Special Report
School & District Management

Tech Pressures Put Principals in Difficult Spot

By Kevin Bushweller — April 17, 2018 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Many educators would argue that the toughest job in education today is that of a principal. That is where the real action happens, inside schools.

Principals must balance the demands coming from the central office and their local communities with the needs of teachers and students, and they must keep up with what feels like an accelerated pace of technological change in and outside of schools.

With that context in mind, it makes you wonder: What do modern principals think about some of the most vexing tech issues? Are students spending too much time in front of computer screens? Is personalized learning worth expanding? And what about students’ social-media use?

To better understand where the ed-tech pressure points are for principals, the Education Week Research Center conducted a nationally representative survey of 500 principals, assistant principals, and other school leaders. The results of that survey are featured prominently throughout this report.

Education Week also wanted to dig deeper into the nuances of principals’ thinking about technology. Staff writers interviewed principals and assistant principals from around the country about their experiences and beliefs. And what you will find in the pages of this report is some real straight talk from school leaders, as well as insights from ed-tech leadership experts.

Brian Partin, a middle school principal in Tennessee and the president of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, offered up some valuable ed-tech advice for his fellow school leaders during an interview with Staff Writer Denisa R. Superville.

“If you are looking at going to a 1-to-1 or personalized-learning program, whatever it is, there has to be ample time devoted to the ‘why’ you are doing it and making sure that all of your constituents and stakeholders are actively involved in that process and building their understanding,” he said. “Because if you just throw it at them without any training or support or clear understanding of the ‘why,’ that’s when you are going to start seeing the pushback.”

—Kevin Bushweller
Executive Project Editor

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the April 18, 2018 edition of Education Week as Pressure Points for Principals

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management 3 Tips to Help Districts Navigate Educator Layoffs
Keep cuts in line with the district's overarching goals, an expert advises.
3 min read
Illustration of scissors cutting row of paper dolls.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
School & District Management Teachers Hate All Those Meetings. Can Principals Find a Workaround?
Principals can't do away with every meeting, but they can reduce some and make others more effective.
4 min read
Image of a staff meeting.
E+/Getty
School & District Management Q&A When This Principal Talks About Mental Health, People Listen. Here's Why
The NASSP Advocacy Champion of the year said he used stories from his school and community to speak with his state’s legislators.
6 min read
Chris Young, a principal from Vermont, poses for a photo in front of a Senate office building in Washington, D.C.
Chris Young, a principal from Vermont, stands in front of a Senate office building in Washington on March 13, 2024. Young was among the secondary principals to meet with legislators urging them to keep federal funding for schools stable.
Olina Banerji/Education Week
School & District Management Teacher Layoffs Are Mounting. How Districts Can Soften the Blow
Layoffs are coming in districts large and small. Here's how district leaders can handle them.
8 min read
Pencil Eraser Erasing Drawn Figure
AndreyPopov/iStock/Getty