Graduation Year

2007

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Granting Department

Instructional Technology

Major Professor

Ann E. Barron, Ed.D.

Keywords

Florida, Longitudinal research, Public schools, Secondary data, Student outcomes

Abstract

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the relationship between technology integration indicators and school level achievement. Four years of school level secondary data from publicly available databases maintained by the Florida Department of Education were combined for all public elementary, middle, and high schools in the state. This study examined approximately 2300 schools that participated each year in the Florida Innovates Survey about technology integration between 2003-04 and 2006-07. Complexity theory supported the use of multi-level modeling to examine the relationships between technology integration and outcomes. Three achievement outcomes (reading, mathematics, and writing) and two mediating behavioral outcomes (attendance and misconduct) were investigated. Moderating variables controlled in the model included school level, demographics, and learning environment.

After data preparation, all composite variables were developed using factor analysis. Models were progressively built with significant variables at each level retained in subsequent levels of the study. A total of 94 models were estimated with maximum likelihood estimation using SAS 9.1.3 statistical software. The integration of technology is only one of the many factors that impact student learning within the classroom environment. Results supported previous research about the relationship between the moderating variables and school level achievement and confirmed the need to include moderating variables in the model. After controlling for all the other moderating variables, technology integration had a significant relationship with mean school achievement.

Although the percent of teachers who regularly use technology for administrative purposes was consistently significant in the models for four out of five outcomes studied, the interactions with time, time2, and time3, resulted in curvilinear trends with inconsistent results. These inconsistent significant findings make drawing conclusions about the integration of technology within Florida's public schools difficult. Furthermore, the small changes observed in mean school achievement over the span of this study support the concept that time is a critical factor for school level learning and change. Therefore, continued analyses of the longitudinal trends for Florida schools in the relationship between technology integration variables and school achievement, while controlling for moderating variables, are recommended.

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