Barriers Principals Face Integrating Blended Learning in Secondary Schools

Author

Lacey Tremaine Ajibola, Abilene Christian UniversityFollow

Campus Location

Dallas Campus (Online)

Date of Award

1-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Department

Organizational Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Leah Wickersham-Fish

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Michael Papadimitriou

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Sonerka Mouton

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the barriers secondary principals encounter integrating instructional technology as a part of a blended learning model. Existing research investigating the barriers principals face is limited and fractured and is mostly examined from the perspective of teachers. Therefore, this study provided data on the perspective and experiences of principals as technology leaders and their perceived barriers to implementing blended learning models. The researcher aligned the research questions to the International Society for Technology in Education Standard for Educational Leaders as a conceptual framework. Interviews with 11 secondary principals from the same district generated data, revealing several themes. The researcher used software to transcribe the interviews. To ensure accuracy, the transcribed interviews were sent to each participant for review. To analyze the transcribed interviews, the researcher used an inductive coding strategy to group the initial round codes into categories and subcategories and then grouped them based on emerging themes. The study revealed that the principals generally used organically developed technology plans that were less formal and driven by the district’s vision for technology use on their campus. Principals also used shared leadership with other educators to implement blended learning on their campuses. Professional development opportunities for principals as technology leaders were minimal. Barriers that principals encountered included access to technology and device maintenance, funding, and insufficient professional development opportunities as technology leaders.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Ajibola, Lacey Tremaine, "Barriers Principals Face Integrating Blended Learning in Secondary Schools" (2025). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 851.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/851