Date of Conferral

8-1-2024

Date of Award

August 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Education

Advisor

Ioan Ionas

Abstract

Educational technology (EdTech) interoperability throughout cyberspace provides the financial opportunity for collecting and selling of student privacy information. The research problem addressed throughout this study is the public school district leaders' (SDLs) understanding of EdTech cyber security practices and policies (EdTechCSPP). Little is known regarding SDLs’ understanding of EdTechCSPP in schools because of oblique EdTech business practices. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine differences in SDLs’ EdTechCSPP response scores between independent variables (IV) of SDLs’ gender, educational achievements, age ranges, or types of school districts. The theoretical framework was based on Nissenbaum’s contextual integrity theory. Four research questions guided this study. What are the differences in EdTechCSPP response scores between (a) male and female SDLs, (b) educational achievements, (c) age ranges, and (d) school district types. A purposeful sampling method was used to identify SDLs by job role from public websites and compile their email information into Qualtrics for an online survey. Cronbach’s alpha for the survey was .455. One-way analyses of variance and Kruskal-Wallis testing were used to analyze the responses. There were significant differences between males and females and basic technology terminology with F(1,171) = 5.28, MSE = 3.50, ρ = .023, n2 = .030, n = 173. SDLs understood 33.98% of basic EdTech practices and 40.70% of basic cyber school practices. The alpha was ρ = .05. Further research is recommended to address SDLs’ job roles and ethnicity. Social change is addressed by increasing EdTechCSPP scholarship and awareness that can harm students in educational environments

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