcome the issue as they believe that without mutual cooperation and support by the government, programs can not get the success. Another problem was adopting the proscribed syllabus in its schools, so with collaboration of a prestigious institution the existing syllabus was maneuvered to meet the needs of the students, so that students could be able to get the most relevant and authentic information through the usage of AV aids in their teaching, which also shows their commitment to look for the best practices.
Trust leadership explained that quality education is every citizen’s right and its responsibility lies with the state. Now, a paradigm shift is required in the mindset of state authorities, the people and the education system to save our future generations from destruction. As a first step towards accomplishment of its vision, Trust had initially started educational facilitation for the underprivileged working children of Pakistan, but now they have expanded their service scope from these children to other children studying in government schools through public-private partnership to maximize the mass coverage. Trust believes there is not a single decent public school in Pakistan, so what future do these children studying in public schools have if they study 61-year-old textbooks in a rapidly progressing world? Trust believes that a student must learn from the textbook how to learn, change and inquire freely rather than becoming a “lakeer ka faqeer”. If we want our future generations to ask the right questions then a culture of discussion, interaction, proactive thinking and asking questions needs to be encouraged, then we have to update our curriculum according to the needs of time. To address these needs, Trust has created its own syllabus up to class 5th, which has already been mentioned above.
Likewise according to the Trust, a ‘public school’ is nothing more than a room, chalkboard and a teacher, which can be termed as ‘something is better than nothing’ but Trust emphases that this term should never be used when it comes to health and education. They justify it by saying that a ‘reason to believe’ sets the ball rolling slowly, but in the right direction. It is not strange when extraordinary people do extraordinary things. But when they have a ‘reason to believe’, even ordinary people start doing extraordinary things.
Conclusion and Recommendation
I have been privileged to work with many dynamic, adaptive and creative colleagues who represent the essential qualities of effective leadership. Yes; the group members, I really appreciate their kindness, generosity and knowledge sharing attitude though which I got many new ideas and learning. Concluding this reflective paper, I am confident to say that the school is on the track to transform the school to a LC. A slight supportive and collaborative atmosphere is needed for further progress by the Principal. DL extends authority and influence to groups and some further downed distribution of responsibilities can flourish school further. On going professional development is always the assurance of success that needs to be initiated, while taking appropriate measure to retain the trained staff.
REFERENCES
Chaudhry, M.A.K. (1999). Child Labor: Facts an Fiction. The Lahore Journal of Economics, 2(2). 119 - 123
Gronn, P (2003). The New Work of Educational Leaders: Changing Leadership Practice in an Era of School Reform. London. Sage Publications.
Illeris, K. (2003). Towards a contemporary and comprehensive theory of learning. International Journal of Lifelong Education. 22(4), 396-406
Leithwood, K. (2004) What we know about successful leadership. The practicing Administrator, 4
Libereman, A. (1988). Building a professional culture in schools. New York. Teachers College Press.
Lovely, S. & Buffum, A.G. (2007). Generations at School: Building an Age-Friendly Learning Community. California: Crown Press.
Retallick, J. Cocklin, B. & Coombe, K. (Eds.). (1999). Learning Communities in Education: Issues, strategies and contexts. London: Routledge.
Serviovanni, T. (1998). Leadership as pedagogy, capital development and school effectiveness. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 1(1), 37-46
Stewart, D. & Prebble, T. (1993). The Reflective Principal: School Development Within a Learning Community. New Zealand: ERDC Press Massey University.
Leithwood, K., Jantizi, D., and Steinbach, R. (2000). Changing leadership and changing times. (reprint). Buckingham: Open University.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Research Proposal.
INTRODUCTION
Leadership is a key component in guiding the teaching-learning process necessary for preparing students with relevant knowledge and skills in today’s society to become a productive citizen of the 21st century. According to Dinham (2005) leadership is important in developing effective, innovative schools and in facilitating quality teaching and learning through computers. Today’s head teachers are expected to not only manage the day to day activities of a school but also focus on students learning, standards, data driven decision making and restructuring efforts. All these tasks can be greatly facilitated by the use of computer. Thus, school leadership has a responsibility for initiating and implementing school change through the use of computers to facilitate decisions about integration of ICT into learning and teaching (Schiller, 2003).
Although the attitude of head teachers in supporting computer integration is critical, much of the research literature has tended to overlook the attitude of the principal (Michael, 1998) and the head teacher’s current technology leadership capabilities. This gap in the research is unusual because many studies relating to school effectiveness, school improvement and change show that head teachers’ attitude play an important role in creating successful change in schools (Schiller, 2003). In addition, little is known about the attitude, perception and use of computers by school head teachers in Pakistan. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the attitude and perception of principals for long lasting ICT integration in Education, which is on its initial phases in Pakistan.
Rationale
In my experience in schools in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, I have come across situations where teachers or student-initiated ICT projects have been undermined due to lack of support from the school head teachers. While encouraging staff members to use computers for classroom instruction and administration, I realized that head teachers have a critical role to play (Chin, 2000). In order for head teachers to encourage the use of computers among the staff, their own attitude towards using the technology matters a lot. Consideration of user attitude is an integral part of educational computer use as attitudes influence not only head teachers’ initial acceptance of computer, but their future behavior regarding computers. Experiences suggest that provision of hardware and software alone is inadequate to guarantee effective integration of computers into school without the learners’ inclination to use technology. Researchers are of the opinion that awareness and attitudes toward computers, constitutes a crucial criterion in the evaluation of computer application and usage including the development of computer-based curricula (Woodrow, 1991; Kay, 1993; Robertson et al, 1995).
Therefore, as a first step towards understanding the processes of computer integration, the purpose of this study is to explore the attitudes of the head and deputy head teachers of Sindh and Baluchistan toward computers in education.
Research Question
· What are the current attitudes of government schools’ head teachers and deputy head teachers of Sindh and Balochistan toward the use of computers in education?
· What are the relationships between head teachers’ attitude toward computers and their demographic and computer use information?
Definition of Key Terms
· Attitude: Attitude is the way of behaving and feeling good and bad about something or some body.
· Attitude toward Computers: It means positive or negative contribution towards understanding the computer.
Significance of the Study
The study will be significant in several ways:
1. This study will provide data to understand the head teachers’ attitude towards computers, which will be relevant as one of the sources of reference for policy makers, curriculum planners and for Ed-Links Project Team to plan professional development programs in future, to improve the current condition of curricula so as to determine the needs and trends for computers, and to suggest recommendations for changes.
2. As a researcher, I will further enhance my skills of conducting quantitative study in educational contexts.
3. The findings of the study will contribute to the research literature on the attitudes of schools heads in the implementation of computers in education.
4. In this study, I will use a tool which has been used as part of a study in several countries. By using this tool, I will be able to test the reliability and validity of the tool for the head teachers in Pakistan. This would be another significant contribution to the field.
LITERATURE REVIEW
This is a review of literature where I have tried to thematically describe in four sub-categories i.e. Attitude, Computers in education, role of head teacher in change management process and finally research on head teachers’ attitudes towards computers.
Attitude
Most definitions seem to agree that an attitude is a state of readiness, a tendency to act or react in a certain manner when confronted with certain stimuli (Oppenheim, 1966). A person may have strong attitudes for or against some issue and we can explore through confronting the individual with an attitude questionnaire (Evans, 1965).
An attitude is accompanied by a tendency to act in a particular way in given circumstances; it is sometimes possible to infer the attitudes of an individual from his/her response (Evans, 1965). Attitude is how we think and whether we lean toward the optimistic or pessimistic. Attitude is a mental position relative to a way of thinking or being. A positive attitude implies a way of thinking that is predominantly positive and optimistic. The opposite inclination, a negative attitude is predominantly pessimistic. All human gets influenced with their different perceptions towards the attitude. What type of attitude we use to face, our life will always be repaid to what type of life we are having now (Keller, 2000). A positive attitude is a person’s passport to a better tomorrow and if we are willing to change our attitude, we can change as Keller (2000) cites James as, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind”.
According to Aiken (1980), attitudes are "learned predispositions to respond positively or negatively to certain objects, situations, concepts, or persons" (p. 2). They can be thought of as a reflection of an individual's global perspective on a topic and can be predictive of behavior. Attitude is the way a person thinks about somebody or something and the way s/he behaves toward someone. It is her/her personal view or opinion of something. It also describes her/his general emotional approach to any person or situation. Attitude is a primary component of our mannerism. It is the foundation for achieving and maintaining a positive mental outlook. We see the world the way we are or should be. Our beliefs about others reflect back at us.
Finally attitudes are referred to the way of behaving and feeling good and bad about something or some body. Similarly attitude toward computer in education means positive or negative contribution towards understanding the world and computer. Like Petty & Cacioppo cited in Abell and Lederman (2007) defines attitude as, “an attitude is a general and enduring positive or negative feeling about some person, object or issue (p.78)”.
Computers in education
Computer became an important part of human life in this era and because of technology involvement; life style of human being has been gradually changed, as technology used to extend human capability to control and modify natural and human-made environments (Raizen et al, 1995). Ultimately Educational institutions are also in this transactional phase. Technology recommends and offers new capabilities that lead to significant changes in the organizational day to day affairs. It shows the new way of allocation and distribution of information throughout the institution.
In discussion about the potential role of technology in education as many educators believe that computer use for instructional purposes can be employed effectively to enhance teaching and learning. In other words, computer technologies can change the teacher’s role from information giver to facilitator and co-learner (Jonassen et al., 1999). Similarly, Attaran and Vanlaar (2001) pointed out that technology reduces record keeping time in schools and simplifies administrative tasks. Also, computer networking is creating a professional attachment between teachers and administrators.
Crawford (1997) has very artistically defined computer as a powerful tool, an interesting, patient and responsive teacher, makes learning easier and more attractive, a pupil-centered, independent and flexible learning, gives access to on-line learning resources, promotes sharing and collaboration, promotes diversity, blind to gender, race, age and disability, but if not taken the benefit of computer in its real sense all this theoretical ideas will remain the contents of books and articles. Computers cannot be integrated into classroom overnight. Technology integration includes different stages. Despite the increasing presence of computer hardware and software in schools and numerous workshops and training, the consistent integration of ICT into regular classroom is still a far cry from reality (CEO Forum, 2000)
Role of the head teacher in change management process
Safdar (2001) very artistically describes the import role of head teacher as;
I have never seen a good school with a poor principal or a poor principal with a good school. I have seen unsuccessful school turned around into successful ones, and regressively outstanding schools slide rapidly into decline. In each case, the rise and fall could be readily be traced to the quality of the principal.
According to Fullan (2003), no successful large-scale change or school reform effort has advanced very far without the support of the school leaders. Similarly, Schiller (2003) stated that “principals have a key role to play in the facilitation of educational change” (p. 4). Schiller (2003) concludes in his research that head teachers who take an active approach and attitude to innovation can foster an environment that has greater benefits for their students and staff. Hence, head teachers’ attitude, awareness and use of computer are essential for effective use and integration of computers in the school (Smith et al., 1999). Therefore, successful ICT development within the school will require the leader with positive attitude towards technology. For the effectiveness and sustainability of computer integration, head teachers’ attitude and their awareness in the use of technology is very much essential.
As it has already been proved through different researches that effective involvement of head teacher in computer integrating in schools has brought better outcomes (Schiller, 2003). Literature further clarifies that head teachers are the main sources of intervention in terms of ICT integration. The studies of Schiller (1991) highlight the positive attitude of school head teachers in helping their staff better use of computers to enhance teaching and learning and to assist with administration and management. While another research of Allan, Yuen, Nancy, & Wong (2003) indicates that to ensure the successful integration of ICT in school, cooperation between school leadership and teachers is essential.
In the age of information technology, head teachers must be able to integrate computer into their daily practice and to provide consistent and positive leadership for technology use in the teaching-learning process. In fact, they must be technology leaders. According to Hope, Kelly and Guyden (2000) technology leadership involves both understanding the technologies and how they can be applied to accomplishing tasks. If head teachers’ attitude towards ICT is better then they will be able to promote a school culture which encourages exploration of new techniques in teaching, learning and management (Schiller, 2003). Therefore, schools need leaders who can facilitate the change process and support a learning community for technology integration.
Research on head teachers’ attitudes towards computers/ change
Based on various research studies, a wide range of factors have been found to affect technology integration in the school. Of these, leadership attitude of head teacher is the single most important factor affecting the successful integration of technology (Byrom & Bingham, 2001).
Studies showed that head teachers played an important role for promoting computers use in schools and classrooms. Their attitude and support were highly related with if schools would have the climate and environment where teachers wanted to use computers in their classrooms (Dupaggne & Krendl,1992; Pelgrum, 1993; Pelgrum & Plomp, 1991a; Pruett et al., 1993). Researches have shown that schools head teachers usually had positive attitude toward use of computers and favor teachers to use them in schools (Wolf, 1993). The result would not only influence teachers' attitude for using computers but also offered support to teachers to use computers. Pelgrum (1993) confirmed that the correlation of the attitude for using computers in schools between teachers and head teachers is positive. Akker and Pelgrum (1993) concluded that school head teachers having positive attitude for computers reported a higher frequency of stimulation of computer use by school authorities than those who have less positive attitude.
Head teachers with more positive attitude for using computers tended to emphasize the impact, purposes, and integration of computers in schools and encourage teachers to use computers more. Pruett et al. also (1993) found that teachers whose head teachers or supervisors encouraged them to use computers were more possible to use them in their instruction. They also, hence, provided more opportunities of in-service programs for teachers. The tendency to use computers was formed positively. Support and training of personnel were helpful for teachers' use of computers and motivated them to use more and deeply (Becker, 1994). Support from head teachers and administrators are very important because of offering adequate training, hardware and software, and time to plan in order to promote and motivate teachers to integrate computers into curriculum.
Wilmore and Betz (2000) stated that “Information Technology will only be successfully implemented in schools if the head teacher actively supports it, learns as well, provides adequate professional development and supports his/her staff in the process of change” (p. 15). Hence, head teachers are one of the key leaders of change at the school level. Their actions, interests and attitude can have a profound impact on program change and instructional practice. Therefore, effective administrators must have a positive attitude towards computers and knowledge.
These findings are clearly confirmed that head teachers' attitude toward computers will decide the level of ICT integration. The relationship between school leadership and the use of computer often plays an important role to encourage and facilitate the use of computers within their schools for administrative and managerial work (Visscher, 1996) as well as for instructional activities (Akker, Keursten & Plomp, 1992). It refers to the concept of educational leadership (Creemers, 1994), whereby school leaders can influence and improve what happens in the teaching/learning process. The extent to which school head teachers promote the use of computers in their schools probably depends on the degree to which they consider computer useful. Their views on this matter can be evident in a number of ways, such as how they incorporate computer into their own school tasks and the school policy measures that they effect to promote the incorporation of ICT into their schools.
The whole vision of getting the school ready and up to date with the use of educational technology in the classroom would not be complete without the commitment and readiness of the head teachers.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Methodology
The purpose of my study is to measure the attitude of head teachers towards computers, therefore, the most logical method for gathering information on attitudes is to ask directly from head teachers, who are leading schools, through an attitudinal survey research method (May, 2003). Such surveys specifically deal with gaining data on attitudes. According to Fink and Kosecoff (1998) “survey is a method of collecting information directly from people about their ideas, feelings, … beliefs and social, educational … background” (p. 1). This design will also allow me to get information from a large number of head teachers through the questionnaire method, which is widely used as a useful research instrument for collecting survey information and providing structured and numerical data, within a short period of time, which are often straightforward to analyze (Cohen, Manion & Marrison, 2000). Since my research requires collecting data at a single point in time, I have selected a cross-sectional survey because a “cross-sectional survey produces a ‘snapshot’ of a population at a particular point in time” (Cohen, Manion & Marrison, 2000). An additional advantage of the cross-sectional survey is that it is quicker to conduct and cheaper to administer (Fraenkel and Wallen, 2006; Fink and Kosecoff, 1998).
Background of Study Sample
Since the government sector is the largest provider of education in Pakistan and Federal Government has also stressed great emphasis on enhancing the scope and amount of computers in Education. In this regard ‘The links to learning: Education Support to Pakistan (ED-LINKS)’ is also working with government on the same track, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).The ED-LINKS project is designed to facilitate implementation of the government’s agenda for quality education at the middle and secondary levels in Sindh, Balochistan, FATA and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
Apart from other activities of teaching learning process, ED-LINKS program also includes up-gradation and establishment of Computer Labs in selected middle and secondary schools of the project area. ED-LINKS is working closely with the Ministry of Education and the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) for effective implementation of target activities in the selected schools, functioning in four rural and one urban sectors of FDE.
ED-LINKS is comprised of a team of international and local partners. AIR, the prime is joined by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF-US/Pakistan) including affiliates, Aga Khan University Examination Board and Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development, Children’s Resource International Pakistan, Management Systems International (MSI), Society for Community Support for Primary Education in Balochistan (Society), Sarhad Rural Support Program (SRSP), Teachers Resource Center (TRC), and Kids-on-line.
Ed-Links program has initiated a 10 week Certificate in Education: Educational leadership and management course at AKU-IED from July 2008 and it will continue till January 2009. The course is consisting of eight different modules about teaching learning processes. My research topic can be assisted by the fourth module i.e. Integration of ICT with Teaching Learning.
In this course the head teachers and deputy head teachers from the Government Schools of Balochistan and Sindh are taking part in three different cohorts. Specifically talking about the focus areas in Baluchistan are; Qilla Abdullah, Qilla Saifullah, Pishin, Loralai, Sibi, Bolan, Jaffarabad, Khuzdar, Awaran, Panjgoor and Kech and from Sindh; Khairpur, Shikarpur, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur, Dadu, Jamshoro, Jacobabad, Sanghar, Kashmore, Nawabshah and Tharparkar.
Through Ed-links program all the CPs are being exposed to the use of computers and in my opinion this exposure would be a patronizing factor toward positive or negative attitude toward computers. I assume all these CPs will be the representative samples, who have been drawn by the respective DEOs – District Education Officers, keeping the future facilitation and need in view. Understanding their attitude toward computers will guide for appropriate intervention plans in these areas and schools.
Sample
Good sampling achieves representativeness (Balnaves and Capuli, 2001) and is considered to finding ways to give all population members an equal chance of being selected and one of these is to use the probability methods for choosing a sample (Bryman, 2004). Samples selected through probability sampling techniques are more likely to be representative of the population they are drawn from and thus the likelihood of generalizing from sample to population increases. Keeping this criterion in mind, I intend to choose Ed-links program - ‘10 Week Certificate program for head teachers and deputy head teachers’- participants (male & female) of three cohorts total 224 CPs who will be invited to complete a questionnaire.
Data Generation Tool
To explore the attitudes towards computers of government school head teachers and deputy head teachers, I intend to adopt questionnaire developed by Pelgrum and Plomp, (1993) which was initially tested and validated in England, Germany, Greece and Netherlands. Then the tool was used as a part of study in several countries including China and India. The findings of the study confirmed the validity and reliability of this questionnaire. The research (Pelgrum, 1993) has suggested giving some more attention to females who seem, on the whole to be somewhat less positive about the educational impact of using computers than their male colleagues while Hashim, & Mustapha, (2004) have found that female respondents have more positive computer attitudes than males. So, it will be an interesting study to know about the gender difference according to attitude toward computer in Pakistani context.
The questionnaire is relevant to the purpose of my study which is to measure the attitude toward computers. This questionnaire is designed not only for the head teachers but it can also be used for students and teachers. Furthermore, as the appearance of the questionnaire is also important (Cohen, Manion and Marrison, 2000), when I looked at the appearance, it looked easy, attractive and interesting because the statements were according to the understanding level of any grade, in simple language and with very clear wording. Not only appearance looked okay, but the items were also relevant to explore my concern. As Robson (2002) states,“ a good questionnaire not only provides a valid measure of the research questions but also gets the cooperation of respondents, and elicit accurate information” (p.242), while Balnaves & Caputi (2001) describe questionnaire as an ‘ambassador’ for the research project.
Tool Piloting Phase
A preliminary test of a questionnaire helps to identify problems and benefits associate with the design (Balnaves and Caputi, 2001) and to get a better understanding of the frame of reference relevant to the questionnaire and question wording. Hence, the English questionnaire has been translated into Urdu and checked through back translation to ensure accuracy of translation and for an easy understanding of respondents.
Although, the tool has been piloted and validated, mostly in developed countries, and tool asks questions which appear relevant to the local context of Pakistan but still I feel there is a need to pilot it since it was used in a completely different context, and it is now translated in Urdu, therefore, I am in process to pilot the tool to check its construct and internal validity in the context of Pakistan. For this purpose I have already negotiated with CPs of M.Ed. (ELM) 2010 of AKU-IED and pilot testing phase is in process. I have not changed the originality of items. Nevertheless, the tool is being pilot tested and changes will be made accordingly if deemed necessary.
Questionnaire is based on two parts. Part A requests general demographic and computer use information while Part B is the measuring of Attitudes Toward Computers. Further details on the questionnaire are provided below:
Part A: Demographic and Background Information
In this section participants will be asked to provide information about their work experience, gender, age, highest level of education, do they own a computer, what area is their school located, in which province they belong to, do they use a computer and have they got any formal computer training. All these variables will be treated as independent variables, which will also be used for comparison and to identify the co-relation with attitudinal components during data analysis as a survey in comparison can cover a rang of issues and normally results in a variable by case matrix (person by age, person by education etc) (Balnaves & Caputi, 2001).
Part B: Attitude Towards Computer
The questionnaire consists of 20 items. Of these 20 statements, 18 are worded positively and two are worded negatively. Statements will correspond to four main dimensions namely;
1. Perceived Educational Impact
2. Perceived Social Impact
3. Training needs and
4. Self Confidence level
This tool employs a 5-point Likert scale to measure attitude as attitude scale plays an important role (May, 2003), in which head teachers will be asked to rank their attitude toward computers ranging from 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (not sure), 4 (agree) and 5 (strongly agree).
As far as getting ‘the cooperation of respondents’ and eliciting the ‘accurate information’ is concerned I am aware that the head teachers’ attitude towards computer questionnaire has not been tested (to the best of my knowledge) in Pakistan, hence it should be validated first in order to be able to do the above. Questionnaire will be mailed with a covering letter explaining the purpose of the questionnaire and stressing the need for cooperation and the anonymity of replies (May, 2001). I will enclose a stamped, addressed return envelope for respondents’ convenience in returning the completed questionnaire (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2000).
All questionnaires will be treated confidentially, only identification number will be printed on each questionnaire. The number will be used for convenience to recognize the respondent.
Intended Data analysis procedures
After the data collection, I intend to analyze data using the statistical software SPSS which according to Gaur & Gaur (2006) is the most reliable software for analyzing quantitative data, for frequencies, percentages, cross tabulation and descriptive statistics. The population variables of age, level of education, level of work experience, computer use, computer training, gender and their locality will be given numeric values to aid in data analysis. Following will be the step by step process of intended data analysis.
Data entry
I will create a data set by defining the variables, attaching labels and entering the pre-coded responses. The code for missing data will be ’99’ and for ‘invalid’ or ‘not applicable’ the code will be ’98.’
Data cleaning
After data entry, data cleaning is as important as the need to proof-read text for errors (Robson, 2002). I will carry-out data cleaning by checking the data for errors which could have been made while ‘keying in’ the data. After simple eye-balling of the data for any visible anomalies, I will conduct univariate analysis to explore each variable separately in my data set. Univariate analysis looks at the range as well as the central tendency of the values (Field, 2005). It also describes the pattern of response to the variable because it depicts each variable on its own.
Analysis
Firstly, descriptive statistics will be calculated for all variables. Means, standard deviations, minimums, and maximums will be calculated for continuous variables. Frequencies and percentages will be calculated for categorical variables.
Secondly, the data will be disaggregated by demographic variables, and inferential statistics will be calculated to assess the relationships between the demographic variables and attitudinal variables. I will also use descriptive statistics to describe and summarize the data.
Limitations in the Study
Like every research, my research will have some limitations that need to be acknowledged at this stage. Normally survey designs use to have a number of limitations. The most serious weakness concerns the validity and reliability of responses obtained to questions. Surveys provide only verbal descriptions of what respondents’ say they do or how they feel about something. Responses cannot always be taken as accurate descriptions of what the respondents actually do or really feel about something. I acknowledge that following will be my limitations.
Response rate
The mailed questionnaire is probably the most frequently used method for surveying; however, they tend to result in lower response rates (Dillman, 1978) and thus are more likely to obtain results that are biased in favor of the sample population most interested in the survey topic. Secondly, my research participants are in the far flung areas of Baluchistan and Sindh. I fear of delayed or misplaced delivery of mail.
To overcome this issue, I will have a face to face meeting with them as they will be visiting AKU-IED for their course participation and will request them to ensure their participation and for an early return mail. However, respondents will be given approximately two weeks from the date of initial mailing to return the questionnaires. For the purpose of reciprocity and to increase the response rate, I will send a thank you postcard/letter to all respondents after two weeks of my initial mail (questionnaire). This postcard/letter will serve both as a friendly reminder for non-responding individuals to respond and as a thank you to individuals who already responded.
Social Desirability
It is obvious that when we know that other people are watching us, we will tend to behave in a way we believe is socially acceptable and desirable. It is a common tendency and nature of human being to reply in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others. I expect some responses in this category.
Again this issue can be eliminated by face to face meeting and assuring them through the research information sheet that there is no any right or wrong answer and strict maintenance of anonymity of their identification would surely decrease the social desirability, as the tool doesn’t ask about their names or any other personal identification. Secondly as I am sending postal surveys and respondents will not perceive themselves to be in a survey situation, and thus I expect more open and fair personal information.
Monitoring the answers
As my research tool will be mailed to the respondents to be filled and return to me. So, I will not be in a position to monitor filling up process at every individual’s end. May be some people will pass questionnaires to others to answer.
Through information sheet and during face to face meetings, I will try to motivate and honor that their own responses are very much valuable for me.
Ethical Consideration
As I am intending to carry out an academic or educational setting research, so, I have to consider and be aware of the ethics as “Ethics in research are the principles of right and wrong that a particular group accepts” (Bogdan and Biklen, 1998, p.49). To ensure the dignity, privacy and interests of the participants I am using an anonymous survey, so that respondents’ privacy could be guaranteed or non-traceable (Cohen et al. 2002).
I will seek permission of the people who I will be studying to conduct research involving them. I will not do anything that would cause physical or emotional harm to my research participants. I will be reporting research findings accurately representing what I will get through my measurement tool.
As a researcher I must pay attention to the ethical principals as the term research ethics indicates a moral enterprise between the researcher and the research participants (Vazir, 2004). It refers to the question of right or wrong, and it is conforming to the standards of conduct specified in research (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2006).
Therefore, I will inform the research participants about the purpose of the research and expectations. I will provide a complete information sheet to every participant about the research by clearly stating the purpose of the study along with the consent forms.
I will also assure my respondents that the information provided by them would be used for the study purposes only. The privacy of the records would be maintained and no one would have access to them before analysis and report-writing. After completion of the study the records would be destroyed in accordance with the Institute’s policy and the dissemination of research findings would be done in accordance with the ethical considerations of not harming the personal and academic lives of participants involved. I will also write letters of thanks to the head teachers as a token of my appreciation and in the spirit of reciprocity.
Time Frame Schedule
Table 1: Time Frame
S #
Activities
From
To
Days
1
Proposal Writing
06/10/2008
24/11/2008
48 days
2
Translation of instrument.
10/11/2008
18/11/2008
08 days
3
Piloting the instrument
18/11/007
30/11/2008
12 days
4
Analysis
01/12/2008
10/12/2008
10 days
5
Mailing Questionnaire
15/12/2008
25/12/2008
10 days
6
Thanks and Reminder letters
31/12/2008
10/01/2009
11 days
7
Collection of Questionnaire
15/01/2009
31/01/2009
16 days
8
Data entry & Analysis
01/02/2009
14/02/2009
15 days
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Wilmore, D., Betz, M. (2000). Information Technology and Schools: the principal’s role. Educational Technology and Society. Available at: http://ifets.ieee.org/periodical/vol_4_2000/v_4_2000.html 105Woodrow, J., (1991). A comparison of four computer attitude scales. Journal of Comp
Leadership is a key component in guiding the teaching-learning process necessary for preparing students with relevant knowledge and skills in today’s society to become a productive citizen of the 21st century. According to Dinham (2005) leadership is important in developing effective, innovative schools and in facilitating quality teaching and learning through computers. Today’s head teachers are expected to not only manage the day to day activities of a school but also focus on students learning, standards, data driven decision making and restructuring efforts. All these tasks can be greatly facilitated by the use of computer. Thus, school leadership has a responsibility for initiating and implementing school change through the use of computers to facilitate decisions about integration of ICT into learning and teaching (Schiller, 2003).
Although the attitude of head teachers in supporting computer integration is critical, much of the research literature has tended to overlook the attitude of the principal (Michael, 1998) and the head teacher’s current technology leadership capabilities. This gap in the research is unusual because many studies relating to school effectiveness, school improvement and change show that head teachers’ attitude play an important role in creating successful change in schools (Schiller, 2003). In addition, little is known about the attitude, perception and use of computers by school head teachers in Pakistan. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the attitude and perception of principals for long lasting ICT integration in Education, which is on its initial phases in Pakistan.
Rationale
In my experience in schools in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, I have come across situations where teachers or student-initiated ICT projects have been undermined due to lack of support from the school head teachers. While encouraging staff members to use computers for classroom instruction and administration, I realized that head teachers have a critical role to play (Chin, 2000). In order for head teachers to encourage the use of computers among the staff, their own attitude towards using the technology matters a lot. Consideration of user attitude is an integral part of educational computer use as attitudes influence not only head teachers’ initial acceptance of computer, but their future behavior regarding computers. Experiences suggest that provision of hardware and software alone is inadequate to guarantee effective integration of computers into school without the learners’ inclination to use technology. Researchers are of the opinion that awareness and attitudes toward computers, constitutes a crucial criterion in the evaluation of computer application and usage including the development of computer-based curricula (Woodrow, 1991; Kay, 1993; Robertson et al, 1995).
Therefore, as a first step towards understanding the processes of computer integration, the purpose of this study is to explore the attitudes of the head and deputy head teachers of Sindh and Baluchistan toward computers in education.
Research Question
· What are the current attitudes of government schools’ head teachers and deputy head teachers of Sindh and Balochistan toward the use of computers in education?
· What are the relationships between head teachers’ attitude toward computers and their demographic and computer use information?
Definition of Key Terms
· Attitude: Attitude is the way of behaving and feeling good and bad about something or some body.
· Attitude toward Computers: It means positive or negative contribution towards understanding the computer.
Significance of the Study
The study will be significant in several ways:
1. This study will provide data to understand the head teachers’ attitude towards computers, which will be relevant as one of the sources of reference for policy makers, curriculum planners and for Ed-Links Project Team to plan professional development programs in future, to improve the current condition of curricula so as to determine the needs and trends for computers, and to suggest recommendations for changes.
2. As a researcher, I will further enhance my skills of conducting quantitative study in educational contexts.
3. The findings of the study will contribute to the research literature on the attitudes of schools heads in the implementation of computers in education.
4. In this study, I will use a tool which has been used as part of a study in several countries. By using this tool, I will be able to test the reliability and validity of the tool for the head teachers in Pakistan. This would be another significant contribution to the field.
LITERATURE REVIEW
This is a review of literature where I have tried to thematically describe in four sub-categories i.e. Attitude, Computers in education, role of head teacher in change management process and finally research on head teachers’ attitudes towards computers.
Attitude
Most definitions seem to agree that an attitude is a state of readiness, a tendency to act or react in a certain manner when confronted with certain stimuli (Oppenheim, 1966). A person may have strong attitudes for or against some issue and we can explore through confronting the individual with an attitude questionnaire (Evans, 1965).
An attitude is accompanied by a tendency to act in a particular way in given circumstances; it is sometimes possible to infer the attitudes of an individual from his/her response (Evans, 1965). Attitude is how we think and whether we lean toward the optimistic or pessimistic. Attitude is a mental position relative to a way of thinking or being. A positive attitude implies a way of thinking that is predominantly positive and optimistic. The opposite inclination, a negative attitude is predominantly pessimistic. All human gets influenced with their different perceptions towards the attitude. What type of attitude we use to face, our life will always be repaid to what type of life we are having now (Keller, 2000). A positive attitude is a person’s passport to a better tomorrow and if we are willing to change our attitude, we can change as Keller (2000) cites James as, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind”.
According to Aiken (1980), attitudes are "learned predispositions to respond positively or negatively to certain objects, situations, concepts, or persons" (p. 2). They can be thought of as a reflection of an individual's global perspective on a topic and can be predictive of behavior. Attitude is the way a person thinks about somebody or something and the way s/he behaves toward someone. It is her/her personal view or opinion of something. It also describes her/his general emotional approach to any person or situation. Attitude is a primary component of our mannerism. It is the foundation for achieving and maintaining a positive mental outlook. We see the world the way we are or should be. Our beliefs about others reflect back at us.
Finally attitudes are referred to the way of behaving and feeling good and bad about something or some body. Similarly attitude toward computer in education means positive or negative contribution towards understanding the world and computer. Like Petty & Cacioppo cited in Abell and Lederman (2007) defines attitude as, “an attitude is a general and enduring positive or negative feeling about some person, object or issue (p.78)”.
Computers in education
Computer became an important part of human life in this era and because of technology involvement; life style of human being has been gradually changed, as technology used to extend human capability to control and modify natural and human-made environments (Raizen et al, 1995). Ultimately Educational institutions are also in this transactional phase. Technology recommends and offers new capabilities that lead to significant changes in the organizational day to day affairs. It shows the new way of allocation and distribution of information throughout the institution.
In discussion about the potential role of technology in education as many educators believe that computer use for instructional purposes can be employed effectively to enhance teaching and learning. In other words, computer technologies can change the teacher’s role from information giver to facilitator and co-learner (Jonassen et al., 1999). Similarly, Attaran and Vanlaar (2001) pointed out that technology reduces record keeping time in schools and simplifies administrative tasks. Also, computer networking is creating a professional attachment between teachers and administrators.
Crawford (1997) has very artistically defined computer as a powerful tool, an interesting, patient and responsive teacher, makes learning easier and more attractive, a pupil-centered, independent and flexible learning, gives access to on-line learning resources, promotes sharing and collaboration, promotes diversity, blind to gender, race, age and disability, but if not taken the benefit of computer in its real sense all this theoretical ideas will remain the contents of books and articles. Computers cannot be integrated into classroom overnight. Technology integration includes different stages. Despite the increasing presence of computer hardware and software in schools and numerous workshops and training, the consistent integration of ICT into regular classroom is still a far cry from reality (CEO Forum, 2000)
Role of the head teacher in change management process
Safdar (2001) very artistically describes the import role of head teacher as;
I have never seen a good school with a poor principal or a poor principal with a good school. I have seen unsuccessful school turned around into successful ones, and regressively outstanding schools slide rapidly into decline. In each case, the rise and fall could be readily be traced to the quality of the principal.
According to Fullan (2003), no successful large-scale change or school reform effort has advanced very far without the support of the school leaders. Similarly, Schiller (2003) stated that “principals have a key role to play in the facilitation of educational change” (p. 4). Schiller (2003) concludes in his research that head teachers who take an active approach and attitude to innovation can foster an environment that has greater benefits for their students and staff. Hence, head teachers’ attitude, awareness and use of computer are essential for effective use and integration of computers in the school (Smith et al., 1999). Therefore, successful ICT development within the school will require the leader with positive attitude towards technology. For the effectiveness and sustainability of computer integration, head teachers’ attitude and their awareness in the use of technology is very much essential.
As it has already been proved through different researches that effective involvement of head teacher in computer integrating in schools has brought better outcomes (Schiller, 2003). Literature further clarifies that head teachers are the main sources of intervention in terms of ICT integration. The studies of Schiller (1991) highlight the positive attitude of school head teachers in helping their staff better use of computers to enhance teaching and learning and to assist with administration and management. While another research of Allan, Yuen, Nancy, & Wong (2003) indicates that to ensure the successful integration of ICT in school, cooperation between school leadership and teachers is essential.
In the age of information technology, head teachers must be able to integrate computer into their daily practice and to provide consistent and positive leadership for technology use in the teaching-learning process. In fact, they must be technology leaders. According to Hope, Kelly and Guyden (2000) technology leadership involves both understanding the technologies and how they can be applied to accomplishing tasks. If head teachers’ attitude towards ICT is better then they will be able to promote a school culture which encourages exploration of new techniques in teaching, learning and management (Schiller, 2003). Therefore, schools need leaders who can facilitate the change process and support a learning community for technology integration.
Research on head teachers’ attitudes towards computers/ change
Based on various research studies, a wide range of factors have been found to affect technology integration in the school. Of these, leadership attitude of head teacher is the single most important factor affecting the successful integration of technology (Byrom & Bingham, 2001).
Studies showed that head teachers played an important role for promoting computers use in schools and classrooms. Their attitude and support were highly related with if schools would have the climate and environment where teachers wanted to use computers in their classrooms (Dupaggne & Krendl,1992; Pelgrum, 1993; Pelgrum & Plomp, 1991a; Pruett et al., 1993). Researches have shown that schools head teachers usually had positive attitude toward use of computers and favor teachers to use them in schools (Wolf, 1993). The result would not only influence teachers' attitude for using computers but also offered support to teachers to use computers. Pelgrum (1993) confirmed that the correlation of the attitude for using computers in schools between teachers and head teachers is positive. Akker and Pelgrum (1993) concluded that school head teachers having positive attitude for computers reported a higher frequency of stimulation of computer use by school authorities than those who have less positive attitude.
Head teachers with more positive attitude for using computers tended to emphasize the impact, purposes, and integration of computers in schools and encourage teachers to use computers more. Pruett et al. also (1993) found that teachers whose head teachers or supervisors encouraged them to use computers were more possible to use them in their instruction. They also, hence, provided more opportunities of in-service programs for teachers. The tendency to use computers was formed positively. Support and training of personnel were helpful for teachers' use of computers and motivated them to use more and deeply (Becker, 1994). Support from head teachers and administrators are very important because of offering adequate training, hardware and software, and time to plan in order to promote and motivate teachers to integrate computers into curriculum.
Wilmore and Betz (2000) stated that “Information Technology will only be successfully implemented in schools if the head teacher actively supports it, learns as well, provides adequate professional development and supports his/her staff in the process of change” (p. 15). Hence, head teachers are one of the key leaders of change at the school level. Their actions, interests and attitude can have a profound impact on program change and instructional practice. Therefore, effective administrators must have a positive attitude towards computers and knowledge.
These findings are clearly confirmed that head teachers' attitude toward computers will decide the level of ICT integration. The relationship between school leadership and the use of computer often plays an important role to encourage and facilitate the use of computers within their schools for administrative and managerial work (Visscher, 1996) as well as for instructional activities (Akker, Keursten & Plomp, 1992). It refers to the concept of educational leadership (Creemers, 1994), whereby school leaders can influence and improve what happens in the teaching/learning process. The extent to which school head teachers promote the use of computers in their schools probably depends on the degree to which they consider computer useful. Their views on this matter can be evident in a number of ways, such as how they incorporate computer into their own school tasks and the school policy measures that they effect to promote the incorporation of ICT into their schools.
The whole vision of getting the school ready and up to date with the use of educational technology in the classroom would not be complete without the commitment and readiness of the head teachers.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Methodology
The purpose of my study is to measure the attitude of head teachers towards computers, therefore, the most logical method for gathering information on attitudes is to ask directly from head teachers, who are leading schools, through an attitudinal survey research method (May, 2003). Such surveys specifically deal with gaining data on attitudes. According to Fink and Kosecoff (1998) “survey is a method of collecting information directly from people about their ideas, feelings, … beliefs and social, educational … background” (p. 1). This design will also allow me to get information from a large number of head teachers through the questionnaire method, which is widely used as a useful research instrument for collecting survey information and providing structured and numerical data, within a short period of time, which are often straightforward to analyze (Cohen, Manion & Marrison, 2000). Since my research requires collecting data at a single point in time, I have selected a cross-sectional survey because a “cross-sectional survey produces a ‘snapshot’ of a population at a particular point in time” (Cohen, Manion & Marrison, 2000). An additional advantage of the cross-sectional survey is that it is quicker to conduct and cheaper to administer (Fraenkel and Wallen, 2006; Fink and Kosecoff, 1998).
Background of Study Sample
Since the government sector is the largest provider of education in Pakistan and Federal Government has also stressed great emphasis on enhancing the scope and amount of computers in Education. In this regard ‘The links to learning: Education Support to Pakistan (ED-LINKS)’ is also working with government on the same track, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).The ED-LINKS project is designed to facilitate implementation of the government’s agenda for quality education at the middle and secondary levels in Sindh, Balochistan, FATA and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
Apart from other activities of teaching learning process, ED-LINKS program also includes up-gradation and establishment of Computer Labs in selected middle and secondary schools of the project area. ED-LINKS is working closely with the Ministry of Education and the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) for effective implementation of target activities in the selected schools, functioning in four rural and one urban sectors of FDE.
ED-LINKS is comprised of a team of international and local partners. AIR, the prime is joined by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF-US/Pakistan) including affiliates, Aga Khan University Examination Board and Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development, Children’s Resource International Pakistan, Management Systems International (MSI), Society for Community Support for Primary Education in Balochistan (Society), Sarhad Rural Support Program (SRSP), Teachers Resource Center (TRC), and Kids-on-line.
Ed-Links program has initiated a 10 week Certificate in Education: Educational leadership and management course at AKU-IED from July 2008 and it will continue till January 2009. The course is consisting of eight different modules about teaching learning processes. My research topic can be assisted by the fourth module i.e. Integration of ICT with Teaching Learning.
In this course the head teachers and deputy head teachers from the Government Schools of Balochistan and Sindh are taking part in three different cohorts. Specifically talking about the focus areas in Baluchistan are; Qilla Abdullah, Qilla Saifullah, Pishin, Loralai, Sibi, Bolan, Jaffarabad, Khuzdar, Awaran, Panjgoor and Kech and from Sindh; Khairpur, Shikarpur, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur, Dadu, Jamshoro, Jacobabad, Sanghar, Kashmore, Nawabshah and Tharparkar.
Through Ed-links program all the CPs are being exposed to the use of computers and in my opinion this exposure would be a patronizing factor toward positive or negative attitude toward computers. I assume all these CPs will be the representative samples, who have been drawn by the respective DEOs – District Education Officers, keeping the future facilitation and need in view. Understanding their attitude toward computers will guide for appropriate intervention plans in these areas and schools.
Sample
Good sampling achieves representativeness (Balnaves and Capuli, 2001) and is considered to finding ways to give all population members an equal chance of being selected and one of these is to use the probability methods for choosing a sample (Bryman, 2004). Samples selected through probability sampling techniques are more likely to be representative of the population they are drawn from and thus the likelihood of generalizing from sample to population increases. Keeping this criterion in mind, I intend to choose Ed-links program - ‘10 Week Certificate program for head teachers and deputy head teachers’- participants (male & female) of three cohorts total 224 CPs who will be invited to complete a questionnaire.
Data Generation Tool
To explore the attitudes towards computers of government school head teachers and deputy head teachers, I intend to adopt questionnaire developed by Pelgrum and Plomp, (1993) which was initially tested and validated in England, Germany, Greece and Netherlands. Then the tool was used as a part of study in several countries including China and India. The findings of the study confirmed the validity and reliability of this questionnaire. The research (Pelgrum, 1993) has suggested giving some more attention to females who seem, on the whole to be somewhat less positive about the educational impact of using computers than their male colleagues while Hashim, & Mustapha, (2004) have found that female respondents have more positive computer attitudes than males. So, it will be an interesting study to know about the gender difference according to attitude toward computer in Pakistani context.
The questionnaire is relevant to the purpose of my study which is to measure the attitude toward computers. This questionnaire is designed not only for the head teachers but it can also be used for students and teachers. Furthermore, as the appearance of the questionnaire is also important (Cohen, Manion and Marrison, 2000), when I looked at the appearance, it looked easy, attractive and interesting because the statements were according to the understanding level of any grade, in simple language and with very clear wording. Not only appearance looked okay, but the items were also relevant to explore my concern. As Robson (2002) states,“ a good questionnaire not only provides a valid measure of the research questions but also gets the cooperation of respondents, and elicit accurate information” (p.242), while Balnaves & Caputi (2001) describe questionnaire as an ‘ambassador’ for the research project.
Tool Piloting Phase
A preliminary test of a questionnaire helps to identify problems and benefits associate with the design (Balnaves and Caputi, 2001) and to get a better understanding of the frame of reference relevant to the questionnaire and question wording. Hence, the English questionnaire has been translated into Urdu and checked through back translation to ensure accuracy of translation and for an easy understanding of respondents.
Although, the tool has been piloted and validated, mostly in developed countries, and tool asks questions which appear relevant to the local context of Pakistan but still I feel there is a need to pilot it since it was used in a completely different context, and it is now translated in Urdu, therefore, I am in process to pilot the tool to check its construct and internal validity in the context of Pakistan. For this purpose I have already negotiated with CPs of M.Ed. (ELM) 2010 of AKU-IED and pilot testing phase is in process. I have not changed the originality of items. Nevertheless, the tool is being pilot tested and changes will be made accordingly if deemed necessary.
Questionnaire is based on two parts. Part A requests general demographic and computer use information while Part B is the measuring of Attitudes Toward Computers. Further details on the questionnaire are provided below:
Part A: Demographic and Background Information
In this section participants will be asked to provide information about their work experience, gender, age, highest level of education, do they own a computer, what area is their school located, in which province they belong to, do they use a computer and have they got any formal computer training. All these variables will be treated as independent variables, which will also be used for comparison and to identify the co-relation with attitudinal components during data analysis as a survey in comparison can cover a rang of issues and normally results in a variable by case matrix (person by age, person by education etc) (Balnaves & Caputi, 2001).
Part B: Attitude Towards Computer
The questionnaire consists of 20 items. Of these 20 statements, 18 are worded positively and two are worded negatively. Statements will correspond to four main dimensions namely;
1. Perceived Educational Impact
2. Perceived Social Impact
3. Training needs and
4. Self Confidence level
This tool employs a 5-point Likert scale to measure attitude as attitude scale plays an important role (May, 2003), in which head teachers will be asked to rank their attitude toward computers ranging from 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (not sure), 4 (agree) and 5 (strongly agree).
As far as getting ‘the cooperation of respondents’ and eliciting the ‘accurate information’ is concerned I am aware that the head teachers’ attitude towards computer questionnaire has not been tested (to the best of my knowledge) in Pakistan, hence it should be validated first in order to be able to do the above. Questionnaire will be mailed with a covering letter explaining the purpose of the questionnaire and stressing the need for cooperation and the anonymity of replies (May, 2001). I will enclose a stamped, addressed return envelope for respondents’ convenience in returning the completed questionnaire (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2000).
All questionnaires will be treated confidentially, only identification number will be printed on each questionnaire. The number will be used for convenience to recognize the respondent.
Intended Data analysis procedures
After the data collection, I intend to analyze data using the statistical software SPSS which according to Gaur & Gaur (2006) is the most reliable software for analyzing quantitative data, for frequencies, percentages, cross tabulation and descriptive statistics. The population variables of age, level of education, level of work experience, computer use, computer training, gender and their locality will be given numeric values to aid in data analysis. Following will be the step by step process of intended data analysis.
Data entry
I will create a data set by defining the variables, attaching labels and entering the pre-coded responses. The code for missing data will be ’99’ and for ‘invalid’ or ‘not applicable’ the code will be ’98.’
Data cleaning
After data entry, data cleaning is as important as the need to proof-read text for errors (Robson, 2002). I will carry-out data cleaning by checking the data for errors which could have been made while ‘keying in’ the data. After simple eye-balling of the data for any visible anomalies, I will conduct univariate analysis to explore each variable separately in my data set. Univariate analysis looks at the range as well as the central tendency of the values (Field, 2005). It also describes the pattern of response to the variable because it depicts each variable on its own.
Analysis
Firstly, descriptive statistics will be calculated for all variables. Means, standard deviations, minimums, and maximums will be calculated for continuous variables. Frequencies and percentages will be calculated for categorical variables.
Secondly, the data will be disaggregated by demographic variables, and inferential statistics will be calculated to assess the relationships between the demographic variables and attitudinal variables. I will also use descriptive statistics to describe and summarize the data.
Limitations in the Study
Like every research, my research will have some limitations that need to be acknowledged at this stage. Normally survey designs use to have a number of limitations. The most serious weakness concerns the validity and reliability of responses obtained to questions. Surveys provide only verbal descriptions of what respondents’ say they do or how they feel about something. Responses cannot always be taken as accurate descriptions of what the respondents actually do or really feel about something. I acknowledge that following will be my limitations.
Response rate
The mailed questionnaire is probably the most frequently used method for surveying; however, they tend to result in lower response rates (Dillman, 1978) and thus are more likely to obtain results that are biased in favor of the sample population most interested in the survey topic. Secondly, my research participants are in the far flung areas of Baluchistan and Sindh. I fear of delayed or misplaced delivery of mail.
To overcome this issue, I will have a face to face meeting with them as they will be visiting AKU-IED for their course participation and will request them to ensure their participation and for an early return mail. However, respondents will be given approximately two weeks from the date of initial mailing to return the questionnaires. For the purpose of reciprocity and to increase the response rate, I will send a thank you postcard/letter to all respondents after two weeks of my initial mail (questionnaire). This postcard/letter will serve both as a friendly reminder for non-responding individuals to respond and as a thank you to individuals who already responded.
Social Desirability
It is obvious that when we know that other people are watching us, we will tend to behave in a way we believe is socially acceptable and desirable. It is a common tendency and nature of human being to reply in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others. I expect some responses in this category.
Again this issue can be eliminated by face to face meeting and assuring them through the research information sheet that there is no any right or wrong answer and strict maintenance of anonymity of their identification would surely decrease the social desirability, as the tool doesn’t ask about their names or any other personal identification. Secondly as I am sending postal surveys and respondents will not perceive themselves to be in a survey situation, and thus I expect more open and fair personal information.
Monitoring the answers
As my research tool will be mailed to the respondents to be filled and return to me. So, I will not be in a position to monitor filling up process at every individual’s end. May be some people will pass questionnaires to others to answer.
Through information sheet and during face to face meetings, I will try to motivate and honor that their own responses are very much valuable for me.
Ethical Consideration
As I am intending to carry out an academic or educational setting research, so, I have to consider and be aware of the ethics as “Ethics in research are the principles of right and wrong that a particular group accepts” (Bogdan and Biklen, 1998, p.49). To ensure the dignity, privacy and interests of the participants I am using an anonymous survey, so that respondents’ privacy could be guaranteed or non-traceable (Cohen et al. 2002).
I will seek permission of the people who I will be studying to conduct research involving them. I will not do anything that would cause physical or emotional harm to my research participants. I will be reporting research findings accurately representing what I will get through my measurement tool.
As a researcher I must pay attention to the ethical principals as the term research ethics indicates a moral enterprise between the researcher and the research participants (Vazir, 2004). It refers to the question of right or wrong, and it is conforming to the standards of conduct specified in research (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2006).
Therefore, I will inform the research participants about the purpose of the research and expectations. I will provide a complete information sheet to every participant about the research by clearly stating the purpose of the study along with the consent forms.
I will also assure my respondents that the information provided by them would be used for the study purposes only. The privacy of the records would be maintained and no one would have access to them before analysis and report-writing. After completion of the study the records would be destroyed in accordance with the Institute’s policy and the dissemination of research findings would be done in accordance with the ethical considerations of not harming the personal and academic lives of participants involved. I will also write letters of thanks to the head teachers as a token of my appreciation and in the spirit of reciprocity.
Time Frame Schedule
Table 1: Time Frame
S #
Activities
From
To
Days
1
Proposal Writing
06/10/2008
24/11/2008
48 days
2
Translation of instrument.
10/11/2008
18/11/2008
08 days
3
Piloting the instrument
18/11/007
30/11/2008
12 days
4
Analysis
01/12/2008
10/12/2008
10 days
5
Mailing Questionnaire
15/12/2008
25/12/2008
10 days
6
Thanks and Reminder letters
31/12/2008
10/01/2009
11 days
7
Collection of Questionnaire
15/01/2009
31/01/2009
16 days
8
Data entry & Analysis
01/02/2009
14/02/2009
15 days
REFERENCES
Abell, S.K. & Lederman, N.G. (2007). Handbook of Research on Science Education. London: Toutledges.
Aiken, L. R. (1980). Attitude measurement and research. In D. A. Payne (ed.), Recent Developments in Affective Measurement (pp. 1-24). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Akker, J van den, Keursten, P and Plomp, Tj (1992) The integration of computer use in education. International Journal of Educational Research, 17, 65-76.
Alan, H.K., Law, Nancy, & Wong, K.C. (2003). ICT implementation and school leadership: Case studies of ICT integration in teaching and learning. Journal of Educational Administration. 41(2). 158-170.
Attaran, M., Vanlaar, I. (2001). Managing the use of school technology: and eight step guide for administrators. Journal of Management Development, 20 (5), 393-401.
Balnaves, M., & Caputi, P. (2001). Introduction To quantitative Research Methods: An investigative approach. London: Sage Publications.
Becker, H. J. (1994). How exemplary computer-using teachers differ from other teachers: Implications for realizing the potential of computers in schools. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 26, 291-321.
Bogdan, R.C. (1998). Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods (3rd ed.).Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Bryman, A. (2004). Social Research Methods. (2nd ed.) New York: Oxford University Press.
Byrom, E., Bingham, M. (2001). Factors influencing the effective use of technology for teaching and learning: Lessons learned from the SEIRTEC intensive site schools. (2nd ed.). Greensboro, N.C.: University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
CEO Forum. (2000). The power of digital learning: Integrating digital content. CEO Forum School Technology and Readiness. Year 3 Report. Retrieved January 16, 2008 from http://www.technologysource.org/view=article&id=243
Cohen, L., Manion & Morrision, K. (2000). Research Methods in Education. :pmdpm” Routledge Falmer.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2002). Research Methods in Education. (Rev. ed). London: Routledge.
Crawford, R. (1997). Managing Information Technology in Secondary Schools. London: Routledge.
Creemers, BPM (1994) The Effective Classroom. London: Cassell
Dillman, D. A. (1978). Mail and telephone surveys: The total design method. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Dinham, S. (2005). Principal leadership for outstanding educational Outcomes. Journal of Educational Administration, 43 (4), 338-356.
Dupaggne, M., & Krendl, K. A. (1992). Teachers’ attitudes toward computers: A review of the literature. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 24, 420-429.
Evans, K.M. (1965). Attitudes and interests in Education. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Field, A. (2005). Discovering statistics using SPSS for Windows (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Fink, A., & Kosecoff, J. B. (1998). How To Conduct Surveys: A Step-by-Step Guide. London: Sage Publications.
Fraenkel, J. R., & Wallen, N. E., (2006). How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. London. McGraw-Hill.
Fullan, M. (2003). The moral imperative of school leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Gaur, A. S., & Gaur , S. S. (2006). Statistical Methods for Practice and Research: A Guide to Data Analysis Using SPSS. London. Response Books.
Hashim, H. R. Hj. & Mustapha, W. N.(2004). Attitudes toward learning about and working with computers of students at UITM. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology. 3(2), 12-35
Hope, W.C., Kelly, B., & Guyden, J. (2000). Technology Standards for School Administrators: Implications for Administrator Preparation Programs. Paper presented at the Information Technology and Teacher Education Educational Conference, Sand Diego.
Jonassen, D. H., Peck, K. L., & Wilson, B. G. (1999). Learning with technology: a constructivist perspective, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Keller, J. (2000). Attitude is Everything. New York, Attitude is Everything INC.
May, T. (2003). Social research: issues, methods and process. (2nd Ed.). Buckingham: Open University. (Chapter 5).
Michael, S. (1998). Best practices in information technology (IT) management: insights from K-12 schools’ technology audits. International Journal of Educational Management.12 (6), 277-88.
Oppenheim, A. N. (1966). Questionnaire Design and attitude Measurement. Longon: Heinemann.
Pelgrum, W. J. (1993). Attitudes of school principals and teachers towards computers: Does it matter what they think? Studies in Educational Evaluation, 19, 101-125.
Pelgrum, W. J., & Plomp, T. (1991 a). The use of computers in education worldwide: resluts from the IEA ‘Computers in Education: survey in 19 educational systems. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Pruett, P. L., Morrison, G .R., Dietrich, A. P., & Smith, L. J. (1993). Utilization of the microcomputer in the mathematics classroom. Computers in Human Behavior, 9,17-26.
Raizen, S.A., Sellwood, P., Todd, R.D. and Vickers, M., (1995). Technology Education in the Classroom, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
Robertson, S., Calder, J., Fung, P., Jones, A. and O’Shea, (1995). Computer attitudes in an English secondary school. Computers & Education, 24, 73-81.
Robson, C. (2002). Real world research (2nd ed). Oxford: Blackwell Publications.
Safdar, Q. (2001). Reflective practice as a school improvement tool for head teachers: An indigenous perspective. Paper read in ICSEI conference, January, 5 – 9, 2001, Toronto, Canada.
Schiller, J. (1991). Implementing computer education: The role of the primary principal. Australian Journal of Educational Technology. 7(1). 48-69
Schiller, J. (2003). The Elementary School Principal as a Change Facilitator in ICT Integration. The Technology Source. 26(1). 12-22
Smith, G. (1999). Leading and Managing Learning Technologies. Paper presented at the Connected Learning and Learning Technologies in Schools Conference, Brisbane.
Vazir, N. (2004). Research ethics: significance, application and obligation to the practice of research. Journal of Educational Research, 7, 3-11.
Visscher, AJ (Ed) (1996). Information technology in educational management. International Journal of Educational Research, 25(4), 289-390.
Wilmore, D., Betz, M. (2000). Information Technology and Schools: the principal’s role. Educational Technology and Society. Available at: http://ifets.ieee.org/periodical/vol_4_2000/v_4_2000.html 105Woodrow, J., (1991). A comparison of four computer attitude scales. Journal of Comp
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Teacher's Biography
TEACEHR’S BIOGRAPHY
Perhaps, I didn't have any aspiration to become a teacher. All I wanted was to become a doctor or a pilot – Sultan Alam[1]
“I've been a Science Teacher, Science Coordinator and Principal in different educational institutions. When I started my career as a teacher, I had no idea where this profession would lead me to. I never have been motivated to become a teacher by my teachers”. Sultan Alam, a young energetic headteacher, now in first year of Masters in Education program at a prestigious university in Karachi, describes his journey of becoming an educator. His life history is full of diverse experiences to learn, as it can be used to illustrate the power of certain cultural convention (Arnold & Blackburn, 2004). Sultan Alam belongs to Hunza valley in North Pakistan. He started his schooling in his village Hussainabad at D.J[2] Middle School, while for SSC[3] he joined F.G[4] BHS[5] No.1 Gilgit. With a motivation to become a doctor he moved to Karachi for F.Sc.[6], but he could not get a chance to go for MBBS[7], so his motivation shifted towards financial management after B.Sc.[8]
Schools in Northern Areas today need additional efforts to find/hire the professional educators to keep schools competitive as frequent teacher vacuuming occurs. May be there are several reasons for the discrepancy, which is of-course, not the topic of this paper. In 1996, after B.Sc. examination, Sultan Alam moved back to his village which resulted to enter in teaching profession, he terms it as ‘un-intentional entry’. According to him it was a critical incident to lead his career to an unknown path. This is the practice of most of the teachers joining schools in Northern Areas without having theoretical understanding of teaching and learning (Khan, 2004). He describes that the school from where he had started his schooling, was now upgraded to high school and as usual there was discrepancy of Science teachers. The notables of community and school management approached him to handle Science classes. He was morally/emotionally attached with his school and community; hence he could not deny the offer. Despite his original goal and motivation, new opportunity presented itself as a career. He was not sure that he recognized the significance of this incident at the time but he says that he enjoyed the job as the subjects were relevant according to his content knowledge. He confessed that he was lacking pedagogical skills; however his students’ response was good. He emphasized that theoretical pedagogical knowledge is useless if teacher is unaware of the context as it is not just an important element in thinking about human learning but is perhaps central to our understanding (Merriam, 1993). It can be further referred to the ‘fit’ between the teachers’ culture values (Walkeer, & Shuangye, 2007).
Once home exam result of class 9th remained much low to 40%. It was a shock for the headteacher and staff. We faced criticism from community due to Community-Centered Environment (Bransford, 1999). We all took this situation as a challenge and initiated different measures like remedial/extra classes, group works, and parents’ involvement for cooperation etc. keeping in mind the cooperative and collaborative group work has positive effects on academic and social outcomes (Baines, Blatchford, & Chowne, 2007). When the board result announced, it was a sweeping change, securing 75% result, and then we realized that if we work like a team, we can achieve our goals. This was a motivating and learning impact.
Sultan Alam attended a week’s workshop on math and science teaching in the form of Learning Experiences for Practicing Teachers’ (Putnam, R.T. & Borko, H. 2000), where he learnt some basics of pedagogical skills and local resource management, which helped him for his teaching, as he tried to implement in classroom, the methods taught in workshop.
After serving 3.5 years in this school, he started his own assessment as the career was not giving him satisfaction in terms of finance and his static position. So, he decided to continue his education and resigned from the school in 1999 and moved to Karachi for mastery in Environmental Sciences with a motivation to become Government college lecturer.
Although, Sultan Alam had ‘un-intentionally’ got into teaching profession but now he had the experience of teaching, so while doing his masters from KU[9] in the evening shift, he joined a private school, because school teaching was feasible in terms of less hours duty and of-course to meet the financial needs. This exposure to teaching was once again a building on process for his teaching career.
In 2002 he completed his masters and once again returned homeland, where only ‘teaching profession’ awaits everybody. While striving hard to get into government sector education as a lecturer, Sultan Alam worked with D.J Community High School Sultanabad and with an English medium school in Gilgit consecutively.
Sultan Alam’s administrative journey began during his 7th year of teaching. Since he was a teacher, it seemed like a long-shot, when he heard about the vacancy and offer. His exploratory nature finally moved him towards the independent administrative position at a private educational institution Al-Sabah Sakura Academy Gilgit which runs under a local NGO. He became the headteacher of the school in 2006 and started some new initiatives keeping the experiences of different school practices in mind as new headteachers usually began organizational changes (Early, & Weindling, 2007). It was a new experience of leading a group of teachers and dealing with all the stakeholders. It was an outstanding and challenging exposure. He served this school till July 2007, from where he qualified the entry test/interview to get admission in the current course.
He shared a moral story of his headship period at Al-Sabah, that he was nominated SSC examination superintendent in a remote area of Gilgit. During English paper one student right after 1½ hrs of paper distribution solved the paper. Without any idea Sultan Alam took the paper and just skimmed through it and noticed that paper was very well written and was composed accurately, which he was not expecting from a student of such remote area. He become a bit curious and doubtful and asked him to show his admit card, but the student made an excuse of forgetting it in house. So, he went to next room, making student stand, to get copies of admit cards received from the board as a ready reference for superintendent. When he returned back to the room he noticed another boy standing, while the former one was not there! When he matched the picture with the boy, he was the original one, while the boy who was there solving paper, was counterfeit. He enquired. The newly appeared boy insistently told that he is the boy who wrote that paper. Sultan Alam become frustrated on this fake statement and marked paper as UFM[10] and recommended the board to cancel this paper. With this incident he became much curious that teacher should keep every aspect of the matters in mind and should not trust blindly as the invigilators of the same area were present around and they didn’t notify the UFM to him and favored the cheating. According to him, cheaters should face the penalty and now he always refers this happening to his students to discourage the UFM.
The ups and downs of teaching career of Sultan Alam were neither short nor easy. I found him during last 9 months being together for the same course, determined that he has many qualities prized as an outstanding teacher through his experience. He is energetic, enthusiastic, creative, and supportive, which are the loud-calls of his rich experience. His energy and enthusiasm can also be seen through different aspects apart from teaching like his active involvement in sports (volley ball, cricket, badminton, swimming etc.) I appreciate his way of enthusiasm to enjoy life to its fullest. He is desirous to be the kind of person that stands out, so by being creative and supportive, people will usually come to him for ideas or advice. Out of these qualities, I am optimistic that he has been effectively educating young minds. Now, his effectiveness and enthusiasm is being sharpened more through professional development course. After realizing that how much fun teaching is and how well he can do helping others, the ‘un-intentional’ decision through a critical incident he made to become an educator, changed to a confident statement, that ‘Now I am on the right direction’.
REFERENCESs
Arnold, D., & Blackburn, S. (Eds.). (2004). Telling Lives in India. Biography, Autobiography, and Life History: New Delhi. Permanent Black.
Baines, E., Blatchford, P. & Chowne, A. (2007). Improving the effectiveness of collaborative group work in primary schools: effects on science attainment . British Educational Research Journal, 33(5). 663 – 680.
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R.R. (1999). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School. National Research Council: (Chapter 8: Teacher Learning)
Early, P. & Weindling, D. (2007). Do School Leaders Have a Shelf Life? Educational Management, Administration and Leadership, 35(1). 73 – 88.
Khan, B. (2004). Role of Portfolio in the teachers’ professional development and learning. Unpublished master’s thesis, Aga Khan University –Institute for Educational Development, Karachi.
Merriam, S. B. (Eds.). (1993). An Update on Adult Learning Theory: San Francisco. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Putnam, R. T., & Borko, H. (2000). What Do New Views of Knowledge and Thinking Have to Save About Research on Teacher Learning? Educational Researcher, 29(1). 4 – 15.
Walkeer, A. & Shuangye, C. (2007).Leader Authenticity in Intercultural School Contexts. Educational Management, Administration and Leadership, 35(2). 185 – 204.
[1] Mr. Sultan Alam has given me consensus to disclose his original name and details.
[2] Diamond Jubilee Schools running under supervision of Aga Khan Education Services, Pakistan.
[3] SSC – Secondary School Certificate – Educational Standard of Pakistan.
[4] F.G – Federal Government.
[5] BHS Boys High School
[6] F.Sc. – Faculty of Science – Educational Standard of Pakistan.
[7] MBBS – Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.
[8] B.Sc. – Bachelor of Science – Educational Standard of Pakistan.
[9] KU Karachi University.
[10] UFM – Un-fair means.
Perhaps, I didn't have any aspiration to become a teacher. All I wanted was to become a doctor or a pilot – Sultan Alam[1]
“I've been a Science Teacher, Science Coordinator and Principal in different educational institutions. When I started my career as a teacher, I had no idea where this profession would lead me to. I never have been motivated to become a teacher by my teachers”. Sultan Alam, a young energetic headteacher, now in first year of Masters in Education program at a prestigious university in Karachi, describes his journey of becoming an educator. His life history is full of diverse experiences to learn, as it can be used to illustrate the power of certain cultural convention (Arnold & Blackburn, 2004). Sultan Alam belongs to Hunza valley in North Pakistan. He started his schooling in his village Hussainabad at D.J[2] Middle School, while for SSC[3] he joined F.G[4] BHS[5] No.1 Gilgit. With a motivation to become a doctor he moved to Karachi for F.Sc.[6], but he could not get a chance to go for MBBS[7], so his motivation shifted towards financial management after B.Sc.[8]
Schools in Northern Areas today need additional efforts to find/hire the professional educators to keep schools competitive as frequent teacher vacuuming occurs. May be there are several reasons for the discrepancy, which is of-course, not the topic of this paper. In 1996, after B.Sc. examination, Sultan Alam moved back to his village which resulted to enter in teaching profession, he terms it as ‘un-intentional entry’. According to him it was a critical incident to lead his career to an unknown path. This is the practice of most of the teachers joining schools in Northern Areas without having theoretical understanding of teaching and learning (Khan, 2004). He describes that the school from where he had started his schooling, was now upgraded to high school and as usual there was discrepancy of Science teachers. The notables of community and school management approached him to handle Science classes. He was morally/emotionally attached with his school and community; hence he could not deny the offer. Despite his original goal and motivation, new opportunity presented itself as a career. He was not sure that he recognized the significance of this incident at the time but he says that he enjoyed the job as the subjects were relevant according to his content knowledge. He confessed that he was lacking pedagogical skills; however his students’ response was good. He emphasized that theoretical pedagogical knowledge is useless if teacher is unaware of the context as it is not just an important element in thinking about human learning but is perhaps central to our understanding (Merriam, 1993). It can be further referred to the ‘fit’ between the teachers’ culture values (Walkeer, & Shuangye, 2007).
Once home exam result of class 9th remained much low to 40%. It was a shock for the headteacher and staff. We faced criticism from community due to Community-Centered Environment (Bransford, 1999). We all took this situation as a challenge and initiated different measures like remedial/extra classes, group works, and parents’ involvement for cooperation etc. keeping in mind the cooperative and collaborative group work has positive effects on academic and social outcomes (Baines, Blatchford, & Chowne, 2007). When the board result announced, it was a sweeping change, securing 75% result, and then we realized that if we work like a team, we can achieve our goals. This was a motivating and learning impact.
Sultan Alam attended a week’s workshop on math and science teaching in the form of Learning Experiences for Practicing Teachers’ (Putnam, R.T. & Borko, H. 2000), where he learnt some basics of pedagogical skills and local resource management, which helped him for his teaching, as he tried to implement in classroom, the methods taught in workshop.
After serving 3.5 years in this school, he started his own assessment as the career was not giving him satisfaction in terms of finance and his static position. So, he decided to continue his education and resigned from the school in 1999 and moved to Karachi for mastery in Environmental Sciences with a motivation to become Government college lecturer.
Although, Sultan Alam had ‘un-intentionally’ got into teaching profession but now he had the experience of teaching, so while doing his masters from KU[9] in the evening shift, he joined a private school, because school teaching was feasible in terms of less hours duty and of-course to meet the financial needs. This exposure to teaching was once again a building on process for his teaching career.
In 2002 he completed his masters and once again returned homeland, where only ‘teaching profession’ awaits everybody. While striving hard to get into government sector education as a lecturer, Sultan Alam worked with D.J Community High School Sultanabad and with an English medium school in Gilgit consecutively.
Sultan Alam’s administrative journey began during his 7th year of teaching. Since he was a teacher, it seemed like a long-shot, when he heard about the vacancy and offer. His exploratory nature finally moved him towards the independent administrative position at a private educational institution Al-Sabah Sakura Academy Gilgit which runs under a local NGO. He became the headteacher of the school in 2006 and started some new initiatives keeping the experiences of different school practices in mind as new headteachers usually began organizational changes (Early, & Weindling, 2007). It was a new experience of leading a group of teachers and dealing with all the stakeholders. It was an outstanding and challenging exposure. He served this school till July 2007, from where he qualified the entry test/interview to get admission in the current course.
He shared a moral story of his headship period at Al-Sabah, that he was nominated SSC examination superintendent in a remote area of Gilgit. During English paper one student right after 1½ hrs of paper distribution solved the paper. Without any idea Sultan Alam took the paper and just skimmed through it and noticed that paper was very well written and was composed accurately, which he was not expecting from a student of such remote area. He become a bit curious and doubtful and asked him to show his admit card, but the student made an excuse of forgetting it in house. So, he went to next room, making student stand, to get copies of admit cards received from the board as a ready reference for superintendent. When he returned back to the room he noticed another boy standing, while the former one was not there! When he matched the picture with the boy, he was the original one, while the boy who was there solving paper, was counterfeit. He enquired. The newly appeared boy insistently told that he is the boy who wrote that paper. Sultan Alam become frustrated on this fake statement and marked paper as UFM[10] and recommended the board to cancel this paper. With this incident he became much curious that teacher should keep every aspect of the matters in mind and should not trust blindly as the invigilators of the same area were present around and they didn’t notify the UFM to him and favored the cheating. According to him, cheaters should face the penalty and now he always refers this happening to his students to discourage the UFM.
The ups and downs of teaching career of Sultan Alam were neither short nor easy. I found him during last 9 months being together for the same course, determined that he has many qualities prized as an outstanding teacher through his experience. He is energetic, enthusiastic, creative, and supportive, which are the loud-calls of his rich experience. His energy and enthusiasm can also be seen through different aspects apart from teaching like his active involvement in sports (volley ball, cricket, badminton, swimming etc.) I appreciate his way of enthusiasm to enjoy life to its fullest. He is desirous to be the kind of person that stands out, so by being creative and supportive, people will usually come to him for ideas or advice. Out of these qualities, I am optimistic that he has been effectively educating young minds. Now, his effectiveness and enthusiasm is being sharpened more through professional development course. After realizing that how much fun teaching is and how well he can do helping others, the ‘un-intentional’ decision through a critical incident he made to become an educator, changed to a confident statement, that ‘Now I am on the right direction’.
REFERENCESs
Arnold, D., & Blackburn, S. (Eds.). (2004). Telling Lives in India. Biography, Autobiography, and Life History: New Delhi. Permanent Black.
Baines, E., Blatchford, P. & Chowne, A. (2007). Improving the effectiveness of collaborative group work in primary schools: effects on science attainment . British Educational Research Journal, 33(5). 663 – 680.
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R.R. (1999). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School. National Research Council: (Chapter 8: Teacher Learning)
Early, P. & Weindling, D. (2007). Do School Leaders Have a Shelf Life? Educational Management, Administration and Leadership, 35(1). 73 – 88.
Khan, B. (2004). Role of Portfolio in the teachers’ professional development and learning. Unpublished master’s thesis, Aga Khan University –Institute for Educational Development, Karachi.
Merriam, S. B. (Eds.). (1993). An Update on Adult Learning Theory: San Francisco. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Putnam, R. T., & Borko, H. (2000). What Do New Views of Knowledge and Thinking Have to Save About Research on Teacher Learning? Educational Researcher, 29(1). 4 – 15.
Walkeer, A. & Shuangye, C. (2007).Leader Authenticity in Intercultural School Contexts. Educational Management, Administration and Leadership, 35(2). 185 – 204.
[1] Mr. Sultan Alam has given me consensus to disclose his original name and details.
[2] Diamond Jubilee Schools running under supervision of Aga Khan Education Services, Pakistan.
[3] SSC – Secondary School Certificate – Educational Standard of Pakistan.
[4] F.G – Federal Government.
[5] BHS Boys High School
[6] F.Sc. – Faculty of Science – Educational Standard of Pakistan.
[7] MBBS – Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.
[8] B.Sc. – Bachelor of Science – Educational Standard of Pakistan.
[9] KU Karachi University.
[10] UFM – Un-fair means.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
REFLECTIVE PAPER – ROLE OF A TEACHER IN THE LEARNING COMMUNITY
REFLECTIVE PAPER – ROLE OF A TEACHER IN THE LEARNING COMMUNITY
INTRODUCTION
This reflective paper aims to explore the existence of Learning Community in a private school of Karachi in general and Role of a Teacher in particular. This reflective paper aims to identify the characteristics of a LC[1] and the role of a teacher through literature and understanding of this phenomenon and would explore and compare critically the actual happening.
The school chosen to observe was having an approximate strength of 500 students and 42 teachers. School was initiated by the Principal, who is basically a medical doctor, in 1999 with strength of 40 students, which increased gradually. School runs two systems of education i.e. Matric and O level, affiliated with AKU-EB[2] and Cambridge University correspondingly.
In a group of three members[3] we visited school twice to observe and collect data. Before visiting the school we had created a concept map to make ourselves focus to explore some specific dimensions of a teacher’s role. We selected a female teacher, who was the most senior in terms of longevity in service with the school.
WHAT IS LEARNING COMMUNITY – literature review?
Initiating with the quote of Michael Fullan about LC that, “The leaders' new work for the future is building learning organizations where people continually expand their capacities”. Strengthening this concept, Peter Senge further elaborates as; “most successful organization of the future will be a learning organization where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire”. Definitely this concept of Fullan and Senge is becoming the reality now, as adaptation of LC is a new emerging trend and demand of all organizations in general and educational institutions in particular.
Literature further clarifies that LC means facilitating a culture of collaboration (Lovely, & Buffum, 2007). To elaborate this concept Retallick, Cocklin, and Coombe (1999) have very concisely articulated and notified the basic requirements for LC as respect, caring; inclusiveness, trust; empowerment and commitment. Moreover, a most advanced definition in its nature described by Rogoff, Bartlett, & Turkanis, (2001);
Our ideas stem from participation in an innovative public school that prioritizes instruction that builds on children’s interests in a collaborative way, where learning activities are planned by children as well as adults, and where parents and teachers not only foster children’s learning but also learn from their involvement with the children (p. 3).
Learning communities are consisting of three pivotal capacities, which have very creatively and self explanatorily defined to understand basic elements of a LC by Mitchell & Sackney (2000). These elements have an impact on the capacity to improve teaching and learning include anything that shapes how people do their work in a school.
Figure 1: Key elements in building the capacity for a learning community (p.124)
WHAT IS LEARNING COMMUNITY – MY UNDERSTANDING?
LC is a group of stack holders including teachers, students and parents etc. who share common values and beliefs and actively engage in learning together. In order to create a LC we have to focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively and hold ourselves accountable for results and better outcomes.
As the focus of this reflective paper is about the role of a teacher in a LC, so the staff should be organized in reciprocal, not hierarchical or top-down relationship (Retallick, 2005). This relationship can ensure, lessening of isolation of teachers, increased commitment and will to strengthen the mission and goals, shared responsibility for the development of students, teachers and organization as a whole.
EXPLORED DIMENSIONS AND FINDINGS
It has already been discussed that we had sketched a concept map before visiting school, where we had explicitly identified certain dimensions which revolve around a LC and significantly helped us to identify its existence in this school. Following were our focus areas and findings.
Leadership Style and Teachers
Members of LC work together, share expertise, and exercise leadership to ensure the intended results. These characteristics of leadership are known as DL[4] (Gronn, 2003), which starts from willingness to share authority, and the ability to participate without dominating. Stewart and Prebble (1993) state that, “If principals wish to change what teachers do, they must first change the way teachers think about what they do” (p.189).
In this school we found that a smooth form of DL was in practice in shape of top down order as Principal, Vice Principal, Chief Coordinator, Section Coordinators and then teachers who were also taking care of different portfolios according to their capabilities and their will, apart from the casual teaching. For instance, the teacher we talked was the coordinator of extra-curricular activities, as she told us that she loves to organize functions and parties.
According to the teacher, all staff members were mutually working together as a team. This idea has very accurately articulated by Sergiovanni (1996) that, “communities are collections of individuals who are bonded together…. This bonding and binding is tight enough to transform them from a collection of “I’s” into a collective “we”.
Teacher to Teacher Relationship
Review of a teacher's behavior by colleagues is the norm in the LC (Louis & Kruse, 1995). This practice is not evaluative but is part of helping each other. The process is based on the mutual respect and trustworthiness. In this school the relationship between teachers was very much healthy as they were having a nice chit-chat time in staff room while our visit to school, and the teacher also identified that she is very much satisfied with the atmosphere and work as she was expressive that she is learning many new things daily from her colleagues during ‘informal talks’ and from students. This statement signifies that one way in which teachers can develop a LC amongst themselves is to regard their everyday work as an opportunity for learning. Workplace learning means ‘learning on the job’ (Retallick, et al., 1999).
However, in terms of ‘professional dimension’ of LC, which demands for a professional collaboration and relationship by classroom visits and positive feedback, the teacher told us that, “I don’t need any help, when I need it; I visit library or internet and get the relevant information”. Triangulating about this notion, Principal also confessed that the culture of professional collegiality (Sergiovanni, 1996) is lacking, but he was optimistic to work in this filed to improve the true collaborative culture (Mitchell & Sackney, 2000) of positive feedback among staff.
We found that teachers have the potentiality to mould in reforms as they were actively participating without any hesitation in the discussion with us and they were in favor that reforms in terms of providing appropriate learning environment for students and teachers is needed. The environment that values and supports hard work, the acceptance of challenging tasks, risk taking, and the promotion of growth (Midgley & Wood, 1993).
Professional Development
LC demonstrates implementation of regular internal and external trainings and resources. Continuous professional learning is focused on improving practice and performance as a vehicle for school improvement and program coherence. This is accomplished through collaboration, reflection and frequent review of pedagogy then planning relevant trainings and refresher courses accordingly.
In the focused school, we found that the teacher who has been working with this school for last 6 years got enough in-house trainings and also participated in different workshops. School also encourages staff for professional development and educational enhancement and gives relaxation in terms of timing and required leaves. School also had been sponsoring staff for different trainings, which has been now STOPPED as principal evidently told us that, “When I invest and train a teacher, right after the training, teacher quits the job”. However, internal training sessions remain continued frequently throughout the year, which is facilitated by the Principal and Vice Principal.
MY LEARNING, CHALLENGES AND MY ROLE IN GROUP WORK
It was an excellent experience to work closely with nice fellows having different capabilities, like sharp observation skills, finest communication skills, good time managers, soft heartedness, and computer expertise. Amalgamation of these capabilities, in my opinion was the patronizing and driving factor for understanding the topic and reflecting with much confidence and owning the presented data.
During this visit of school, I learnt many new things and some reinforcements in my learning. I found a sense and applicability of DL among all the staff members which very much attracted me. It will be the reinforcing factor for me in future and I would be eager to know more about the headteacher’s role in this regard as I found him the focal point.
Another thing which I learnt, was the understanding of responsibility as all the staff members of this school were not only assuming their selves only teachers, but also involved in different activities of school, like taking care of discipline, school maintenance, handling school assemblies and co-curricular activities etc. I will be looking forward to understand more this notion of leadership in this school.
To understand the role of a teacher in a learning community two days visit and observation, probably was not much sufficient to collect data, as the teacher whom we had taken as sample was very much busy with her classes and home assignment checking. However, with collaboration of section coordinator, we were able to talk with her and observe.
CONCLUSION
Concluding this reflective paper, I am confident to say that the school is on the track to transform the school to a LC. A slight supportive and collaborative atmosphere is needed for further progress by the Principal. DL extends authority and influence to groups and some further downed distribution of responsibilities can flourish school further. On going professional development is always the assurance of success that needs to be initiated, while taking appropriate measure to retain the trained staff.
REFERENCES
Gronn, P (2003). The New Work of Educational Leaders: Changing Leadership Practice in an Era of School Reform. London. Sage Publications.
Harris, A. (2007). Distributed leadership: conceptual confusion and empirical reticence. International Journal of Leadership in Education. 10(3), 315-325
Lovely, S. & Buffum, A.G. (2007). Generations at School: Building an Age-Friendly Learning Community. California: Crown Press.
Mitchell, C & Sackney, L (Eds.). (2000). Profound Improvement: Building Capacity for a Learning Community. The Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger.
Retallick, J. Cocklin, B. & Coombe, K. (Eds.). (1999). Learning Communities in Education: Issues, strategies and contexts. London: Routledge.
Retallick, J. Farah, I. (Eds.). (2005). Transforming Schools in Pakistan: Towards the Learning Community. Pakistan: Oxford University Press.
Rogoff, B., Turkanis, C.G & Bartlett, L. (Eds.). (2001). Learning Togathre: Children and Adults in a School Community. New York: Oxford University Press
Sergiovanni, T.J. (1996). Leadership for the Schoolhouse: How Is It Different? Why Is It Important? San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Stewart, D. & Prebble, T. (1993). The Reflective Principal: School Development Within a Learning Community. New Zealand: ERDC Press Massey University.
Tungsten School of Excellence. (n.d.) [Brochure].Karachi, Pakistan:
[1] Learning Community
[2] Aga Khan University – Examination Board
[3] CPs of M.Ed. 2009
[4] Distributed Leadership
INTRODUCTION
This reflective paper aims to explore the existence of Learning Community in a private school of Karachi in general and Role of a Teacher in particular. This reflective paper aims to identify the characteristics of a LC[1] and the role of a teacher through literature and understanding of this phenomenon and would explore and compare critically the actual happening.
The school chosen to observe was having an approximate strength of 500 students and 42 teachers. School was initiated by the Principal, who is basically a medical doctor, in 1999 with strength of 40 students, which increased gradually. School runs two systems of education i.e. Matric and O level, affiliated with AKU-EB[2] and Cambridge University correspondingly.
In a group of three members[3] we visited school twice to observe and collect data. Before visiting the school we had created a concept map to make ourselves focus to explore some specific dimensions of a teacher’s role. We selected a female teacher, who was the most senior in terms of longevity in service with the school.
WHAT IS LEARNING COMMUNITY – literature review?
Initiating with the quote of Michael Fullan about LC that, “The leaders' new work for the future is building learning organizations where people continually expand their capacities”. Strengthening this concept, Peter Senge further elaborates as; “most successful organization of the future will be a learning organization where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire”. Definitely this concept of Fullan and Senge is becoming the reality now, as adaptation of LC is a new emerging trend and demand of all organizations in general and educational institutions in particular.
Literature further clarifies that LC means facilitating a culture of collaboration (Lovely, & Buffum, 2007). To elaborate this concept Retallick, Cocklin, and Coombe (1999) have very concisely articulated and notified the basic requirements for LC as respect, caring; inclusiveness, trust; empowerment and commitment. Moreover, a most advanced definition in its nature described by Rogoff, Bartlett, & Turkanis, (2001);
Our ideas stem from participation in an innovative public school that prioritizes instruction that builds on children’s interests in a collaborative way, where learning activities are planned by children as well as adults, and where parents and teachers not only foster children’s learning but also learn from their involvement with the children (p. 3).
Learning communities are consisting of three pivotal capacities, which have very creatively and self explanatorily defined to understand basic elements of a LC by Mitchell & Sackney (2000). These elements have an impact on the capacity to improve teaching and learning include anything that shapes how people do their work in a school.
Figure 1: Key elements in building the capacity for a learning community (p.124)
WHAT IS LEARNING COMMUNITY – MY UNDERSTANDING?
LC is a group of stack holders including teachers, students and parents etc. who share common values and beliefs and actively engage in learning together. In order to create a LC we have to focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively and hold ourselves accountable for results and better outcomes.
As the focus of this reflective paper is about the role of a teacher in a LC, so the staff should be organized in reciprocal, not hierarchical or top-down relationship (Retallick, 2005). This relationship can ensure, lessening of isolation of teachers, increased commitment and will to strengthen the mission and goals, shared responsibility for the development of students, teachers and organization as a whole.
EXPLORED DIMENSIONS AND FINDINGS
It has already been discussed that we had sketched a concept map before visiting school, where we had explicitly identified certain dimensions which revolve around a LC and significantly helped us to identify its existence in this school. Following were our focus areas and findings.
Leadership Style and Teachers
Members of LC work together, share expertise, and exercise leadership to ensure the intended results. These characteristics of leadership are known as DL[4] (Gronn, 2003), which starts from willingness to share authority, and the ability to participate without dominating. Stewart and Prebble (1993) state that, “If principals wish to change what teachers do, they must first change the way teachers think about what they do” (p.189).
In this school we found that a smooth form of DL was in practice in shape of top down order as Principal, Vice Principal, Chief Coordinator, Section Coordinators and then teachers who were also taking care of different portfolios according to their capabilities and their will, apart from the casual teaching. For instance, the teacher we talked was the coordinator of extra-curricular activities, as she told us that she loves to organize functions and parties.
According to the teacher, all staff members were mutually working together as a team. This idea has very accurately articulated by Sergiovanni (1996) that, “communities are collections of individuals who are bonded together…. This bonding and binding is tight enough to transform them from a collection of “I’s” into a collective “we”.
Teacher to Teacher Relationship
Review of a teacher's behavior by colleagues is the norm in the LC (Louis & Kruse, 1995). This practice is not evaluative but is part of helping each other. The process is based on the mutual respect and trustworthiness. In this school the relationship between teachers was very much healthy as they were having a nice chit-chat time in staff room while our visit to school, and the teacher also identified that she is very much satisfied with the atmosphere and work as she was expressive that she is learning many new things daily from her colleagues during ‘informal talks’ and from students. This statement signifies that one way in which teachers can develop a LC amongst themselves is to regard their everyday work as an opportunity for learning. Workplace learning means ‘learning on the job’ (Retallick, et al., 1999).
However, in terms of ‘professional dimension’ of LC, which demands for a professional collaboration and relationship by classroom visits and positive feedback, the teacher told us that, “I don’t need any help, when I need it; I visit library or internet and get the relevant information”. Triangulating about this notion, Principal also confessed that the culture of professional collegiality (Sergiovanni, 1996) is lacking, but he was optimistic to work in this filed to improve the true collaborative culture (Mitchell & Sackney, 2000) of positive feedback among staff.
We found that teachers have the potentiality to mould in reforms as they were actively participating without any hesitation in the discussion with us and they were in favor that reforms in terms of providing appropriate learning environment for students and teachers is needed. The environment that values and supports hard work, the acceptance of challenging tasks, risk taking, and the promotion of growth (Midgley & Wood, 1993).
Professional Development
LC demonstrates implementation of regular internal and external trainings and resources. Continuous professional learning is focused on improving practice and performance as a vehicle for school improvement and program coherence. This is accomplished through collaboration, reflection and frequent review of pedagogy then planning relevant trainings and refresher courses accordingly.
In the focused school, we found that the teacher who has been working with this school for last 6 years got enough in-house trainings and also participated in different workshops. School also encourages staff for professional development and educational enhancement and gives relaxation in terms of timing and required leaves. School also had been sponsoring staff for different trainings, which has been now STOPPED as principal evidently told us that, “When I invest and train a teacher, right after the training, teacher quits the job”. However, internal training sessions remain continued frequently throughout the year, which is facilitated by the Principal and Vice Principal.
MY LEARNING, CHALLENGES AND MY ROLE IN GROUP WORK
It was an excellent experience to work closely with nice fellows having different capabilities, like sharp observation skills, finest communication skills, good time managers, soft heartedness, and computer expertise. Amalgamation of these capabilities, in my opinion was the patronizing and driving factor for understanding the topic and reflecting with much confidence and owning the presented data.
During this visit of school, I learnt many new things and some reinforcements in my learning. I found a sense and applicability of DL among all the staff members which very much attracted me. It will be the reinforcing factor for me in future and I would be eager to know more about the headteacher’s role in this regard as I found him the focal point.
Another thing which I learnt, was the understanding of responsibility as all the staff members of this school were not only assuming their selves only teachers, but also involved in different activities of school, like taking care of discipline, school maintenance, handling school assemblies and co-curricular activities etc. I will be looking forward to understand more this notion of leadership in this school.
To understand the role of a teacher in a learning community two days visit and observation, probably was not much sufficient to collect data, as the teacher whom we had taken as sample was very much busy with her classes and home assignment checking. However, with collaboration of section coordinator, we were able to talk with her and observe.
CONCLUSION
Concluding this reflective paper, I am confident to say that the school is on the track to transform the school to a LC. A slight supportive and collaborative atmosphere is needed for further progress by the Principal. DL extends authority and influence to groups and some further downed distribution of responsibilities can flourish school further. On going professional development is always the assurance of success that needs to be initiated, while taking appropriate measure to retain the trained staff.
REFERENCES
Gronn, P (2003). The New Work of Educational Leaders: Changing Leadership Practice in an Era of School Reform. London. Sage Publications.
Harris, A. (2007). Distributed leadership: conceptual confusion and empirical reticence. International Journal of Leadership in Education. 10(3), 315-325
Lovely, S. & Buffum, A.G. (2007). Generations at School: Building an Age-Friendly Learning Community. California: Crown Press.
Mitchell, C & Sackney, L (Eds.). (2000). Profound Improvement: Building Capacity for a Learning Community. The Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger.
Retallick, J. Cocklin, B. & Coombe, K. (Eds.). (1999). Learning Communities in Education: Issues, strategies and contexts. London: Routledge.
Retallick, J. Farah, I. (Eds.). (2005). Transforming Schools in Pakistan: Towards the Learning Community. Pakistan: Oxford University Press.
Rogoff, B., Turkanis, C.G & Bartlett, L. (Eds.). (2001). Learning Togathre: Children and Adults in a School Community. New York: Oxford University Press
Sergiovanni, T.J. (1996). Leadership for the Schoolhouse: How Is It Different? Why Is It Important? San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Stewart, D. & Prebble, T. (1993). The Reflective Principal: School Development Within a Learning Community. New Zealand: ERDC Press Massey University.
Tungsten School of Excellence. (n.d.) [Brochure].Karachi, Pakistan:
[1] Learning Community
[2] Aga Khan University – Examination Board
[3] CPs of M.Ed. 2009
[4] Distributed Leadership
RESEARCH PLAN
RESEARCH PLAN
ROLE OF HEADTEACHER IN INTEGRATING ICT IN EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
Statement of Problem
This study aims to contribute to the restructuring of the research field of ICT in education from the perspective of the HEAD TEACHER as a focal point to integrate ICT in Education. The main research task of this study will be to describe the paradigms that structure the effective role of Head Teacher in ICT integration in school.
My study will be with a purpose that an effective agent for change in the context of school for ICT integration is the school PRINCIPAL, as without his role proper integration of ICT is impossible. In this research, I will try to probe that the school principal can have a significant impact on the integration of ICT and he/she can play a ground-breaking role in this regard. This research aims to explore the leadership role in ICT implementation based on the data, would be gathered during the study.
Rationale
There are certain reasons that convinced me to conduct this study. Among them following are some main reasons.
1. Teachers or student-initiated ICT projects have been undermined by lack of support from Principals, which I have myself observed in one of the schools in Northern Areas because the Head Teacher was not aware of ICT. For the effectiveness and sustainability of ICT integration, head teachers themselves should be aware in the use of technology, and they should have a broad understanding of the technical, curricular and social dimensions of ICT use in Education, then Leadership will be able to play an effective role in ICT integration in education. I want to probe, its existence on a real ground as in my context the integration of ICT is on its initial stages. Proper and effective preparation for this change is very much necessary. I want to replicate the best practices among the head teachers of Northern Areas as a facilitator.
2. The head teachers’ approach consists mainly of the desire to achieve a certain number of computers (or other kinds of equipment) to students. It sees the sheer existence of technology as progress and as an important aim, and focuses on the quantity and quality of equipment. It does not refer to any other possible aim. This is the approach that usually characterizes head teachers and principals. But, I want to show a different facet of this approach so that leaders could be aware of their positive role in this regard.
Significance of the Study
This study initially will help ‘me’ to understand the issues and strategies to solve them as a facilitator for head teachers, which will contribute to improve my leadership practices in future, keeping my own context of Northern Areas in mind, as integration of ICT is an emerging trend and demand in our area. It will also help to bring the issues related to leadership and management to the forefront. These findings will help management and head teachers to make leadership process smooth in developing schools.
Literature Review
Crawford (1997) has very artistically defined ICT which are very much self explanatory as he says; ICT is a powerful tool, an interesting, patient and responsive teacher, makes learning easier and more attractive, a pupil-centered, independent and flexible learning, gives access to on-line learning resources, promotes sharing and collaboration, promotes diversity, blind to gender, race, age and disability, BUT if not taken the benefit of ICT in its real sense all this theoretical ideas will remain the contents of books and articles.
A study (Balanskat & Blamire, 2007) shows that 86% of teachers state that pupils are more motivated and attentive when computers and the internet are used in class.
Keeping all above facts in mind, I can simply say that technology cannot be integrated into classroom overnight. Technology integration includes different stages. Despite the increasing presence of ICT hardware and software in schools and numerous workshops and training on ICT skill for teachers, the consistent integration of ICT into regular classroom is still a far cry from reality (CEO Forum, 2000). A study found huge variations in ICT usage from classroom to classroom and from school to school (Meredyth, Russell, Blackwood, Thomas, & Wise, 1999).
In my opinion to COPE WITH this situation a head teacher’s role is very much pivotal and he/she can play a very important role in this regard. As it has already been proved through different researches that effective involvement of head teacher in ICT integrating in schools has brought better outcomes. During the 1980s, Hall, Rutherford, Hord, and Huling (1984) found that the interventions used by change facilitators such as principals could be grouped by functions; these included "developing supportive organizational arrangements," "training," "monitoring and evaluating," and "providing consultation and reinforcement."
Literature review further clarifies that principals are the main sources of intervention (Schiller, 2003) in terms of ICT integration. Research shows that the principal expect their staff to use ICT in teaching and learning, and they visit classrooms to observe ICT use and discuss integration strategies with teachers (Schiller, 2003).
The studies of Schiller (1991) & Schiller (2000) highlight the key roles of school principals in helping their staff better use of computers to enhance teaching and learning and to assist with administration and management. While another research of Allan, Yuen, Nancy, & Wong (2003) indicates that to ensure the success in integration of ICT in school, cooperation between school leadership and teachers is essential.
Finally, the area which, I am intending to explore is not that much explored yet as Schiller J. (2003) also mentions and refers that;
‘apart from a few books (Maurer & Davidson, 1998; Picciano, 1998), occasional articles that point principals to more effective uses of technology (Hoffman, 1996; Slowinski, 2000), and small-scale studies that demonstrate the impact of ICT on the ways in which principals work (Gurr, 2001), the ICT literature has largely ignored the role of the principal (Michael, 1998). This omission is odd given that substantial literature on school effectiveness and improvement (Fullan, 1996; Hall & Hord, 2001; Hallinger & Heck, 1996) identifies the leadership of the principal as a key factor in bringing about change’.
Research Question/s
I intend to explore this phenomenon in search of the answer of main research question, “What is the role of Head teacher to promote ICT integration in School, while its subsidiary questions are; what is the understanding of Head teacher about ICT integration; what are the opportunities provided to teachers and students by the school; what are the limitations to integrate ICT in school and what are the existing ICT teaching practices?
RESEARCH DESIGN
Methodology
I intend to choose the qualitative research paradigm and prescriptive method (Anderson, 1998) for my study. It will address my research question which requires studying head teacher’s role in integrating ICT in education. I desire to explore the phenomenon by closely observing the practices, analyzing documents and interviewing to find out my concern and it could only be possible in the actual setting or situation. As Maykut & Morehouse (1994) say that, “Qualitative research emphasis on understanding through looking closely at people, words, actions and records” (p.17). Thus the qualitative research paradigm would help me to get an in-depth understanding of the issue.
Within the qualitative paradigm I will take-up case study method and specifically Particularistic approach (Merriam, 1998), because it will provide a deeper insight and understanding of the phenomenon. This study requires an empirical inquiry to investigate as Yin (1994) also cites in Merriam, “a case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clear evident” (p.27).
Research Place
I intend to conduct this research in a private school in Karachi.
Research Participants
The intended research participants of this study will be non-probability or purposeful samples (Merriam, 1998). The primary source of this study will be a head teacher as a typical sample of a private school, while the ICT facilitator as a unique sample and two other teachers as maximum variation samples will be my secondary sources (Merriam).
Data Generation Tools
For data collection, I will use interview, observation and document analysis. I will use semi-structured interviews, as they will give me the opportunity to probe and expand the respondent’s responses (Hetchcock & Hughes, 1995). Semi-structured interviews are flexible in which the sequence of questions can be altered.
I intend to conduct non-participant observation as Fraenkel & Wallen (2006) mention that in this kind of observation the researcher sits on the sideline and does not disturb the routine activities of the research participants, “but simply observes and records what happens as thing naturally occur” (p.451)
Intended Data analysis procedures
I intend to systematically search and arrange the data - interviews and observations - (Bogdan, 1998) by breaking them into manageable units and by assigning codes for analysis during data collection in the field as well as after data collection.
Apart from coding system, maybe I will be using computer software CAQDAS (Seror, 2005) as it has been (I never used CAQDAS, but I am confident that my computer expertise will enable me to acquire the required knowledge by getting help from an expert of this software) suggested by different researchers.
Ethical Consideration
As it is an academic or educational setting research, I have to consider and be aware of the ethics as “Ethics in research are the principles of right and wrong that a particular group accepts” (Bogdan and Biklen, 1998, p.49). So, I will seek permission of the people who I will be studying to conduct research involving them. I will not do anything that would cause physical or emotional harm to my research participants. I will make sure that my own personal biases and opinions do not get in the way of my research. I will conduct interviews and observations under the assumption that I will keep this data and my findings anonymous. I will be reporting research findings accurately representing what I observed or what I was told.
Limitations in the Study
The selection of the case study design naturally brings many limitations as far as the generalization of the result of the study is concerned. However, by understanding something about this particular case more in depth, we might eventually also learn something about more general phenomena. The findings of this study will not be generalized on the whole population because the study will be limited to one school only.
REFERENCES
Alan, H.K., Law, Nancy, & Wong, K.C. (2003). ICT implementation and school leadership: Case studies of ICT integration in teaching and learning. Journal of Educational Administration. 41(2). 158-170.
Anderson, G. (1999). Fundamentals of Educational Research (2nd. ed.).London: Falmeer Press.
Balanskat, A. & Blamire, R. (2007). ICT in schools: Trends, innovations and issues in 2006-2007. European Schoolnet. V.1.1
Baskin, C. (2006). ICT integration in schools: Where are we now and what comes next? Australasian Journal of Educational Technology. 22(4), 455-473
Bogdan, R.C. (1998). Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods (3rd ed.).Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Bogdan, R.C., & Biklen, S.K., (1998). Qualitative Research for Education: An introduction to theory and methods. (3rd. ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
CEO Forum. (2000). The power of digital learning: Integrating digital content. CEO Forum School Technology and Readiness. Year 3 Report. Retrieved January 16, 2008 from http://www.technologysource.org/view=article&id=243
Crawford, R. (1997). Managing Information Technology in Secondary Schools. London: Routledge.
Gurr, D. (2001). Principals, Technology, and Change. The Technology Source. 21(1), 12-22
Hall, G.E., Rutherford, W. L., Hord, S. M., & Hulling, L. L. (1984). Effects of three principal styles on school improvement. Educational Leadership. 41(5). 22-29
Haughey, M. (2006). The impact of computers on the work of the principal: changing discourses on talk, leadership and professionalism. School Leadership and Management. 26(1). 23-36
Hitchcock. G. & Hughes, D. (1995). Research and the Teacher (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
Kallick. B. & Wilson III, J.M. (2003).(Eds). (2000). Information Technology for Schools. California: Jossey-Bass
Lim, P. C., Swe, K.M. (2006). Managing teachers’ barriers to ICT integration in Singapore schools. (Information and communication technologies). Journal of Technology and Teacher Education. 20(2). 51-60
Meredyth, D., Russel, N., Blackwood, L., Thomas, J., & Wise, P. (1999) Real time: Computers, change and schooling. Canberra: Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs. Retrieved January 13, 2008, from http://www.detya.gov.au/archive/schools/publications/1999/realtime.pdf
Merriam, S.B. (1998) Qualitative Research and Case Study Application in Education. (Rev. ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Schiller, J. (1991). Implementing computer education: The role of the primary principal. Australian Journal of Educational Technology. 7(1). 48-69
Schiller, J. (2003). The Elementary School Principal as a Change Facilitator in ICT Integration. The Technology Source. 26(1). 12-22
Seror, J. (2005). Computers and qualitative data analysis: Paper, pens and highlighters vs. Screen, Mouse and Keyboard. TESOL Quarterly. 39(2). 321-328
Tomei. L.A. (2003). Challenges of Teaching with technology Across the Curriculum: Issues and Solutions. USA: IRM Press.
ROLE OF HEADTEACHER IN INTEGRATING ICT IN EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
Statement of Problem
This study aims to contribute to the restructuring of the research field of ICT in education from the perspective of the HEAD TEACHER as a focal point to integrate ICT in Education. The main research task of this study will be to describe the paradigms that structure the effective role of Head Teacher in ICT integration in school.
My study will be with a purpose that an effective agent for change in the context of school for ICT integration is the school PRINCIPAL, as without his role proper integration of ICT is impossible. In this research, I will try to probe that the school principal can have a significant impact on the integration of ICT and he/she can play a ground-breaking role in this regard. This research aims to explore the leadership role in ICT implementation based on the data, would be gathered during the study.
Rationale
There are certain reasons that convinced me to conduct this study. Among them following are some main reasons.
1. Teachers or student-initiated ICT projects have been undermined by lack of support from Principals, which I have myself observed in one of the schools in Northern Areas because the Head Teacher was not aware of ICT. For the effectiveness and sustainability of ICT integration, head teachers themselves should be aware in the use of technology, and they should have a broad understanding of the technical, curricular and social dimensions of ICT use in Education, then Leadership will be able to play an effective role in ICT integration in education. I want to probe, its existence on a real ground as in my context the integration of ICT is on its initial stages. Proper and effective preparation for this change is very much necessary. I want to replicate the best practices among the head teachers of Northern Areas as a facilitator.
2. The head teachers’ approach consists mainly of the desire to achieve a certain number of computers (or other kinds of equipment) to students. It sees the sheer existence of technology as progress and as an important aim, and focuses on the quantity and quality of equipment. It does not refer to any other possible aim. This is the approach that usually characterizes head teachers and principals. But, I want to show a different facet of this approach so that leaders could be aware of their positive role in this regard.
Significance of the Study
This study initially will help ‘me’ to understand the issues and strategies to solve them as a facilitator for head teachers, which will contribute to improve my leadership practices in future, keeping my own context of Northern Areas in mind, as integration of ICT is an emerging trend and demand in our area. It will also help to bring the issues related to leadership and management to the forefront. These findings will help management and head teachers to make leadership process smooth in developing schools.
Literature Review
Crawford (1997) has very artistically defined ICT which are very much self explanatory as he says; ICT is a powerful tool, an interesting, patient and responsive teacher, makes learning easier and more attractive, a pupil-centered, independent and flexible learning, gives access to on-line learning resources, promotes sharing and collaboration, promotes diversity, blind to gender, race, age and disability, BUT if not taken the benefit of ICT in its real sense all this theoretical ideas will remain the contents of books and articles.
A study (Balanskat & Blamire, 2007) shows that 86% of teachers state that pupils are more motivated and attentive when computers and the internet are used in class.
Keeping all above facts in mind, I can simply say that technology cannot be integrated into classroom overnight. Technology integration includes different stages. Despite the increasing presence of ICT hardware and software in schools and numerous workshops and training on ICT skill for teachers, the consistent integration of ICT into regular classroom is still a far cry from reality (CEO Forum, 2000). A study found huge variations in ICT usage from classroom to classroom and from school to school (Meredyth, Russell, Blackwood, Thomas, & Wise, 1999).
In my opinion to COPE WITH this situation a head teacher’s role is very much pivotal and he/she can play a very important role in this regard. As it has already been proved through different researches that effective involvement of head teacher in ICT integrating in schools has brought better outcomes. During the 1980s, Hall, Rutherford, Hord, and Huling (1984) found that the interventions used by change facilitators such as principals could be grouped by functions; these included "developing supportive organizational arrangements," "training," "monitoring and evaluating," and "providing consultation and reinforcement."
Literature review further clarifies that principals are the main sources of intervention (Schiller, 2003) in terms of ICT integration. Research shows that the principal expect their staff to use ICT in teaching and learning, and they visit classrooms to observe ICT use and discuss integration strategies with teachers (Schiller, 2003).
The studies of Schiller (1991) & Schiller (2000) highlight the key roles of school principals in helping their staff better use of computers to enhance teaching and learning and to assist with administration and management. While another research of Allan, Yuen, Nancy, & Wong (2003) indicates that to ensure the success in integration of ICT in school, cooperation between school leadership and teachers is essential.
Finally, the area which, I am intending to explore is not that much explored yet as Schiller J. (2003) also mentions and refers that;
‘apart from a few books (Maurer & Davidson, 1998; Picciano, 1998), occasional articles that point principals to more effective uses of technology (Hoffman, 1996; Slowinski, 2000), and small-scale studies that demonstrate the impact of ICT on the ways in which principals work (Gurr, 2001), the ICT literature has largely ignored the role of the principal (Michael, 1998). This omission is odd given that substantial literature on school effectiveness and improvement (Fullan, 1996; Hall & Hord, 2001; Hallinger & Heck, 1996) identifies the leadership of the principal as a key factor in bringing about change’.
Research Question/s
I intend to explore this phenomenon in search of the answer of main research question, “What is the role of Head teacher to promote ICT integration in School, while its subsidiary questions are; what is the understanding of Head teacher about ICT integration; what are the opportunities provided to teachers and students by the school; what are the limitations to integrate ICT in school and what are the existing ICT teaching practices?
RESEARCH DESIGN
Methodology
I intend to choose the qualitative research paradigm and prescriptive method (Anderson, 1998) for my study. It will address my research question which requires studying head teacher’s role in integrating ICT in education. I desire to explore the phenomenon by closely observing the practices, analyzing documents and interviewing to find out my concern and it could only be possible in the actual setting or situation. As Maykut & Morehouse (1994) say that, “Qualitative research emphasis on understanding through looking closely at people, words, actions and records” (p.17). Thus the qualitative research paradigm would help me to get an in-depth understanding of the issue.
Within the qualitative paradigm I will take-up case study method and specifically Particularistic approach (Merriam, 1998), because it will provide a deeper insight and understanding of the phenomenon. This study requires an empirical inquiry to investigate as Yin (1994) also cites in Merriam, “a case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clear evident” (p.27).
Research Place
I intend to conduct this research in a private school in Karachi.
Research Participants
The intended research participants of this study will be non-probability or purposeful samples (Merriam, 1998). The primary source of this study will be a head teacher as a typical sample of a private school, while the ICT facilitator as a unique sample and two other teachers as maximum variation samples will be my secondary sources (Merriam).
Data Generation Tools
For data collection, I will use interview, observation and document analysis. I will use semi-structured interviews, as they will give me the opportunity to probe and expand the respondent’s responses (Hetchcock & Hughes, 1995). Semi-structured interviews are flexible in which the sequence of questions can be altered.
I intend to conduct non-participant observation as Fraenkel & Wallen (2006) mention that in this kind of observation the researcher sits on the sideline and does not disturb the routine activities of the research participants, “but simply observes and records what happens as thing naturally occur” (p.451)
Intended Data analysis procedures
I intend to systematically search and arrange the data - interviews and observations - (Bogdan, 1998) by breaking them into manageable units and by assigning codes for analysis during data collection in the field as well as after data collection.
Apart from coding system, maybe I will be using computer software CAQDAS (Seror, 2005) as it has been (I never used CAQDAS, but I am confident that my computer expertise will enable me to acquire the required knowledge by getting help from an expert of this software) suggested by different researchers.
Ethical Consideration
As it is an academic or educational setting research, I have to consider and be aware of the ethics as “Ethics in research are the principles of right and wrong that a particular group accepts” (Bogdan and Biklen, 1998, p.49). So, I will seek permission of the people who I will be studying to conduct research involving them. I will not do anything that would cause physical or emotional harm to my research participants. I will make sure that my own personal biases and opinions do not get in the way of my research. I will conduct interviews and observations under the assumption that I will keep this data and my findings anonymous. I will be reporting research findings accurately representing what I observed or what I was told.
Limitations in the Study
The selection of the case study design naturally brings many limitations as far as the generalization of the result of the study is concerned. However, by understanding something about this particular case more in depth, we might eventually also learn something about more general phenomena. The findings of this study will not be generalized on the whole population because the study will be limited to one school only.
REFERENCES
Alan, H.K., Law, Nancy, & Wong, K.C. (2003). ICT implementation and school leadership: Case studies of ICT integration in teaching and learning. Journal of Educational Administration. 41(2). 158-170.
Anderson, G. (1999). Fundamentals of Educational Research (2nd. ed.).London: Falmeer Press.
Balanskat, A. & Blamire, R. (2007). ICT in schools: Trends, innovations and issues in 2006-2007. European Schoolnet. V.1.1
Baskin, C. (2006). ICT integration in schools: Where are we now and what comes next? Australasian Journal of Educational Technology. 22(4), 455-473
Bogdan, R.C. (1998). Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods (3rd ed.).Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Bogdan, R.C., & Biklen, S.K., (1998). Qualitative Research for Education: An introduction to theory and methods. (3rd. ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
CEO Forum. (2000). The power of digital learning: Integrating digital content. CEO Forum School Technology and Readiness. Year 3 Report. Retrieved January 16, 2008 from http://www.technologysource.org/view=article&id=243
Crawford, R. (1997). Managing Information Technology in Secondary Schools. London: Routledge.
Gurr, D. (2001). Principals, Technology, and Change. The Technology Source. 21(1), 12-22
Hall, G.E., Rutherford, W. L., Hord, S. M., & Hulling, L. L. (1984). Effects of three principal styles on school improvement. Educational Leadership. 41(5). 22-29
Haughey, M. (2006). The impact of computers on the work of the principal: changing discourses on talk, leadership and professionalism. School Leadership and Management. 26(1). 23-36
Hitchcock. G. & Hughes, D. (1995). Research and the Teacher (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
Kallick. B. & Wilson III, J.M. (2003).(Eds). (2000). Information Technology for Schools. California: Jossey-Bass
Lim, P. C., Swe, K.M. (2006). Managing teachers’ barriers to ICT integration in Singapore schools. (Information and communication technologies). Journal of Technology and Teacher Education. 20(2). 51-60
Meredyth, D., Russel, N., Blackwood, L., Thomas, J., & Wise, P. (1999) Real time: Computers, change and schooling. Canberra: Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs. Retrieved January 13, 2008, from http://www.detya.gov.au/archive/schools/publications/1999/realtime.pdf
Merriam, S.B. (1998) Qualitative Research and Case Study Application in Education. (Rev. ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Schiller, J. (1991). Implementing computer education: The role of the primary principal. Australian Journal of Educational Technology. 7(1). 48-69
Schiller, J. (2003). The Elementary School Principal as a Change Facilitator in ICT Integration. The Technology Source. 26(1). 12-22
Seror, J. (2005). Computers and qualitative data analysis: Paper, pens and highlighters vs. Screen, Mouse and Keyboard. TESOL Quarterly. 39(2). 321-328
Tomei. L.A. (2003). Challenges of Teaching with technology Across the Curriculum: Issues and Solutions. USA: IRM Press.
CRITIQUE A RESEARCH ARTICLE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I especially wish to acknowledge the contributions of the following people who have helped me to bring this small critique paper to completion. All these directly or indirectly were involved for the articulation of this short paper.
I feel very much proud to learn the basics of qualitative method of research from a well experienced facilitator Madam Nelofar Vazir, who inspired me to examine the articles as a critical thinker and learn the new and exciting ways of leadership, management and specifically the research work. She very generously offered insightful and guidance to all of us to climb-up the first step of the ladder in the field and remove the fear of being wrong.
I have been privileged to work with many dynamic, adaptive and creative colleagues of my group in Research Method I class, who represent the essential qualities of effective leadership and researchers. I really appreciate their kindness and knowledge sharing attitude.
Throughout the development and writing of this paper, I have been fortunate to have the support and assistance of two of my colleagues as well as the roommates; Sharifullah Baig and Sultan Alam who provided practical examples, and suggestions. I am very grateful for their willingness to help, their tolerance and patience while my working in hostel even during their rest timing.
I would also like to express my appreciation to the ideal and world class environment and facilities provided at IED to open new horizons of knowledge and the entire concern faculty who never discouraged us to visit them even without a formal appointment.
CRITIQUE A RESEARCH ARTICLE
INTRODUCTION
The article, Arrowsmith, T[1]. (2007). Distributed leadership in secondary schools in England: the impact on the role of the headteacher and other issues. Management in Education. 21(2). 21-27. purposefully tries to raise two questions and investigates that lead to secondary school principals and some senior staff to identify the impact of Distributed Leadership. The main questions raised by the researcher are; ‘what do headteachers do to develop/sustain Distributed Leadership’ and secondly ‘what is the impact of Distributed Leadership on the role of the headteacher’? Author describes different perspectives about Distributed Leadership in the introductory phase of article, and then describes his research methodology and then outcomes, but keeps this paper open ended without conclusion.
METHODOLOGY
The researcher’s approach involves working with six English secondary schools of contrasting characteristics. The tools and methodology used for this research were; a case study by adopting ethnographic methodology. It was included semi-structured interviews and seeking evidences[2], while the samples taken for each school were five staff including the headteacher, a member of the senior management, a subject team leader, a ‘pastoral’[3] team leader and a teacher.
FINDINGS
According to the author the finding for the first question that how distributed leadership is developed in school was the head teacher’s action encouraging distributed leadership by effective communication across the school, support to individuals, occasional encouraging words and developing trust. These factors were identified by the samples that help distributed leadership to spread over in school. According to Arrowsmith (2007) all the staff members were in favor of Distributed Leadership as it made them valued by ‘giving’ them the opportunity to share leadership and power.
Another finding regarding the impact[4] was much clearer that because of ‘delegation’ of work to other staff the headteachers were having much free time to work on public relations, strategic planning and whole-school planning, effective feedback and for better communication. Principals further cleared that they can now focus more on developing distributed leadership, but on the other hand they were not in favor to take risk by distributing the responsibility, where there is fear of accountability.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
As an experienced researcher Arrowsmith has very artistically furnished his paper and at this stage of my research work writing a critique for the first time, I would definitely not be in a position to identify exactly the genuine strengths and weakness of this article where there has been deliberately kept the conclusion open ended. But initially I would urge that outcomes or the findings are based on a small-scale research study and we therefore can not generalize it to all as the contexts matters place to place. Further more I would like to highlight following two aspects which seems little bit confusing. But before going on my reservations I must mention that the theme discussed in the article could be presented in a simple way but I certainly agree with Hart (2003) who articulates this manner as “some authors seem to neglect the needs of their potential readers and manage to make relatively simple ideas confusing” (p.10).
Understanding and Assumptions about Distributed Leadership
Firstly; the concept or understanding of Distributed Leadership as contrast to the author’s understanding, which I have perceived from some literature, that school leadership field is particularly at risk to new leadership terms that are provisionally popular, only to be quickly supplemented with more fashionable ideas or theories. The field is full-up with different labels for leadership, even though it is clear that leadership does not take on a different meaning simply because a new word is put in front of it. Harris (2007) describes that, “distributed leadership has resulted in conceptual ambiguity” (p.315). Further more, distributed leadership without question, is the latest fashionable idea to capture the imagination of those in the educational leadership field (Harris 2007). Distributed Leadership has been used as a synonym for some terms[5]. It is just an idea so conceptually vast that it is difficult to separate what does and doesn’t constitute distributed leadership (Gronn 2003). I therefore, in light of this discussion, a bit confused as the author has done the research on distributed leadership while taking the theoretical concepts and assumptions in mind. But in my opinion there is no any fixed structure of leadership to adopt as our views cannot remain consistent and it changes context to context. Thus it is essential to challenge the ideas and look at all perspectives and should welcome all the practices and leadership themes keeping the situation and context in mind, not distributed leadership ONLY.
Distributed Leadership as ‘given’ Responsibilities
My second concern also strengthens further by above discussion to reinforce the essential need of Distributed Leadership as ‘taken’ not ‘given’ and this statement also proves that actual distribution leadership is ‘taken’ leadership. The findings of this paper are that headteachers were willing to delegate the responsibilities (to lessen their own burden) to other staff members even they are not willing to accept but because the principal has ‘delegated’ or ‘imposed’ this responsibility, so they have to undertake without any reward or remuneration. I myself observed a principal who was fully in favor of distributed leadership and was distributing his every task to the subordinate staff, and he remains totally free but having the heavy remuneration and the rest of his staff who actually working were frustrated of his behavior. Headteachers are getting very much relax time in this form of leadership by involving others, but doing nothing him/herself except delegating his/her own responsibilities. Perfectly for this behavior Gronn (2003) describes ‘greedy work’. We never thought of this question while planting distributed leadership in school that ‘what difference does distributed leadership makes to schools and students’ other than reducing the headteachers’ burden and involving other teachers, then so what?
CONCLUSION
It has already been mentioned that this paper doesn’t have a conclusion and kept open ended but to conclude, it is the reality that the workload of HT has been increased and his/her role is becoming unsustainable and distinctly unattractive and this situation needs to be efficiently adjusted to over come the concern, keeping the environment and context in mind, distributed leadership can be a remedy but not the perfect solution.
Challenges Faced
Initially choosing an appropriate article became a challenge for me, as soon after the announcement of assignment I had chosen an article published in 2001, but again we were instructed to choose one published only in 2007.
Finally; I faced a minor problem which was the articulation of this paper by limiting myself around 1000 words. Initially the critique I wrote was consisting of 1500 words.
REFERENCES
Arrowsmith, T. (2007). Distributed leadership in secondary schools in England: the impact on the role of the head teacher and other issue. Management in Education. 21(2), 21-27.
Gronn, P. (2003). The New Work of Educational Leaders: Changing Leadership Practice in an Era of School Reform. London. Paul Chapman.
Harris, A. (2007). Distributed leadership: conceptual confusion and empirical reticence. International Journal of Leadership in Education. 10(3), 315-325
Hart, C. (2003). The literature review in research. Doing a Literature Review. London: Sage Publications.
[1] This paper was initially presented at a conference held at Aston University, Birmingham in 2006.
[2] Observation of key meetings in school and study of relevant documents was also carried out for authentication
[3] Religious teaching team member
[4] impact of distributed leadership on the role of headteacher
[5] ‘shared’, ‘collaborative’, ‘facilitative and participative’ ‘democratic’ etc.
I especially wish to acknowledge the contributions of the following people who have helped me to bring this small critique paper to completion. All these directly or indirectly were involved for the articulation of this short paper.
I feel very much proud to learn the basics of qualitative method of research from a well experienced facilitator Madam Nelofar Vazir, who inspired me to examine the articles as a critical thinker and learn the new and exciting ways of leadership, management and specifically the research work. She very generously offered insightful and guidance to all of us to climb-up the first step of the ladder in the field and remove the fear of being wrong.
I have been privileged to work with many dynamic, adaptive and creative colleagues of my group in Research Method I class, who represent the essential qualities of effective leadership and researchers. I really appreciate their kindness and knowledge sharing attitude.
Throughout the development and writing of this paper, I have been fortunate to have the support and assistance of two of my colleagues as well as the roommates; Sharifullah Baig and Sultan Alam who provided practical examples, and suggestions. I am very grateful for their willingness to help, their tolerance and patience while my working in hostel even during their rest timing.
I would also like to express my appreciation to the ideal and world class environment and facilities provided at IED to open new horizons of knowledge and the entire concern faculty who never discouraged us to visit them even without a formal appointment.
CRITIQUE A RESEARCH ARTICLE
INTRODUCTION
The article, Arrowsmith, T[1]. (2007). Distributed leadership in secondary schools in England: the impact on the role of the headteacher and other issues. Management in Education. 21(2). 21-27. purposefully tries to raise two questions and investigates that lead to secondary school principals and some senior staff to identify the impact of Distributed Leadership. The main questions raised by the researcher are; ‘what do headteachers do to develop/sustain Distributed Leadership’ and secondly ‘what is the impact of Distributed Leadership on the role of the headteacher’? Author describes different perspectives about Distributed Leadership in the introductory phase of article, and then describes his research methodology and then outcomes, but keeps this paper open ended without conclusion.
METHODOLOGY
The researcher’s approach involves working with six English secondary schools of contrasting characteristics. The tools and methodology used for this research were; a case study by adopting ethnographic methodology. It was included semi-structured interviews and seeking evidences[2], while the samples taken for each school were five staff including the headteacher, a member of the senior management, a subject team leader, a ‘pastoral’[3] team leader and a teacher.
FINDINGS
According to the author the finding for the first question that how distributed leadership is developed in school was the head teacher’s action encouraging distributed leadership by effective communication across the school, support to individuals, occasional encouraging words and developing trust. These factors were identified by the samples that help distributed leadership to spread over in school. According to Arrowsmith (2007) all the staff members were in favor of Distributed Leadership as it made them valued by ‘giving’ them the opportunity to share leadership and power.
Another finding regarding the impact[4] was much clearer that because of ‘delegation’ of work to other staff the headteachers were having much free time to work on public relations, strategic planning and whole-school planning, effective feedback and for better communication. Principals further cleared that they can now focus more on developing distributed leadership, but on the other hand they were not in favor to take risk by distributing the responsibility, where there is fear of accountability.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
As an experienced researcher Arrowsmith has very artistically furnished his paper and at this stage of my research work writing a critique for the first time, I would definitely not be in a position to identify exactly the genuine strengths and weakness of this article where there has been deliberately kept the conclusion open ended. But initially I would urge that outcomes or the findings are based on a small-scale research study and we therefore can not generalize it to all as the contexts matters place to place. Further more I would like to highlight following two aspects which seems little bit confusing. But before going on my reservations I must mention that the theme discussed in the article could be presented in a simple way but I certainly agree with Hart (2003) who articulates this manner as “some authors seem to neglect the needs of their potential readers and manage to make relatively simple ideas confusing” (p.10).
Understanding and Assumptions about Distributed Leadership
Firstly; the concept or understanding of Distributed Leadership as contrast to the author’s understanding, which I have perceived from some literature, that school leadership field is particularly at risk to new leadership terms that are provisionally popular, only to be quickly supplemented with more fashionable ideas or theories. The field is full-up with different labels for leadership, even though it is clear that leadership does not take on a different meaning simply because a new word is put in front of it. Harris (2007) describes that, “distributed leadership has resulted in conceptual ambiguity” (p.315). Further more, distributed leadership without question, is the latest fashionable idea to capture the imagination of those in the educational leadership field (Harris 2007). Distributed Leadership has been used as a synonym for some terms[5]. It is just an idea so conceptually vast that it is difficult to separate what does and doesn’t constitute distributed leadership (Gronn 2003). I therefore, in light of this discussion, a bit confused as the author has done the research on distributed leadership while taking the theoretical concepts and assumptions in mind. But in my opinion there is no any fixed structure of leadership to adopt as our views cannot remain consistent and it changes context to context. Thus it is essential to challenge the ideas and look at all perspectives and should welcome all the practices and leadership themes keeping the situation and context in mind, not distributed leadership ONLY.
Distributed Leadership as ‘given’ Responsibilities
My second concern also strengthens further by above discussion to reinforce the essential need of Distributed Leadership as ‘taken’ not ‘given’ and this statement also proves that actual distribution leadership is ‘taken’ leadership. The findings of this paper are that headteachers were willing to delegate the responsibilities (to lessen their own burden) to other staff members even they are not willing to accept but because the principal has ‘delegated’ or ‘imposed’ this responsibility, so they have to undertake without any reward or remuneration. I myself observed a principal who was fully in favor of distributed leadership and was distributing his every task to the subordinate staff, and he remains totally free but having the heavy remuneration and the rest of his staff who actually working were frustrated of his behavior. Headteachers are getting very much relax time in this form of leadership by involving others, but doing nothing him/herself except delegating his/her own responsibilities. Perfectly for this behavior Gronn (2003) describes ‘greedy work’. We never thought of this question while planting distributed leadership in school that ‘what difference does distributed leadership makes to schools and students’ other than reducing the headteachers’ burden and involving other teachers, then so what?
CONCLUSION
It has already been mentioned that this paper doesn’t have a conclusion and kept open ended but to conclude, it is the reality that the workload of HT has been increased and his/her role is becoming unsustainable and distinctly unattractive and this situation needs to be efficiently adjusted to over come the concern, keeping the environment and context in mind, distributed leadership can be a remedy but not the perfect solution.
Challenges Faced
Initially choosing an appropriate article became a challenge for me, as soon after the announcement of assignment I had chosen an article published in 2001, but again we were instructed to choose one published only in 2007.
Finally; I faced a minor problem which was the articulation of this paper by limiting myself around 1000 words. Initially the critique I wrote was consisting of 1500 words.
REFERENCES
Arrowsmith, T. (2007). Distributed leadership in secondary schools in England: the impact on the role of the head teacher and other issue. Management in Education. 21(2), 21-27.
Gronn, P. (2003). The New Work of Educational Leaders: Changing Leadership Practice in an Era of School Reform. London. Paul Chapman.
Harris, A. (2007). Distributed leadership: conceptual confusion and empirical reticence. International Journal of Leadership in Education. 10(3), 315-325
Hart, C. (2003). The literature review in research. Doing a Literature Review. London: Sage Publications.
[1] This paper was initially presented at a conference held at Aston University, Birmingham in 2006.
[2] Observation of key meetings in school and study of relevant documents was also carried out for authentication
[3] Religious teaching team member
[4] impact of distributed leadership on the role of headteacher
[5] ‘shared’, ‘collaborative’, ‘facilitative and participative’ ‘democratic’ etc.
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