Understanding What Administrators See as Barriers to the Adoption of Technology for Learning and Intervention Measures to Overcome the Barriers

by David S. Bail

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Chapter 5 -- Conclusions and Recommendations

Introduction

Chapter 1 introduced the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD), a public kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) school district located in Riverside County, California. On October 24, 1990 the school board adopted a Strategic Plan. One of the strategies involved greater use of technology (Strategic Plan, 1990) in a goal setting forth that, "Technology shall be adopted in the instructional and operational programs of the district." Technology is not being used for learning to the extent envisioned by the Riverside Unified School District Strategic Plan, nor to the level of expectations of many in other districts. Chapter 1 further discussed the background of the current demand for educational reform, and the role of technology in that reform. Chapter 2 reviewed the literature in the fields of change, the diffusion of innovation, and the stages of concern model (as known descriptors for barriers in the educational change process), and found no studies focusing on the application of organizational learning theory, corporate lifecycle stages theory, and natural science and social psychology models to the change process, barriers to change, or intervention methods to accelerate the adoption of technology for learning.

Chapter 3 discussed the methodology necessary for a proposed survey to identify factors which might underlay administrators' attitudes toward the use of technology. Questions were developed for a survey which would probe those areas (the adoption of innovations model and stages of concerns, the lifecycle stages of organizations model, restructuring and reforms such as "instructionism" versus constructivism, the learning organizations model and transformational leadership theory, and literature from field work in actual instructional technology implementation), as well as to ascertain if there were any conditions which would influence these factors. Chapter 4 reported that the research confirmed that variables and factors do exist that influence the adoption of technology for learning, and that those variables, factors and conditions could be altered to hasten the degree of adoption. The alternative hypothesis was that variables exist which influence the degree of the adoption of technology for learning in the Riverside Unified School District and in K-12 public school districts, and that those variables could be altered and other intervention measures taken as well to hasten the degree of adoption. The null hypothesis was that no variables would be found to exist which influence the degree of the adoption of technology for learning, and that no intervention measures would be found to exist which could accelerate the rate of adoption. The null hypothesis was rejected and the alternate hypothesis was adopted.

This chapter will discuss conclusions and recommendations based on the findings from the literature review reported in Chapter 2 and the survey of administrators reported in Chapter 4.

Conclusions from the Data Analysis and Literature Review

Cultural and economic changes underlying the perceived need for educational reform were presented in Chapter 1, along with changes in worldview and the coming of the Information Age. The demand for educational reform to prepare graduates for a changed world was discussed and studies showing the use of technology for educational reform were presented. The most important conclusions from this background material were that education as an industry seems to be undergoing a reengineering process as it refocuses on the needs of the customer and the most effective ways to fulfill those needs. The current efforts of reform and restructuring, particularly those centered on constructivism, seem to be aligning learning methodology with students' learning skills. The use of technology as a means to accomplish these ends is the primary message of Chapter 1, leading to the conclusion that:

Technology is NOT the change.
Technology is the INSTRUMENTALITY of the change.

The management problem of discovering what were the views of administrators as organizational leaders, of what they were seeing as barriers to the adoption of technology for learning and to discover what intervention measures might be taken to overcome the barriers, was the focus of the literature review and the subsequent survey. Components of the problem which serve as intervention measures were found to be:

    1. Having a moral purpose for societal improvement; vision and leadership.
    2. Institutionalizing innovation; transformational leadership and inclusiveness.
    3. Using learning organization principles; practicing adaptive and generative change.
    4. Using biologic and social science principles for transformational change, including the parallel to DNA (organizational vision, values and objectives), "dissipative structures" or change agents which overcome the stagnant status quo and allow the organism to achieve success by surviving a challenge and better evolving and adapting to its environment because of it, high synergy systems and their mutual dependence on shared goals, and cognitive dissonance and superordinate goals to move toward mutual accommodation and the common good.
    5. Using marketing and economic principles to ascertain where the organization is on the product lifecycle curve, and seeking the foundations for the next product while resources are still available and before crisis sets in; evaluating where the organization is on the corporate lifecycle stage model and seeking to return life to the bureaucratic organization by returning it to the entrepreneurial position where the focus is on both the customer needs and their fulfillment simultaneously along with the survival and growth of the organization, through success in accomplishing entrepreneuerial projects which model behavior for the entire organization.

These biologic, social science, marketing, economic, and corporate lifecycle stages points of view were found to be lacking in the existing literature on the adoption of technology for learning and stages of concern models. Believing them to be significant in identifying barriers and serving as intervention measures to overcome the barriers, a survey of school district instructional administrators was undertaken. Use of technology for learning as an educational reform is an important moral purpose which can serve as a motivation for administrators pursuing a successful change effort.

Factors Affecting The Variability Of The Dependent Variables

Planned future increased use of technology for learning is a dependent variable measuring attainment of a condition or Stage of Concern that may indicate increased use from a currently high or low base; in this analysis, there was a negative correlation between this Stage of Concern and having developed a shared vision or Workable Business Plan, indicating that this is an earlier stage of adoption. The degree to which the computers are networked, as an dependent variable, had a correlation with having a shared vision or Workable Business Plan, as well as the availability of current funds and the current number of students per computer - in other words, as there were more computers and fewer students for each computer, the extent of networking reported was greater, as in a later stage of adoption.

The reader will recall that the primary dependent variables are the quantity of computers accessible for learning expressed as the number of students per computer and the hours per day computers are used for learning. The factors influencing the variability of the dependent variables (only the ones which are not themselves dependent variables), their numbers of occurrence and the direction of their correlations that have been reported by district administrators are:

Adoption of Innovations and Stages of Concern model:

8. There are districts that I respect that are successfully using technology for learning. (1, Positive)

Learning Organizations and Transformational Leadership model:

13. My district can choose what it wants to emphasize in curriculum. (1, Positive)

24. We have developed a shared vision of the integration of technology into instruction. (3, Positive)

Instructional Technology Implementation Literature model:

21. My discretionary funds are: none; a small amount; some; or comfortable. (3, Positive)

29. I make sure that principals and teachers get support for assistance in selecting technology for instruction. (1, Negative, indicating current accomplishment despite the diminished presence of this factor)

30. I make decisions that give support for staff development for the use of instructional technology. (2, Positive)

Review of Factors Underlying the Conditions Favoring the Adoption of Technology

We have seen previously that the existence of a Willing Marketplace ("18. My district is willing to take rational risks for instructional improvement over the long haul") is a condition which exists prior to the development of the shared vision or Workable Business Plan ("24. We have developed a shared vision of the integration of technology into instruction"). Further, we have seen that communication of that shared vision by a Committed Leader ("25. I have widely communicated that shared vision of the integration of technology into instruction") requires that the shared vision first exist. The factors influencing the variability of the conditions (only the ones which are not themselves one of the three conditions), their numbers of occurrence and the direction of their correlations that have been reported by district administrators are:

Adoption of Innovations and Stages of Concern model:

6. Computer use should be encouraged by my district. (1, Positive)

7. Using computers adds motivational interest to classroom lessons. (1, Negative, indicating that the intent of the instructional use of technology is for integration into learning, not as a reward system)

8. There are districts that I respect that are successfully using technology for learning. (1, Positive)

33. I plan on increasing the use of instructional technology: this year; within next two years; beyond two years; unknown. (Scored negatively, 4= this year, 1= unknown) (1 Negative, indicating a negative correlation of planned future increased use with having developed a shared plan; and 1 Positive, indicating a positive correlation of planned increased use with communicating a shared vision)

Reforms and Restructuring model:

11. I believe that children should take all the necessary time to learn to construct meaning and knowledge. (1, Positive)

12. My district believes that children should take all the necessary time to learn to construct meaning and knowledge. (1, Positive)

26. We are clear on the use of technology as a tool for increased learning, not as an add-on. (1, Positive)

Learning Organizations and Transformational Leadership model:

13. My district can choose what it wants to emphasize in curriculum. (1, Negative, indicating that careful planning is required)

14. The community climate of my district allows experiments. (3, Positive - the single most frequently correlated factor underlying favorable conditions)

15. The internal climate of my district allows experiments. (1, Negative, indicating that careful planning is required)

16. I am "OK" if an experiment fails. (1, Negative, indicating that careful planning is required)

Lifecycle Stages of Organizations model:

17. My district is centered on learning regardless of consequences. (2, Positive)

20. My district is bound by restrictive controls to the point of sacrificing the possibility of new movement. (Scored negatively: 4= strongly disagree, 1= strongly agree) (2, Positive, indicating restrictive controls are a hindrance and an obstacle)

Instructional Technology Implementation Literature model:

22. I get support for timely and effective equipment repair for instructional technology. (2, Positive)

29. I make sure that principals and teachers get support for assistance in selecting technology for instruction. (1, Positive)

Thus the survey showed that factors from the lifecycle stages of organization model, the learning organizations and transformational leadership model, and the reforms and restructuring model were found to be present and effective in reports of attaining the adoption of technology for learning, thereby providing tools in addition to previously published reports reporting factors from the adoptions of innovations and stages of concern model and the instructional technology implementation literature model.

Effects of Limitations

The primary limitation on this research into what variables exist that influence the degree of adoption of technology for learning in RUSD and in K-12 public school districts, how they could be altered and what other intervention measures could be taken to hasten the adoption, is that by design the surveys have been sent exclusively to administrators rather than classroom teachers (other than those classroom teachers in RUSD who have been surveyed as a comparison group who, by reason of their small sample size, could not be said to be representative of the 2.43 million public school teachers of the United States). To the extent which barriers or intervention measures exist which are not the province of school district administrators, this survey has not attempted to study them; there exist many other sources for those studies.

As previously reported, the sample for the survey was deliberately non-random, concentrated primarily on 324 districts that are members of the National School Boards Association's Technology and Learning Network, and supplemented by 46 of the larger districts in California. This was intended to seek answers from districts thought to be inclined to be more technologically advanced, so as to serve as a guide. As there are no agreed national standards which indicate the degree of technological advancement of the 15,360 school districts throughout the United States, nor any agreed central registry of districts that have attained such a status, this survey cannot be said to have confidence limits in the traditional sense. Nevertheless, since the 181 survey responses constituted 48.9% of the survey sample sent, the sample should be accurate for this presumably technologically advanced school district population to a factor of +/- seven percent at the ninety-five percent confidence level.

Recommendations to Management

Implementation of technology for learning as a tool, not as an add-on, represents the educational reform of constructivism, harnessed to address individual learners' learning styles, and allowing the learner to construct meaning and context. Educational reform is demanded by society to help students adapt to societal, economic and technological change. as such, attainment of this reform is a moral purpose worthy of effort and dislocation.

The demands for educational reform coming from the public are a signal from our customer that our product and our organizations are not aligned with current needs as perceived by those customers. In the business world, such a situation calls for reengineering in order to survive. In the market product lifecycle model and the corporate lifecycle stages model, such a change from bureaucracy to entrepreneuership is the only means for rejuvenating the organization and avoiding stagnation and death. In the learning organizations model, such generative change is the modus operandi of transformational leadership, leading forward through shared vision and values. In the world of biology, chemistry, and physics, such a catalyst will at first be resisted but must ultimately be combined with, so as to accommodate, adapt and evolve to the new environment.

Management must embrace this change robustly, forging forward into the disruption and the uncertainty, acknowledging customer demands and undertaking the changes needed to fulfill them. Internally it may be believed that the status quo is acceptable and working, but the marketplace perceives that the product is mature and in need of revitalization. The marketplace is willing, because the need for change is perceived clearly. Committed leaders must develop shared visions, workable business plans, developed inclusively and relying on reengineered learning processes underpinned by adequate staff development in the instructional use of technology, adequate technology selection support, adequate technology repair, and adequate funding for all of it. Once developed, this shared vision, this workable business plan, must be communicated widely and shepherded through to accomplishment, including necessary revisions along its course - which will extend over numerous years, perhaps a decade.

One of the least intuitive learnings that need to occur in the educational establishment is that to be a learning organization, problems are our friends. As the scientific literature has shown, these change agents, catalysts, or "dissipative structures" as they have been called by one source, are indeed disruptions to the status quo. Whether they are external, internal, or both, they are usually resented by "the powers that be" as challenges to the existing order which is so well known to the current inhabitants of the power structure. Nevertheless accommodation, adaptation, and evolution are required to prosper, indeed to continue being alive.

With use of technology being a tool of educational reform, a source for greater worldwide accessibility to knowledge for students, and a necessity for earning a living in the Information Age, providing access and facilitating use of technology for learning is a moral purpose worthy of the effort.

Implications

The marketplace should be willing at this time for a product launch of technology for learning. The customers may need to be courted, so as to develop that necessary community freedom for the district to do whatever needs to be done for learning. Dialogue with the public needs to be engaged, with both strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, openly explored. The teaching staff needs to be engaged in this dialogue also, for as we have encountered in the sample data, the opinions of the teaching staff may be at a different point from that of administrators.

The most difficult problem to be encountered will most likely be a scarcity of resources, money, personnel and time. Resources will be required for this change effort, and they must be found either from new sources or from reallocations of existing sources. Educators must approach their publics for these resources, and also ask for the public's understanding of the disruptions and dislocations which will occur during the transition to the new model. The pressures of continuing to conduct business in the current model with productivity and effectiveness declines limited to a minimum, while also undertaking to develop and launch the new model, will be considerable. Pressures from the public for improvement in the current model are currently being heard and felt, in addition.

What must always be kept in mind is that technology is a means for learning - not an end. The use of technology for learning is best thought of as a means to enable learners with different learning styles to use technology for learning in different technology use styles. The task of the professional staff over the next few years will be to perfect their instructional methodology in each of those styles so as to best assist each learner in their learning. One visual example of one district's integrated technology adoption plan, as represented in a diagram showing time, numbers of teachers to be inserviced annually, topics of inservice, infrastructure development, and funding needs follows:

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Summary

This chapter discussed conclusions and recommendations based on the findings from the literature review reported in Chapter 2 and the survey of administrators reported in Chapter 4. Cultural and economic changes underlay the perceived need for educational reform, along with changes in worldview and the coming of the Information Age. The public as customer demands educational reform to prepare graduates for a changed world. Education as an industry seems to be undergoing a reengineering process as it refocuses on the needs of the customer and the most effective ways to fulfill those needs. The current efforts of reform and restructuring, particularly those centered on constructivism, seem to be aligning learning methodology with students' learning skills. Technology is not the change--technology is the instrumentality of the change.

The management problem of discovering what administrators saw as barriers to the adoption of technology for learning and what intervention measures might be taken to overcome the barriers was the focus of the literature review and the subsequent survey. Components of the problem which also serve as intervention measures were found to be:

    1. Having a moral purpose for societal improvement; vision and leadership
    2. Institutionalizing innovation; transformational leadership and inclusiveness
    3. Using learning organization principles; practicing adaptive and generative change
    4. Using biologic and social science principles for transformational change
    5. Using marketing and economic principles to ascertain where the organization is on the product lifecycle curve

These biologic, social science, marketing, economic, and corporate lifecycle stages points of view were found to be lacking in the existing literature on the adoption of technology for learning and stages of concern models. Believing them to be significant in identifying barriers and serving as intervention measures to overcome the barriers, a survey of school district instructional administrators was undertaken. Use of technology for learning as an educational reform is an important moral purpose which can serve as a motivation for administrators pursuing a successful change effort.

Factors were found that affect the variability of the dependent variables and the null hypothesis was rejected. Planned future increased use of technology for learning is a dependent variable measuring attainment of a condition or Stage of Concern that has a negative correlation with having developed a shared vision or Workable Business Plan, indicating that this is an earlier stage of adoption. The degree to which the computers are networked, as an dependent variable, had a correlation with having a shared vision or Workable Business Plan, as well as the availability of current funds and the current number of students per computer - in other words, when there were more computers and fewer students for each computer, the extent of networking reported was greater, as in a later stage of adoption. The primary dependent variables are the quantity of computers accessible for learning expressed as the number of students per computer and the hours per day computers are used for learning. The factors influencing the variability of the dependent variables are from the Adoption of Innovations and Stages of Concern model, the Learning Organizations and Transformational Leadership model, and the Instructional Technology Implementation Literature model.

Factors were seen to underlay the conditions favoring the adoption of technology. The factors influencing the variability of the conditions include the Adoption of Innovations and Stages of Concern model, the Reforms and Restructuring model, the Learning Organizations and Transformational Leadership model, the Lifecycle Stages of Organizations model, and the Instructional Technology Implementation Literature model.

We have seen previously that the existence of a Willing Marketplace is a condition which exists prior to the development of the shared vision or Workable Business Plan. Further, we have seen that communication of that shared vision by a Committed Leader requires that the shared vision first exist. The survey showed that factors from the lifecycle stages of organizations model, the learning organizations and transformational leadership model, and the reforms and restructuring model were found to be present and effective in reports of attaining the adoption of technology for learning, thereby providing tools in addition to previously published reports reporting factors from the adoptions of innovations and stages of concern model and the instructional technology implementation literature model.

Recommendations to management were made, including the fact that management must embrace this change robustly, forging forward into the disruption and the uncertainty, acknowledging customer demands and undertaking the changes needed to fulfill them. Internally it may be believed that the status quo is still acceptable and working, but the marketplace perceives that the product is mature and in need of revitalization. Committed leaders must develop shared visions, workable business plans, developed inclusively and relying on reengineered learning processes underpinned by adequate staff development in the instructional use of technology, adequate technology selection support, adequate technology repair, and adequate funding for all of it. Once developed, this shared vision, this workable business plan, must be communicated widely and shepherded through to accomplishment, including necessary revisions along its course - which will extend over numerous years.

 


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