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European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 5, Number 3 (2007) Similarly, Schepers and Wetzels (2005) found that there is a positive relationship between transformational leadership and technology usage. They added that if a leader encourages creativity and open-mindedness, employees will be more used to experimenting with new technologies and procedures. Thus, they learn more quickly. Therefore, a leader should facilitate conditions and events that create a positive environment for technology adoption such as training and education and organizational technical support (Frambach and Schillewaert, 2002; Schillewaert et al., 2005). In this way, transformational leaders can plan for integrating technology into the instructional program in several different ways. First, they must create a vision statement that describes how teachers and the staff will use technology for data-driven decision making, increased productivity, and planning. More broadly, principals are a key source of influence on school’s culture. They should concentrate on building a school culture in which teachers use technology in teaching and learning (Felton, 2006). Moreover, they should involve all stakeholders to give them an opportunity to have input into the goals of the plan. On the other hand, data must be gathered to understand where the school is in order to plan for the future (Barnett, 2001). Hence, principals must be prepared to embrace technology and integrate technology into the school. Furthermore, they should be committed to professional development by providing appropriate training for effective use of technology. In addition to budget issues, human resources and material resources must be provided by principals (Han, 2002). Finally, leaders should plan for ongoing monitoring and assessment with benchmarks and timelines and also they must plan for future technology to allow for new and promising practices and technologies (Barnett, 2001). Therefore, administrators should not only be competent users of information and technology tools, but also they must understand how to align technology with the school’s overall educational vision 6. Conclusion Technology will continue be an integral part of our schools for the foreseeable future. If school leaders are to maximize its effectiveness, they must be active learners in this fast changing arena. Leadership is critical and can significantly determine the extent to which technology becomes integrated in schools. Integration is facilitated in situations where the leadership body places great emphasis on technology use. Schiller (2003) stated that the role of the leader is crucial to the successful implementation of ICT. Hence, leaders should never stop learning and honing their skills. In addition, they must be familiar with current research and best practices. They must maintain a personal plan for self-improvement and continuous learning (Bennis, 1990). Then, if principals use technology and understand the benefits of technology utilization, they can successfully model their use for their staff. In this way, teachers will be encouraged to model the use of computers for their students. Therefore, school leaders must develop their style of leadership and learn new technologies to serve precise management task. According to Schepers and Wetzels (2005), transformational leadership style can influence on the effective use of ICT. Moreover, Kelloway and Barling (2000) stated that transformational leadership can be successfully taught. In this way, they used an experimental design to assess the effectiveness of leadership training. Their result showed that both training and counseling are effective means of behavioral change. If leaders find that their behavior or leadership style do not fit in their workplace, they should change their leadership style (Kelloway & Barling, 2000). In this way, technology and leadership have reciprocal effects, that is; a change in one necessitates a change in the other (Crawford, 2005). Hence, technology leaders must seek to understand all of the components in the educational system that are needed to lead technology integration as an instructional strategy and ultimately to help make technology a transparent tool in the teaching and learning process. Therefore, technology leaders should be knowledgeable and competent. Competence in using computers requires a positive attitude, practice time, and staff development in computer use (Starr, 2001). Besides, a plan for training should focus on the needs of principals. Hence, consistent and continuous training can raise the proficiency of principals. Moreover, 114
European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 5, Number 3 (2007) competence in operating a computer and in utilizing software may improve the quality and efficiency of administrative performance in schools. In this way, improved quality could lead to improve decision making (Felton, 2006). Therefore, there is a need for principals to be proficient in utilizing the computer to assist in administrative and instructional functions (Blake, 2000; Starr, 2001). Also, it is important for principals to become role models if they expect teachers and students to readily use computers in the teaching and learning processes. References [1] Albirini, A.,(2006). Teachers’ attitudes toward information and communication. Journal of Computer & Education, 47: 373-398. [2] Amabile, T. M. (1998). ‘How to kill creativity’, Harvard Business Review, 76: 77–87. [3] Amabile, T. M., (1996). Creativity in context: Update to the social psychology of creativity. Boulder, CO: West view Press. [4] Anderson, R. E., & Dexter, S.L., (2000). School Technology Leadership: Incidence and Impact (Teaching, Learning, and Computing: 1998 National Survey Report#6). Irvine, CA: Center for Research on Information Technology and Organisations, University of California, Irvine. [5] Attaran, M., Vanlaar, I., (2001). Managing the use of school technology: and eight step guide for administrators. Journal of Management Development, 20: 393-401. [6] Barnett, H., (2001, October). Successful k-12 technology planning: Ten essential elements (ERIC Digest). Retrieved March 15, 2006, from October 29, 2005, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2/content_storage_01/0000000b/80/2a/33/f4.pd f (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 457858) [7] Bass, B. M., (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York: I press [8] Bass, B. M., (1997). Does the transactional, transformational leadership paradigm transcend organizational and national boundaries? Journal of American Psychologist, 52:130 -139. [9] Bass, B.M., Avolio, B.J., Jung, D.I., & Berson, Y., (2003). Predicting Unit Performance by Assessing Transformational and Transactional Leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88: 207–218. [10] Bass, B. M. and Avolio, B. j., (1994). Improving Organization Effectiveness: through transformational leadership. Thousand Oaks:Sage. [11] Beatty, C. A., Lee, G. L., (1992). Leadership among middle managers - An exploration in the context of technological change. Journal of Human Relation. 45: 957-989. [12] Becker, H. J., Ravitz, J. L., & Wong, Y. T.,(1999). Teacher and Teacher- Directed Student Use of Computers and Software. (Teaching, Learning, and Computing: 1998 National Survey 3). Irvine, California: Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations, University of California, Irvine. [13] Bennis, W., (1990). Why leaders can’t lead: The unconscious conspiracy continues. Francisco: Jossey-Bass. [14] Bennis, W.,(2001). Leading in unnerving times. MIT Sloan Management Review. 42: 97–102. [15] Berg, R. van den and Sleegers, P., (1996a). Building innovative capacity and leadership, in Leithwood, K.A. (Ed.), International Handbook of Educational Leadership and Administration (pp. 653-700). Kluwer, Dordrecht. [16] Blake, R., (2000). An investigation of technology competence of school-based administrators in Florida schools. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Central Florida, 2000). Dissertation Abstracts International, 61(07A), 2527. (UMI No. 9977808) [17] Brooks-Young, S., (2002). Making technology standards work for you: A guide for school administrators. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education. [18] Burns, J. M.,(1978). Leadership. New York: Harper and Row. 115
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