The 21st Century Principal: A Study of Technology Leadership and Technology Integration in Texas K-12 Schools

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the study examined whether differences existed between K-12 principal and teacher perceptions of teachers’ abilities to effectively integrate technology in the classroom. Secondly, the study sought to determine whether a relationship existed between principals’ instructional-technology leadership and the effective use of technology in their instruction. To achieve the aim of this study, a quantitative method was used with archival data received from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) through an open records request. A total of 328 principals and 303,950 teachers participated in the study. A repeated measures MANOVA was conducted to examine differences between teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of teachers’ abilities to integrate technology and access to professional development. The results of this study indicated that a difference exists between principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of teachers’ abilities to integrate technology and their access to technology-related professional development. Additionally, principal technology-leadership proficiencies yielded significant positive correlations with teachers’ abilities to integrate technology and their access to technology-related professional development.