Introduction
Al Zadjali Grade School is a large and old district school that provides primary education throughout 1-10 grades, all united in a single establishment. The school has an educational capacity of 2000 students, equally distributed across all grades. The school did not adapt to the modern requirements of information technology, which is becoming prevalent in the economy and everyday life (Passey & Samways, 1997). Al Zadjali Grade School SWOC analysis is as follows:
- Strengths: Well-equipped for traditional education; possesses a large body of capable and dedicated teachers; long-standing traditions of educational quality; high levels of popularity among children and parents alike.
- Weaknesses: The school is underequipped to transition from traditional to information technology-based education; teachers are undertrained in the use of modern media and technology; effectiveness of education is being affected.
- Opportunities: Adopting new technology in education would be beneficial to all stakeholders involved; teachers and learners will be able to apply technology to learn, gain knowledge, and develop new skills;
- Challenges: Obtaining new equipment required to upgrade the large school to the modern standards of technology will require time, money, and resources; most teachers would need to be trained to use the newly acquired technology; the school will require the infrastructure to support new technology.
Purposes of the Evaluation
Al Zadjali Grade School is planning a gradual renovation of its electronic facilities. The school is expecting to receive support from the Ministry of Education to improve the situation and is supposed to provide accurate and reliable information in order to do so. The purposes of the evaluation include the following (Taylor-Powell, Steele, & Douglah, 1996):
- Evaluate the technology currently available in the school;
- Evaluate the issues encountered due to a lack of technology;
- Evaluate the objective needs for technology (what classes should have access to computers and the internet during lessons);
- Evaluate the resources required to transform the conventional library into an electronic library;
- Evaluate the available infrastructure and the additions required to support the technological school transformation;
- Identify the type of equipment required by the Al Zadjali Grade School;
- Identify the training needs of the teachers and support personnel.
- Determine the potential impact of the proposed changes on all stakeholders.
Stakeholders Involved
The identified stakeholders for the proposed technological upgrade program are as follows (Quinones, Kirshstein, & Loy, 1998):
- Ministry of Education (MoE). The purpose of the ministry is to improve the state of education in the country and handle all affairs related to it, making MoE an interested party.
- Superintendent. As the senior executive officer of the school district, he would be interested in relative efficiency when compared to costs. His interests lie in knowing the minimal amount of resources required to be spent to succeed.
- Principal and Assistant Principal. As the primary officers to be put in charge of the planned technological renovation programs, they are interested in the success of the venture as well as in the technical and financial sides of the matter.
- Teachers and Staff. They are some of the primary beneficiaries of the proposed intervention. Their immediate areas of interest lie in the effectiveness of computers in the current curriculum and the training required to facilitate operations.
- Parents, Students, and the Local Community. Another group of primary beneficiaries. Their primary interests lie in the effectiveness of education compared to the national standard.
Questions to be Answered
The questions to be answered by this evaluation are as follows (Rossi, Lipsey, & Freeman, 2003):
- What is the current state of technology in Al Zadjali Grade School?
- What improvements are needed to facilitate technologically-driven education?
- What resources are required to make the change happen?
- Will the proposed solution be cost-effective?
- What is the timeframe for the implementation of the program?
Data Collection
The proposed data collection process will involve a physical inspection of the available hardware and software in order to assess its presence and capabilities. The same should be done with the available infrastructure (electrical supply systems, sockets, Internet cables, Wi-Fi routers, etc.). This type of assessment could be conducted by qualified IT specialists. There is no need for de-identification, anonymization, and consent requirements for this step.
Qualitative data regarding the need for technology and the perceived effectiveness of the proposed technological rearmament could be collected by using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions (Brannen, 2017). The two subgroups will include teachers and students, which would be required to answer questions about how technology could improve their perceptions of the lessons. For teachers, the opportunity sampling method will be used to ensure the representation of all subjects. For students, it would be possible to use a randomized sampling technique.
Lastly, all teachers and supporting personnel will be required to pass an IT literacy quiz in order to determine the general level of knowledge of technology use among teachers. Based on quantitative data, it would be possible to create a comprehensive training program for all teachers, using the lowest common denominator (Brannen, 2017). It would ensure that everyone knows how to utilize the new technology without requiring outside instruction and assistance.
The ethical side of the issue revolves around ensuring anonymity and obtaining consent. The option should be provided to those who do not wish to disclose their levels of technological prowess. In the case of the IT literacy quiz, the participants would not be required to sign their tests or provide any personal information about themselves. In the case of semi-structured interviews, the only personal data required of the participants would be the subject of their class. Data will be stored in digital form, and the information will be physically destroyed after the research is complete.
Data Analysis
Quantitative data will be analyzed using basic statistical methods, such as the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), in order to calculate the average means and statistically significant results (Boisgontier & Cheval, 2016). It would be used not only to identify the mean averages for the entire teacher body but also the differences between right/wrong answers to each question in the IT literacy test. It would help understand which knowledge areas the teachers lack in, allowing the training program to focus on those parts.
Qualitative data will be analyzed using the narrative analysis method. It is exceptionally useful when dealing with open-ended interviews. Different kinds of answers would be analyzed independently by two researchers and grouped based on the general messages behind the answers. Common subjects, themes, and ideas would be written down and synthesized in order to create an accurate picture.
Evaluation Timeline
It is estimated that the proposed evaluation will take between 2 to 3 months to complete. This time will be spent interviewing teachers and students, conducting tests, evaluating the state of hardware, and analyzing the results. While the statistical analysis of quantitative data would not take long, as there are many statistical programs available, qualitative data analysis will take longer due to the nature of the research.
Budget
The proposed budget for the renovation project is 100,000 riyals, which would be received from the Ministry of Education. The money will be spent on purchasing new computers, presentation equipment, upgrading the infrastructure, and creating an electronic library. The evaluation stage of the process requires very little in terms of budgetary expenses, as the only resources would include the following:
- Expert salaries. The experts conducting the research and evaluation of equipment and infrastructure would need to be paid for 2-3 months’ worth of work.
- Materials and equipment. Paper and office supplies would need to be provided to conduct effective interviewing and testing. In addition, a computer with statistical software would be necessary.
- Utilization expenditures. After the research is complete, all hardware containing sensitive data would need to be physically destroyed.
Reporting the Results
The results of the report will be exchanged between different parties in a variety of measures. Preliminary analyses will be circulated between the evaluators using electronic and paper means, containing relevant bits and pieces of information without producing the entirety of the report. At this stage, the conclusions of the report are prone to revision.
Once the report is completed, it will be delivered to all interested stakeholder groups that take part in the decision-making process, including the principals, the superintendent, and the Ministry of Education. Copies in electronic and paper formats would be produced in order to simplify the use of the materials for additional analysis and reference.
Lastly, after the final version of the report was received and the decision about granting the financial resources to the school was made, the results could be published in a relevant journal or newspaper. This measure would allow the general public to learn of the current and future efforts surrounding Al Zadjali Grade School. In addition, the results published in the journal could be used to further future evaluations and research.
References
Boisgontier, M. P., & Cheval, B. (2016). The ANOVA to mixed model transition. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 68, 1004-1005.
Brannen, J. (2017). Mixing methods: Qualitative and quantitative research. New York, NY: Routledge.
Passey, D., & Samways, B. (Eds.). (1997). Information Technology: Supporting change through teacher education. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Quinones, S., Kirshstein, R., & Loy, N. (1998). An educator’s guide to evaluating the use of technology in schools and classrooms. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research.
Rossi, P. H., Lipsey, M. W., & Freeman, H. E. (2003). Evaluation: A systematic approach. New York, NY: Sage Publications.
Taylor-Powell, E., Steele, S., & Douglah, M. (1996). Planning a program evaluation. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension.