Principals' Perceptions of Online Teaching and Learning in School After the Outbreak of the Pandemic

Introduction

The initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted many educational institutions to shift to online teaching and learning overnight. Over the past two years, Hong Kong primary and secondary schools were forced to suspend classes, at the beginning, and switch between fully online teaching and learning and resumption of half-day face-to-face classes plus half-day either synchronous or asynchronous online class, in accordance with the pandemic situation, posing a challenge for the education system. Although fully online teaching and learning have ended in some regions around the world, including Hong Kong, blended learning with online components is a hot topic of discussion. In the context of technological innovation, people need opportunities created by educational policies and practices to achieve lifelong learning and improve their employability throughout their lives (Dede & McGivney, 2021). This is the moment to seek to innovate in blended online teaching and learning and thus groom future-ready learners for lifelong learning, which is one of the goals of K-12 education.

Although the school leaders are eager to make good use of information and communication technology (ICT) to improve student learning achievement and school performance (Wu et al., 2019), studies have revealed that a lack of understanding of technology-supported teaching and learning affects the quality of school principals’ leadership (McGarr & Kearney, 2009). Capable school leadership greatly facilitates the effective use of technology across the curriculum (Roth & Price, 2016), an argument that is supported by Wu et al. (2019) and Hadjithoma-Garstka (2011). Leadership in quality online teaching and learning can be enhanced by understanding school leaders’ perceptions and providing support accordingly (Schiller, 2003; Yuen et al., 2003). Law et al. (2016) argued that implementing technology effectively necessitates the building of school-wide capacity by providing professional opportunities to principals, middle management leaders, and technology support staff so that sound decisions can be made on technology development policies and implementation plans. Researchers pointed out that principal leadership influences the use of ICT; meanwhile, principals’ perspectives on the usefulness of educational technologies and their support are essential and critical to the school’s digital revolution (Karakose et al., 2021; Navaridas-Nalda et al., 2020). It is proved that principals’ understanding of the school’s needs and the strategies they employ for school improvement are the keys to success (Day et al., 2016).