Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify the change leadership strategies used and most important to the successful systemwide integration of technology, as perceived by superintendents in California school districts that have successfully integrated technology systemwide. In addition, it was the purpose of this study to identify the degree of understanding of technology and technology use necessary for the superintendent to lead the systemwide integration. Methodology. In a descriptive study, sixteen California public school superintendents meeting specific criteria were surveyed online, or by alternate print version. The survey was designed to examine seven change leadership strategies identified by the research: vision; shared vision; distributed leadership; strategic planning/systems thinking; understanding and managing the change process; risk-taking/challenging the status quo; and motivating, inspiring, modeling, and cheerleading. Superintendents ranked the strategies, and responded to questions regarding the importance and frequency of use of each. They also answered questions relating to the superintendent's personal need for awareness or expertise on technology issues, as well as the importance and frequency of use of certain technology skills. A followup interview was conducted with six superintendents to discuss the findings in more depth. Several t-tests were used to evaluate the significance of the results. Findings. Superintendents frequently used all seven change leadership strategies, though some to a much higher degree than others. However, they only found three of the seven (vision; risk-taking/challenging the status quo; motivating, inspiring, modeling, cheerleading) to be significantly important. The strategy of vision was the highest ranked of all strategies in both frequency of use and importance. They agreed to a need for awareness of the ten technology issues, but not to the level of knowledge/expertise needed. Superintendents frequently used three of the eight technology skills (word processing, electronic mail ["e-mail"], Internet browser applications), but only found one, e-mail, to be significantly important. Conclusions and recommendations. Superintendents leading districts that have successfully integrated technology systemwide focus heavily on vision development, on creating a culture that encourages reasonable risk taking and challenging the status quo, and on encouraging and inspiring others. It is recommended that university doctoral programs add themes or strands relating to technology leadership strategies for the superintendent, and that a superintendent technology symposium for existing superintendents be developed, perhaps by current professional organizations and with business partners, to provide the necessary expertise needed to effectively lead an initiative as complex and important to education's future as technology integration.