Instructional technology in education. What are districts in a southern U.S. state acquiring and how is it being managed?

Abstract

In the United States, K-12 public schools are collectively investing around $13 billion annually on educational technology. One of the central aims of integrating technology into K-12 schools is to improve or sustain school performance. Student outcomes have long been a chosen indicator of a school’s success and the existence educational technology should positively influence this indicator, but studies demonstrate an often-tenuous relationship between technology, technology use, and student performance. Recent empirical research seems to fall short of demonstrating a clear, comprehensive understanding of what instructional technology schools are acquiring, and how they manage and/or use it according to educational technology industry best practices. Moreover, research still does not fully understand the reasons why districts and/or schools want to adopt said instructional technology, as these reasons may be related to their use. Since different types of technology serve different purposes, having a strong understanding of a school or district’s underlying rationale for technology selection and its management and/or use of technology may help link technology to performance. To address this gap, this qualitative study identifies which instructional technology software systems are commonly used, why they were adopted, and how these systems are being managed by the district. Qualitative data was collected through a series of interviews (n = 6) and surveys (n = 6) of key district leaders from two urban, two suburban, and two rural school districts in a Southern U.S. state. Findings from the study indicate that there are many kinds of instructional technologies – some of which have existed over time and some of which have been recently adopted - that the focal districts intended to serve one or more stakeholder groups. According to the district leaders who participated in this study, recent adoptions in instructional technology include the technologies themselves as well as the adoption of many new strategies for utilization. Furthermore, district leaders indicated that the majority of instructional technology in their schools were adopted to serve primarily students and that adoptions have been made largely to enhance many existing aspects of teaching and learning. Responses to surveys and interviews by the district leaders included in this study indicate that utilization and tracking of instructional technology is not always being done in alignment with education and technology standards and best practices.