Session Information
26 SES 11 A, School Leadership in the New Era of Digital Educational Development: Emerging Perspectives and Challenges
Symposium
Contribution
In Australia, the introduction of digital technology, like most countries in the world over the past decade, has been a significant disruptor to school education. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of technology that few could have predicted. The consequences have been positive and negative. On the positive side technologies such as zoom have provided students with opportunities for personalised learning where learning can take place at any time or place outside the classroom. On the other hand, uneven access to technology and gaps in resourcing have led to greater inequalities. In this presentation the authors of two of the chapters combine to outline the challenges and obstacles faced by some primary and secondary school principals in adopting current and new technologies. The context for this presentation is important because of its influence on principals’ leadership on planning the future of learning. Melbourne, Australia experienced one of the most severe and prolonged lockdowns in the world due the COVID 19. While the focus for the presentation is to explore the more general challenges and obstacle for school leaders, the experience of the pandemic had such a profound impact on schools that this cannot be ignored in setting direction for the ‘new normal’. We draw in the emerging research and on interviews with principals from primary and secondary schools in the government and non-government sectors. We explore the insights and perspectives on how six principals have responded and adopted new digital technology and how they see the challenges ahead. The findings will provide an insight into how they understand what technology can include: the challenge of keeping abreast with the changes; resourcing and the cost of new technology; the use of technology in the classroom and home; teacher knowledge, competency and professional development; keeping students safe online, and issues of equity. We also will comment on the role of technology on the ‘future gap’ – what students are learning now and what and how they will be expected to learn.
References
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