The Role of Technology Leaders in Schools of Hong Kong

SO, Koon-Keung Teddy

Division of Information & Technology Studies

The University of Hong Kong,

Pokfulam, Hong Kong.

*****@***hku. hk

ABSTRACT

For more than twenty years Telem has been researching on information technology in educational administration. He found that there are many questions left unanswered like who should be technical expert in school and what should be the expert’s role and status. Hong Kong schools faced similar questions too in her first five-year strategic plan in 1998 – 2003 when a new post of information technology coordinator (ITC) was created in Hong Kong schools. This paper used a survey method to find out the general expectations of teachers on the ITC. Results showed that there are great differences between the roles of ITCs in the literature and the government requirements, and the expectations from teachers and the real situation. According to the literature and the findings, some suggestions are given to improve the situation. It is hope that the Hong Kong lesson is beneficial to other school systems which face similar questions.

KEYWORDS

Information technology management, human resources management, information technology coordinator, educational administration.

1. INTRODUCTION

For more than twenty years Telem has been researching on information technology in educational administration (1982, 1984a, 1984b, 1985a, 1985b, 1987a, 1987b, 1988a, 1988b, 1989, 1990a, 1990b, 1990c, 1991a, 1991b, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003; Telem and Avidov, 1994, 1996; Telem and Buvilski, 1995). Information technology not only affects learning and teaching activities, but also school administration and management. School management information system (SMIS) was installed to provide support for the principal and other school employees in their daily activities to improve their performance (Telem, 1995). Due to the introduction of SMIS, a new task, technological leadership, was added to the roles of principal. “A new type of principal has emerged: a principal who manages the school’s large amounts of data and uses information and statistical analysis provided by SMIS” (Telem, 1995, p. 6). In order to help principal to fulfill his new role, and to manage and control the SMIS, a new role of SMIS administrator was created. This new computer administrator is responsible for updating the school's database and SMIS reports production. This role was fulfilled either by converting the role of an existing school employee or by recruiting a new one (Telem and Buvilski, 1995). Three years later Telem amended that this post should be taken by a teacher (Telem, 1998). As a matter of fact, Telem stated that many important questions were left unanswered:

Who should be the SMIS (technical) expert in the school (the principal, deputy teacher, computer teacher, or special school employee)? What should be the expert’s role and status? How does the expert’s role affect other roles in schools? (Telem, 1991)

Although information technology was penetrated into schools in large scale since the 1990s, there were still no definite answers to these questions. Different school systems in various countries deal with these problems differently, taking into accounts of the human resources and financial support available, as well as the schooling structure. In Hong Kong we face these problems in 1999, since the introduction of the five-year IT strategic plan in school from 1998 to 2003.

1.1 Background of the Hong Kong Case

Hong Kong started her IT Strategic Plan in 1998, which compared with other countries was later. As a result, Hong Kong has had to catch up with its neighbors; therefore integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into teaching and learning was given the highest priority in Hong Kong (Education and Manpower Bureau, EMB, 1998). In 1998, the Hong Kong Government launched a five-year strategic plan of implementing IT in schools of Hong Kong from 1998 to 2003. A total of five billion Hong Kong dollars was poured into this project (EMB, 1998). It sparked off a lot of planning, re-structuring, budgeting and purchasing, and staff development activities in schools (Law et al, 1999). The Hong Kong Government expected that by the end of this five-year plan, the computer network infrastructure would have been installed, broadband internet connection would have been established in all primary and secondary schools, and all teachers would have been received IT training. Also, information technology would have been integrated in at least 25% of the teaching activities, and the long desired “paradigm shift” from teacher-centered to student-centered pedagogy would emerge, and schools would have become knowledge-based learning organizations.

In order to support and help teachers to fully integrate IT in curriculum in the five-year IT strategic plan, in May 1999, the Education Department (ED) announced the allocation of the Information Technology Coordinator. The first batch of 120 ICT coordinators was assigned to both primary and secondary schools in the academic year starting September 1999. The second batch of 130 of ICT coordinators was deployed in the school year. The chosen 250 schools in total, from the view of ED, were those who had a clear vision of the use of IT for teaching and learning, and could demonstrate their readiness to develop IT. These schools were expected to take the lead in implementing IT-based initiatives not only for the benefit of their own students, but also extending positive influences to other schools.

The purpose of this study is to find out the roles the information technology coordinator (ITC) in helping the schools and teachers integrate IT into the curriculum and learning and teaching activities, and their roles in school administration. This research aims to find out:

the expectation of teachers/schools who need help and support from the IT personnel the existence of mismatch in human resources when implementing the five-year strategic plan ().

It is hope that the Hong Kong lesson is beneficial to other school systems which face similar questions.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 What is Technology Coordinator?

Poole (1997) describes a teacher-computerist as a person who has sufficiently high level of expertise to act as an advisor and troubleshooter regarding using computer-based educational technology. There should be one or more teacher-computerists in every school. The number depends on the size of the school as well as the school's commitment to educational computing.

Moursund (1992) argues the title computer coordinator seems to be out of date. Instead, the title technology facilitator, technology coordinator, and instructional coordinator began to emerge. "A technology coordinator is to design and help implement the staff development that facilitates appropriate use of computer related technology in schools." He is an educational leader as well as a change agent, playing a significant role in school reform and school restructuring. Strudler & Gall (1988) assert that Computer coordinators are conceptualized as change agents. He deals with a rapidly changing field and helps to facilitate change. He is a leader in school restructuring to help move our schools into the information age. Therefore he should be an intelligent, hardworking person who is open to new ideas and comfortable with change. He has to possess technical background that makes it possible to keep teachers with changes in educational computing (Moursund, 1992).

2.2 The Need for Technology Coordinator

Based on the limited budget for purchasing hardware and software, one may argue that if there is a need for every school to have a full time technology coordinator. Moursund (1992) points out that it is not just the total quantity of computer equipment in a school or district that determines if a technology coordinator is needed. Rather, it is the nature and extent of the use of this equipment. A coordinator is not needed if computer is used just as an electronic typewriter. On the other end of spectrum, technology coordinator is needed for taking care of the computers installed in classrooms equipped with multi-media devices, and a wide range of hardware and software and other instructional learning materials. The networked, multi-media classroom becomes a major challenge to our educational system. To develop and maintain this environment it requires:

1. A good deal of teacher training.

2. A great deal of technical support for students and teachers.

3. A great deal of curriculum development.

4. A substantial increase in budget allocations for technology and support of technology.

5. A long transitional period, while both students and teachers learn on the jobs

Yee (2000) also describes the needs of Information Technology professionals requested by schools principals. The principals need full time persons devoted to IT. “All the plans and visions that I want happening, can’t happen without that person.” It is definitely beneficial to have administrators from diverse technology backgrounds with different curricular competencies in order to achieve multiple perspectives.

Crawford (1997) argues that there should be a coordinating group for IT in every school to supervise the IT policy, the implementation plan, and review its actual practice. The coordinating group should include the IT coordinator, the IT manager, and several representatives from different subject departments. The IT coordinator should chair the IT group and be responsible for the all aspects of the use of IT throughout the school, while the subject representatives are responsible for the implementation of the school's IT policy within their departments. The IT coordinator should report directly to the senior management. He should have the skills to work with other teachers.

2.3 Selection and Recruitment of ITC

Strudler (1996) proposes that prospective coordinators should possess a good balance of technical, interpersonal, and organizational skills. The skills include initiative-taking, tenacity to secure resources, facilitating group functioning and decision-making, and being able to "wean" teachers of their independence on the coordinator.

2.3.1 General Qualifications to be a Technology Coordinator

Generally speaking, the qualifications to be a technology coordinator can be divided into four main categories:

1. A broad general education and dedication to lifelong learning.

2. Knowledge of and support for our education system.

3. Interpersonal skills.

4. Technical knowledge in the fields of computer science, computer education, and a broad range of technologies used in hypermedia environments.

2.3.2 Technical Qualifications to be a Technology Coordinator

The job responsibilities of different technology coordinators may differ substantially. There will not be any uniform agreement on the technical knowledge and skills required being a technology coordinator. The knowledge and skills vary widely with the nature of the job. Eventually school district may want their technology coordinators to have more formal education, such as a doctorate in computer education. Currently there are relatively few people with such credentials. However, people earning a doctorate in computer education are generally taking positions in higher education or in the private sector. "If I had all of those qualifications, I'd leave education and get rich" (Moursund, 1992).

2.3.3 Should Technology Coordinator has Teaching Qualification?

Poole (1997) describes ITC as a “teacher-computerist”. As the name reveals, the teacher-computerist suggests that this special personnel should be a teacher. It is because teacher is the ideal person to work with other teachers as he understands their needs. Teacher who is also computerist is suitable to help his fellow colleagues learn about computers because he is trained as a teacher on one hand, and has experience working computing novices on the other. As a result, it is less likely to frighten off other teachers who may be timid about using the technology.

Yee (2000) also explains that technology instructors should be effective teachers as they are able to translate technical information into language which can be readily understood by other teachers.

2.4 Responsibilities of ITC

Unlike other teachers whose main duty is to teach, usually an ITC working in school has different roles and responsibilities at the same time. Marcovitz (1998) argues that there are three areas of importance to computer coordinators in the schools. These include "support by walking around", "nuts-and-bolts support", and "the computer coordinator as policy maker". Strudler (1996) relates the post of technology coordinator with staff development, educational computing and integration of technology. Rob Reilly (1999) introduces the phrase "electronic janitor" and depicts the reality of being a technology coordinator in his article. He quotes from a technology coordinator that the jobs of a technology coordinator is "one person to, teach, design courses, keep up with technology, fix microcomputer, fix LAN network, monitor and fix WANs, be a network administrator, be a WWW administrator, be an internet guru, be a help desk, evaluate software and hardware, find and get grants, and generally do what an academic computing department in a small college would do" (Reilly, 1999, p. 1).

2.4.1 Supporting Other Teachers to Integrate IT in Learning and Teaching

"The computer coordinator may serve several roles, but the most dominant is meeting the immediate needs of teachers". Marcovitz calls this a style of support "support by walking around". It includes any support given by virtue of "being in the right place at the right time, which is the computer coordinator's main method of serving the immediate needs of the faculty, and it is the best avenue for gathering information about technical and policy issues" (Marcovitz, 1998, p. 1). This method of support also helps computer coordinators become knowledgeable about technology related issues in the school and helps them understand school-wide policy issues related to technology. In his study Strudler (1996) indicates that teachers need on-site support during school days. "It would be helpful to have someone there that teachers could go to right away, instead of sitting and fumbling trying to figure out answers" (Strudler, 1996, p. 16).

The support of integrating IT in teaching and learning in the forms of setting up intranet and courseware management system, introducing useful URL and software, assisting colleagues in making courseware are provided by ITCs in schools of Hong Kong (Law et al, 2001). The supporter (Technology Coordinator) should be available in person, by phone, or fax for follow-up questions and promptly respond to those questions (Murray, 1995).

2.4.2 Technical Skills / Hardware Management

According to Marcovitz, the nuts-and-bolts activities include tasks that require the expertise of a technician, which the educators or administrators lack. Such activities consume most of the time of a computer coordinator -- includes fixing equipment, installing hardware or software, ordering hardware or software, and cataloging hardware and software (Marcovitz, 1998).

Strudler (1996) argues that a coordinator is needed to organize and maintain the hardware and software of a computer lab, and to help teachers to keep up with new programs, applications, and directions. It is difficult to maintain a lab without a coordinator to oversee its use. Without the implementation support that the technology coordinators provide, it is unlikely that technology will fulfill its potential to impact teaching and learning in school programs in the coming years.

2.4.3 Staff Professional Development / Training

“Successful implementation of technology is not about equipment but the empowerment of people” (Cooley, 1997). Therefore, Staff development is a priority (Yee, 2000). Another important duty of technology coordinator is to organize and conduct staff development. One may think that a technician is good enough to fill the role of the computer coordinator regarding the technical matter. However, it is beyond a technician's ability to conduct many activities like training. It is because if "training is conducted by someone who understands the classroom and the needs of the classroom teacher can tie the activity into the context of larger curriculum. While many of the functions of the computer coordinator can be performed by a technician, the computer coordinator as educator and policy-maker has an opportunity to make a significant difference in the way the school uses technology to enhance the learning environment" (Marcovitz, 1998). Improved skills of teachers and readiness for further growth are the most prominent outcomes of the work of the technology coordinator (Strudler, 1996).

Reilly (1999) proposes that professional development at basic level of competency should be delivered to various interest groups by different models: a. series of courses conducted at set times for large groups of staff; b. one-on-one instruction for those who have unique desires; and c. cohort group experiences led by staff members or students with expertise in some area. The ratio of staff to instructors and staff to technology should be small enough to allow hands-on learning (Murray, 1995) that learners may be benefit from working in clusters or small groups (Bennett, 1994; Murray, 1995).

2.4.4 Curriculum Development

Finally Marcovitz suggests that other ITC responsibilities include setting or discussing policies and developing curriculum (from planning lessons with or for teachers to finding adequate technology for teachers).

2.4.5 Budget Controlling & Purchasing

Computer coordinator is responsible for adding resource (including upgrading the current computers and obtaining new software), organizing and preparing, training, and collaborative problem solving. Teachers are clearly more resistant to allocating instructional time to computer-based activities if the quantities of hardware and software are inadequate to meet the needs of their students (Strudler, 1996). Technology coordinator makes recommendations involving large amount of money. He is responsible for drafting the specifications for vendors so that they can bid to provide hardware and software. Hence budgetary and financial skills are useful to him (Moursund, 1992).

2.5 Working Conditions of Technology Coordinator

2.5.1 Time

Strudler (1996) argues that without adequate time for coordinators to perform their tasks, reducing the barriers to the implementation of technology will not likely occur. The tasks of technology coordinators include managing a myriad of details and providing the leadership necessary for teachers to establish a shared vision and school plan. Strudler also suggests that if released time cannot be provided, school districts should consider paying a stipend to coordinators as they typically do for athletic coaches and faculty sponsors at the high school level. It is not realistic to expect these teacher-leaders to sustain their efforts and avoid burning out if they are not allocated time and/or remuneration for their work. Effective coordinators, as time permits, perform a variety of functions that help to overcome the impediment. However, without adequate time, it appears that follow-up support is likely to be passive and reactive at best (Strudler, 1996).

Moursund (1992) argues that the job of technology coordinator requires a lot of time. It is not possible for a technology coordinator to deal with the minute-by-minute crisis of his fellow teachers on one hand and at the same time to teach his own classes on the other. Furthermore, many duties of the technology coordinator are different from the computer teacher. Hence it is fair to suggest that a technology coordinator at school level should have a considerable amount of release time to carry out his duties. As a matter of fact, the requirement of providing timely help to students and other teachers who have problems with the computer system almost precludes the technology coordinator being able to simultaneously fill the roles of teacher and technology coordinator. Moreover, a school level technology coordinator is expected to work with district-level technology coordinator as well as school-level technology coordinators from other schools in the same district to carry out long term planning.

Reilly indicates that a single technology coordinator cannot do all the jobs imposed on him. "He cannot oversee the whole thing and fix the problems and train staff -- there just aren't enough hours in the day" (Reilly, 1999, p. 3). Reilly suggests hiring a team of at least three of them. One technology coordinator runs the whole department and oversees the budget, research and keeping up with the changes in technology, ordering of equipment, etc. The second technical person installs the software and hardware, troubleshoots, and keeps it running. The third technology integrator helps with training and more importantly, implements the integration of technology into the curriculum with an emphasis on standards.

Poole (1997) further points out that a teacher-computerist should have adequate release time

1. to work with other teachers, either as individual or in groups, introducing them to new systems, arranging product demonstrations, and helping them with any technical or pedagogical problems that may arise;

2. to work with administration, planning near- and long-term computing strategies and mediating on behalf of teachers so as to make sure their needs are addressed;

3. to work with vendors, organizing product demonstrations, making sure that the ordered products are delivered, the warranties are negotiated and fulfilled.

Crompton (1996) proposes that for an IT coordinator to be truly effective, sufficient time is needed for him to deal with daily problems. There should be realistic amount of time available for him to do his jobs.

Technology coordinator should be part of the middle-management staff in school. He can be a teacher, however this teacher should be relieved from other duties and task (Dillemans, 1998).

2.5.2 Pay and Incentives

Reilly (1999) mentions one very important aspect that not many others researchers have discussed in their researches. He suggests the technology coordinator should have a firm understanding of the salary and benefits package, and the nature of the position. He finds that technology coordinator is not paid what he is worth. "When a person has the technology skills, integrative ideas and experience with implementation, there should be another salary step, because in reality there is a step outside of education that will pay them very well for a lot less work. If we get [ a technology coordinator ], how do we pay him/her enough to stay in the schools and not move into the commercial market where they can make a whole lot more money?" (Reilly, 1999).

Yee (2000) also argues that “they’re worth big money. The 40 or 50 thousand that I can offer them goes well short” as person good in interacting with students and other staff is either difficult to find, or is absorbed by other already.

3. METHODOLOGY

In order to collect a general expectation on ITC from teachers, a questionnaire survey method was adopted. 480 sets of questionnaires were distributed to 24 schools that were randomly selected. Among them there were 11 primary schools and 13 secondary schools. All of them were normal government subsidized grammar schools in Hong Kong. Out of the 480 questionnaires sent, 340 questionnaires were returned with valid results. The response rate is 71 %. Out of those 340 returned questionnaires, 157 were from primary schools teachers while 183 were from secondary schools.

On the other hand, 48 sets of questionnaires were distributed to the respective ITCs working in those 24 schools to know more about their opinions. 29 questionnaires were returned with valid results. The response rate was 60 %. Nine out of 29 returned questionnaires were from primary schools ITCs, while 20 were from the secondary schools.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The findings of this research are almost opposite to the Hong Kong government’s design of the post of ITC. The government designed the post of ITC to be a temporary post with one or two years contract, without annual salary increment, with no specific IT competence requirement, and having to take up teaching load. However, in general teachers prefer their ITCs to be IT competent persons who can support them in using IT in teaching and learning. Moreover, they prefer this post to be a permanent one as other teachers do so that they have more job security as well as loyalty to the schools.

Although the Hong Kong government claimed that any teacher could take up the post of the ITC, the expectations of other teachers who are seeking help from the ITC were different from the government official requirement as stated in the official circular memorandum to all schools:

Table 1: Teachers’ Preference on the Education Background of the ITCs

You prefer the IT Coordinator	Primary %	Secondary %
is a major in any field	11.46	13.11
is a major in Computer/IT	88.54	86.89
You prefer the IT Coordinator
has received teacher training	76.43	60.11
has no teacher training	23.57	39.89

Like most of the teachers in other countries, teachers in both primary and secondary Hong Kong schools prefer their ITCs to be IT major graduates so as to help them solve the technical problems they face when integrating IT into curriculum. Relative teacher training is not as important as the technical expertise. In summary the ITCs are expected to solve the technical problems for other teachers in schools.

However, from the survey we have found out that only one third of the ITCs are computer graduates. It suggests that many ITCs working in schools might not be technically competent to support other teachers. It further suggests that although IT was introduced into schools in Hong Kong for more than twenty years (since 1982), we are still having problems in recruiting technically competent people serving in schools in Hong paring the figures listed in table 2, the number of computer graduates have increased from 12.4% (1988) and 12.3% (1991) to 28%. However, we may still conclude that most of the posts of ITC are filled up by teachers, yet we do not have enough number of IT experts serving in schools as we compare IT with other subjects.

Table 2: The Actual Education Background of the ITCs

Major	Primary %	Secondary %
Chemistry	0	10
Chinese	11	0
Computer	33	25
Economics	0	10
Education	11	5
Engineering	0	10
English	11	0
Mathematics	0	20
Physical Education	22	0
Physics	0	15
Pu Tong Hua (Mandarin)	11	0
Statistics	0	5
Have you received teacher training?
Yes	89	90
No	11	10

As a matter of fact, the problem of having shortage of IT competent persons serving in schools has been existing for more than twenty years. We can trace back to even 1982 when the subject Computer Studies was first introduced in secondary schools in Hong Kong. School system in Hong Kong failed to attract computer related graduates to become teachers since 1982. Even ten years later in 1991, the percentage of computer teachers with their major in IT was still very low, as indicated in two human resources surveys done in 1998 and 1991 respectively:

Table 3: Comparison between two Computer Teachers Human Resources Surveys by ED and HKACE

Qualification	Survey done by Education Department (ED) in 1998	Surveyed done by the Hong Kong Association for Computer Education (HKACE) in 1991
A. Institute Attended
University of Hong Kong	31.2%	30.8%
Chinese University	34.3%	37.1%
Overseas	28.8%	26.7%
B. Major
Computer Science	12.4%	12.3%
Science	71.4%	69.2%
Others	16.2%	18.5%
C. Minor
Computer Science	31.4%	30.5%
Science	32.7%	34.0%
Others	36.0%	35.4%

The two surveys found that only about 12.4% of computer teachers were computer graduates. These two human resources surveys on Computer Teachers in Secondary School done by the Education Department (ED) in 1988, and the Hong Kong Association for Computer Education (HKACE) in 1991 pointed to similar finding – we did not have enough CS/IT graduates to serve in schools. The problem was not improved much nowadays as we have only 28% of ITCs who major in computer. If we could recruit more IT competent persons to serve in schools in the past twenty years, the situation would have been better, at least in the secondary school.

Besides having different expectations on the technical competence on the ITC, again, contrary to the government planning, teachers in general prefer their IT leaders to be one of them, taking a permanent post instead of a temporary contract which is always perceived as inferior to other teachers in the culture of schools of Hong Kong.

Table 4: Teachers’ Preference on the Duration of the Post of ITC

You think the post of the IT Coordinator should	Primary %	Secondary %
be a permanent post like other teachers	98.73	95.08
be a temporary post	1.27	4.92

The first five-year IT strategic plan ended in August 2003. On March 16, 2004 the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB, formerly the Education Department) announced the consultation document of the second IT strategic plan, which is going to be launched in September 2004. According to the consultation document, the roles of the ITC are somewhat different from the description in the first strategic plan. In the first IT strategic plan, the post of ITC was a temporary contract post with no promotion chance, which was in addition to the normal structure. In the second IT plan, the temporary post is removed. Instead, an existing teacher will be designated to take up this post. In return the government proposes that it will be a promotion post (EMB, 2004, p. 16). This is good news that finally this post becomes a permanent post as generally preferred by other teachers. Being a promotional post further attracts more people to take up this job. In terms of incentive it is very attractive. Under the pay structure in schools of Hong Kong, a promoted teacher could get about 50% more salary at his/her maximum salary point in the master pay scale than a normal teacher. However, by utilizing the existing manpower without assigning extra manpower to do all IT tasks seems impossible, as argued in a lot of literature already. As a matter of fact the workload of ITCs in the first IT strategic plan were already fully occupied by the teaching loads:

Table 5: Time Allocation of ITCs

The time allocation of your daily works	0 - 25%	26 - 50%	%	7%
Primary
managing resources and providing technical support	67	22	11	0
teacher training	100	0	0	0
integrating IT into teaching and learning	89	11	0	0
Teaching	22	22	44	11
Secondary
managing resources and providing technical support	100	0	0	0
teacher training	100	0	0	0
integrating IT into teaching and learning	100	0	0	0
Teaching	5	5	60	30

As indicated, 30% of the ITCs working in the secondary schools have contributed all their time in teaching, and 60% of them contributed ½ to ¾ of their time in teaching respectively. Such a heavy teaching load actually hinders the ITCs from providing timely and adequate support to other teachers in integrating IT in curriculum. Most of the ITCs working in both primary and secondary schools can only afford allocating less than ¼ of their time in performing the technical tasks assigned to ITCs. Under this circumstance even a fully IT competent ITC cannot perform well as he has no time to support other IT activities happening in a school. Again, this is contrary to what the literature has suggested.

5. CONCLUSION

As identified by many other research studies in the field of human resources management, project management, and change management, human resources is always a critical factor affecting the success implementation of IT in organization. Although the IT personnel is important to the IT implementation in schools, his role is still not clear even after the first five years IT strategic plan is finished. Recruiting the right IT competent persons into school sector is always a problem in the past decades. The government at the system level should have a long term IT planning and a better human resources management in this regard.

According to the findings of this research, the writer would like to make some suggestions to improve the situation:

Clearly define the target group of personnel to fill the ITC posts Clearly define the roles/job duties of the ITC and the TSS in schools Release ITC from other teaching duties Respect the post of ITC as a profession Set up a permanent post for recruiting IT related personnel, preferably IT graduate Review the current salary pay scale

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