Abstract
The current study surveyed a random sample of 250 public primary school principals (74.4% of the total country population), from April until June of 2008, in order to explore the principals’ self-perceived competence and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for personal, teaching, and administrative–managerial purposes in primary schools of Cyprus. In addition, it examines which independent variables affect the primary school principals’ attitudes toward ICT. The results of the study revealed that primary school principals generally do not feel very competent in using ICT, although the majority of them have received in-service training on ICT for personal purposes. Moreover, principals use ICT frequently but not on a daily basis. Also, principals feel more competent in using a word processor and a search engine on the Internet than creating and using a spreadsheet or a database. Finally, it appears that principals use the computer more frequently for personal purposes, than for administrative purposes and last for teaching purposes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Anderson, R. E., & Dexter, S. L. (2005). School technology leadership: an empirical investigation of prevalence and effect. Educational Administration Quarterly, 41(1), 49–82.
Balanskat, A., Blamire, R., & Kefala, S. (2006). The ICT impact report: A review of studies of ICT impact on schools in Europe. Retrieved 5 July 2008 from http://ec.europa.eu/education/pdf/doc254_en.pdf.
Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 248–287.
Bandura, A. (2002). Growing primacy of human agency in adaptation and change in the electronic era. European Psychologist, 7(1), 2–16.
BECTA (2003). What the research says about strategic leadership and management of ICT in schools. Retrieved 30 November 2009 from http://partners.becta.org.uk/uploaddir/downloads/page_documents/research/wtrs_stratleaders.pdf.
BECTA (2004). What research says about ICT and reducing teachers’ workload. Retrieved 30 November 2009 from http://partners.becta.org.uk/uploaddir/downloads/page_documents/research/wtrs_workloads.pdf.
BECTA (2007). The impact of ICT in schools – A landscape review. Retrieved 18 December 2009 from http://www.pedagogy.ir/images/pdf/impact_ict_schools.pdf.
Bishop, P. F. (2002). Information and Communication Technology and school leaders. Paper presented at the Seventh World Conference on Computers in Education. Copenhagen, Denmark: Australian Computer Society. Retrieved 30 November 2009 from http://crpit.com/confpapers/CRPITV8Bishop.pdf.
Dawson, C., & Rakes, G. C. (2003). The influence of principals’ technology training on the integration of technology into schools. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 36(1), 29–49.
Doratis, L. (2007). ICT projects of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus. Retrieved 15 November 2009 from http://www.moec.gov.cy/presentations/ppt/Presentation_for_ICT.ppt.
Empirica (2006). Benchmarking access and use of ICT in European schools: Final report from head teacher and classroom teacher surveys in 27 European countries. Retrieved 6 August 2009 from http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/docs/studies/final_report_3.pdf.
Eteokleous, N. (2008). Evaluating computer technology integration in a centralized school system. Computers & Education, 51(2), 669–686.
Felton, F. S. (2006). The use of computers by elementary school principals. Doctoral dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia. Retrieved 26 July 2008 from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-04242006-144854/unrestricted/FFelton04202006.pdf.
Flanagan, L., & Jacobsen, M. (2003). Technology leadership for the twenty-first century principal. Journal of Educational Administration, 41(2), 124–142.
Gurr, D. (2000). School principals and Information and Communication Technology. Retrieved 24 November 2009 from http://staff.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/~davidmg/papers/Gurr_Conf_Paper.pdf.
Karagiorgi, Y., & Charalambous, K. (2004). Curricula considerations in ICT integration: Models and practices in Cyprus. Education and Information Technologies, 9(1), 21–35.
Kithreotis, A., & Pashiardis, P. (2006). Exploring leadership role in school effectiveness and the validation of models of principals’ effects on students’ achievement. Retrieved 12 May 2008 from http://www.topkinisis.com/conference/CCEAM/wib/index/outline/PDF/KYTHREOTIS%20Andreas.pdf.
Ministry of Education and Culture (2007). Annual Report-2006. Nicosia: Ministry of Education and Culture. Retrieved 23 November 2009 from http://www.moec.gov.cy/etisia-ekthesi/pdf/Annual_report_2006_en.pdf.
Mueller, J., Wood, E., Willoughby, T., Ross, C., & Specht, J. (2008). Identifying discriminating variables between teachers who fully integrate computers and teachers with limited integration. Computers & Education, 51(4), 1–15.
Murphy, D.T., & Gunter, G.A. (1997). Technology integration: The importance of administrative support. Educational Media International, 34(3), 136–139.
Murphy, J., & Shipman, N. (1999). The interstate school-leaders consortium: A standards-based approach to strengthening educational leadership. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 13(3), 205–224.
Reezigt, G., & Creemers B. (2005). A comprehensive framework for effective school improvement. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 16(4), 407–424.
Reynolds, D., & Teddlie, C. (2000). The processes of school effectiveness. In C. Teddlie & D. Reynolds (eds.), The International Handbook of School Effectiveness Research (pp.134–159). London: Falmer Press.
Schiller, J. (2003). Working with ICT perceptions of Australian principals. Journal of Educational Administration, 41(2), 171–185.
Stegall, P. (1998). The principal - key to technology implementation. Paper presented in the 95th Annual Meeting of the National Catholic Education Association, 14–17 April, Los Angeles: CA.
Theofilides, C., Michaelidou, A., Stylianides, M., & Charalambous, K. (2006). Leadership functions and dysfunctions in Cyprus primary education. Retrieved 8 May 2009 from http://www.topkinisis.com/conference/CCEAM/wib/index/outline/PDFS/THEOPHILIDES%20Christos.pdf.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Charalambous, K., Papaioannou, P. (2012). The Cypriot Public Primary School Principals’ Self-Perceived Competence and Use of ICT for Personal, Teaching, and Administrative Purposes. In: Jimoyiannis, A. (eds) Research on e-Learning and ICT in Education. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1083-6_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1083-6_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-1082-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-1083-6
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)