The Role of Autonomy and Accountability in Implementing and Assimilating ICT in Elementary Schools in Israel’s Arab Sector

Habib Allah Soleman

doi:10.22158/jecs.v3n1p64

Abstract

<p><em>This article examines the extent to which the autonomy and accountability of principals, ICT coordinators, and teachers affect the successful implementation and assimilation of ICT in Arab sector elementary schools in Israel. The findings show strong positive correlations between the level of autonomy and accountability of principals (rp=0.763, p&lt;0.001), coordinators (rp=0.588, p&lt;0.001), and teachers (rp=0.770, p&lt;0.001) and successful implementation and assimilation of IT in schools. The conclusions emphasize the leading role of ICT coordinator as an agent of change, the necessity for collaboration between academy and school in order to create an environment for proper assimilating ICT into schools’ vision and reality, as well as the importance of personal empowerment in ICT leaders to foster a new form of ICT leadership.</em></p>

Highlights

The Israeli educational system is found in a process of adjusting itself to the 21st century’s requirements, by introducing various digital technologies with the purpose of developing research skills and critical thinking, enhancing digital literacy and thereby making the school a more relevant place for the students (Peled & Blau, 2011)
It has been shown that pedagogical knowledge among teachers with positive attitudes toward ICT affects their willingness to make changes in their work (Shamir-Inbal, Dayan, & Kali, 2009).; it was demonstrated that the professional development of teachers constitutes a crucial variable, when it comes to fostering a successful integration of ICT in teaching (Riel & Becker, 2000)
The empowerment of ICT leaders result from the process of assimilating ICT culture which motivates the teachers who are willing to cooperate with introducing the change

Summary

Introduction

The Israeli educational system is found in a process of adjusting itself to the 21st century’s requirements, by introducing various digital technologies with the purpose of developing research skills and critical thinking, enhancing digital literacy and thereby making the school a more relevant place for the students (Peled & Blau, 2011). It has been shown that pedagogical knowledge among teachers with positive attitudes toward ICT affects their willingness to make changes in their work (Shamir-Inbal, Dayan, & Kali, 2009).; it was demonstrated that the professional development of teachers constitutes a crucial variable, when it comes to fostering a successful integration of ICT in teaching (Riel & Becker, 2000). In this context, the collaboration between academy and school is essential for the implementation and assimilation of ICT. In the context of assimilating ICT culture in schools, the variables of autonomy and accountability may reflect the form of leadership employed by the school principals in terms of distributing authority and encouraging autonomy, which, in turn, result in positive attitude toward making ICT a part of their working routine and life

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion