Study Overview: Framing Innovation: What do Superintendents do to Gain Acceptance of Large-scale Technology Initiatives?

All required and relevant materials related to the IRB proposal for our capstone group. This includes:

• A copy of the IRB application form
• Research summary
• Data collection materials
• Signature page with faculty advisor and student signatures
• Copies of IRB training certificates for all key research personnel
• Consent forms
• Copy of permission letter to perform research from each superintendent

Erik Arnold: erikparnold@gmail.com

Peter Cohen: cohenpd@bc.edu

Gina Flanagan: ginaflanagan@gmail.com

Anna Nolin: annanolin@aol.com

 Henry Turner: hjturner1@gmail.c

IRB Research Summary: Framing Innovation: What do Superintendent do to Gain Acceptance of Large-scale Technology Initiatives?

A.  Introduction and Background:  

In recent years, technology companies have developed mobile devices such as tablets and laptops that have expanded learning beyond the classroom and promoted higher level thinking skills and collaboration in school settings.  Many school systems have purchased these devices for students through what is referred to as 1:1 initiative (laptops, tablets or Bring Your Own Device-BYOD).  One role of the superintendent is to gain  acceptance for these large- scale technology initiatives.   Scholars have not studied the tools that superintendents use to get these devices in the hands of students.

B.  Specific Aims/Study Objectives:

The overall purpose of this study is to identify how superintendents gain acceptance from their constituents with a large-scale technology initiative.  More specifically, we will be looking to learn how a superintendent frames his or her utilization of instructional vision, distributive leadership, professional collaborative learning, decision -making and communication to assist in this process.

C.  Materials, Methods and Analysis (quantitative and qualitative):

We intend to use semi-structured interviews. Additionally, we will examine relevant documentation from the chosen sites to support our study. Relevant documentation will be used to supplement interview information and will include meeting agendas and minutes, strategic plans, memos, curriculum documents and internal and external communications.  An interview protocol has been developed to ensure consistency.  Interviews will be recorded on digital devices and reviewed by teams of researchers who will then work to code the findings to identify trends and challenges across the various district case studies.  Researchers will also use journals for the purpose of organizing the process for reflection.  

Whenever possible, our research will utilize technology tools to help conduct and organize our data.  This will includethe use of digital recorders, Boston College My Files and spreadsheets.  We will employ the use of transcriber to document our interviews.

The timeline of the procedures are as follows:

June 2013            Proposal Hearing with Dissertation-in-Practice Committee

July, 2013         IRB approval process   

August- October         Team members schedule/conduct interviews

August- October         Team members transcribe interviews

October-Dec.    Coding

December- January     Draft

January           Report first draft due

February          Draft dissertation submitted to Capstone Committee

March            Dissertation in Practice Committee Hearing and Approval

We will be employing the steps of the Multiple Case Study approach (Miles and Huberman, 1994).  This will involve Within Case and Cross Analysis using various levels and methods of coding. By analyzing each case individually, we will be able to study the unique aspects of interaction between superintendents and their leadership team and within the leadership team.  The Cross Analysis will help us make generalizations about how the patterns of interactions between superintendents and their leadership teams influence the acceptance of large-scale technology programs.   

D.  Re-population & Recruitment Methods:

Criterion-based sampling will be used to choose the source of participants for this study.  Criterion-based sampling means that participants will be chosen using a predetermined list of potential characteristics, which supports the building of theoretical insight because it allows researchers to analyze the data through a theoretical lens (Eisenhardt&Graebner, 2007, Creswell, 2011).

Districts will be selected based on student population (10,000 students and under), suburban and rural location to ensure their “town” designation and form of school governance, and their accountability designation on the Massachusetts DESE accountability website (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2012). Researchers will then examine the list of potential sites and, using the MSSAA list of implementations, further narrow the list to those who are small to medium-sized, of Level 1 or 2 statuses. Phone calls and emails to leaders in this district will confirm the above-stated criteria and from those confirmations, a list of sites will be generated.

Once a list of sites is identified the following selection criteria will be considered relative to potential superintendents and teams in each of the districts: (a) Superintendent must have been a leader in a public school system implementing a large-scale technology initiative for the past two years, (b) Superintendent must have been a leader in the system at the inception of district’s large-scale initiative, (c) Superintendent must be willing to participate in the larger study.

E. Informed Consent Procedure:

Members of our dissertation research team include Erik Arnold, Peter Cohen, Gina Flanagan, Anna Nolin and Henry Turner. We have developed a set interview protocol that will be used for each participant.  We will be piloting the interview protocol prior to beginning the actual study.  Our Boston College advisors have reviewed our interview protocol.  Additionally, each member of the research team has successfully completed the training on ethics and the handling of human subjects through the CITI Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative Responsible Conduct of Research Curriculum Completion.

At the start of this study, each participant will receive a verbal explanation of the purpose of the study and the procedures that will be utilized by the research team.  They will be asked if they are in agreement and if they understand the procedures.  Participants will be provided a handout that will be evaluated to ensure that the reading level is understandable by the reader.  They will also be asked if they consent to their participation in the study.  Participants will be given the opportunity to ask questions and will be encouraged to do so.

F.  Confidentiality:  

The records of this study will be kept private and stored in electronic or written form.  In any sort of report we may publish, we will not include any identifying information.  Research records will be kept in a locked file.  All electronic information will be coded and secured using a password-protected file. Audio or video files will only be accessible to the members of the research team.  All audio and video files will be used for educational purposes only.  The data will be available to members of the research team as well the Institutional Review Board at Boston College and internal Boston College auditors who may review the research records.

We will not disclose the names of individuals or school districts we worked with without the explicit permission of the superintendent or individuals involved with the study.  Without this information, the possibility of identification amongst the many school districts Massachusetts is significantly low. The risk of a breach in confidentiality is highly unlikely.  

Our research team will maintain a very comprehensive protocol of protecting the identity of participants and protecting all data.  We will employ informed consent, adequate staff training, debriefing and check in with the participants.  Data will be stored in Boston College secure database and pseudonyms will be employed in any textual representation of interview data.

H.  Potential research benefits to participants

The purpose of the study is to identify how superintendents gain acceptance from their constituents with a large-scale technology initiative through their use of their instructional vision.The benefits of being in this study are that hopefully the participants will further the understanding of leadership moves that help school districts implement a large scale technology initiative through the lens of instructional planning and vision.  This topic has become very relevant and important in educational communities throughout the world.  Research on this topic is extremely sparse.  

There is a strong likelihood that participants will indeed gain generalizable knowledge that may improve practice or implementation of a large-scale technology initiative.