Collaborative leadership development with ICT: experiences from three exemplary schools

Abstract

This study utilized a tool-oriented perspective on the uptake and use of digital technology in three exemplary upper secondary schools, to determine how the school leaders viewed leadership in the development of information and communication technology (ICT)-enriched environments for teaching and learning, and how they utilized technology in their daily leadership practices. The data were obtained from interviews with the school leaders and analyses of school documents and websites. In all three schools, leadership was extended and distributed beyond the work of the principal, taking into account the shared and professional expertise in the leader group and across the staff, and relying on reliable technologies and systemic activities developed over time. The findings confirm previous research underlining the importance of supportive school leadership for the successful implementation of ICT in education. In addition, the study shows that in schools oriented towards Web 2.0 or open collaborative technology practices, the leadership functions as a team-based and distributed activity, relying on educational and technological expertise at multiple levels. The findings across the three schools suggest that tool-mediated activities may become routinized over time, transforming into unspoken institutional infrastructures.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grants from the University of Oslo (2010–2011). We would like to thank the principals and co-leaders of the schools for allowing us free and open access to their practices and ICT tool use. Special thanks also go to Frode Stiansen for the substantial work connected to interviewing the school leaders and transcribing the interviews.

Notes

1. The IEA Second Information Technology in Education Study (SITES) 2006 was an international comparative study of pedagogy and ICT use in schools. The study focused on the role of ICT in teaching and learning in mathematics and science classrooms.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Trond Eiliv Hauge

Trond Eiliv Hauge is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Oslo, Fysikkbygningen, Sem Sælandsvei 24, 0371 Oslo, Norway. Email: [email protected]. His research focuses on school leadership and teacher education, ICT and learning and school development in a sociocultural perspective. He is the former director of the Centre for Excellence in Teacher Education, University of Oslo. His most recent book is Små skritt eller store sprang? Om digitale tilstander i skolen [Small steps or large leaps. The state of digital technologies in school]. Oslo: CappelenDamm (2012).

Svein Olav Norenes

Svein Olav Norenes is PhD candidate at the Faculty of Education, University of Oslo, 1161 Blindern, 0318 Oslo, Norway. Email: [email protected]. His main research interest is learning and organizational development from a sociocultural perspective and how to utilize computer-supported practices in school and workplace contexts.