The relationship between educational innovation and computer implementation: A case study of a small liberal arts college

For the small college, administrators and faculty have often failed to emphasize the importance of the implementation process in the utilization of the computer innovation.;Four innovation process and outcome variables were identified from the literature. The innovation process variables that I examined were leadership, the commitment of a high-level friendly user; faculty involvement, the relationship between the interest of the faculty in the innovation and other campus activities; mission, the integration of the innovation with the overall focus of the institution; and commitment of institutional services, the application of excess resources available to address problems of implementation. The innovation outcome variables were stabilization of use, the degree of practice mastery and settledness of the new practice; percentage of use, the number of actual users compared to those eligible to use the innovation; student impact, student changes as a result of exposure to the innovation; and institutionalization, the degree to which the innovation and its strategy was incorporated into the structure of the college.;Methodologically, the variables were defined from the literature. Open-ended questions and an historical case analysis were used to document the presence of the selected variables. Then linkage was identified between the most frequently observed innovation process and outcome variables.;Analysis of the data resulted in confirmation of several linkages from the literature. Adoption by a low percentage of eligible users with little long term stability occurred with little evidence of high level commitment or faculty involvement. Computers had little impact on the lives of students. This took place at the same time as low leadership commitment, low faculty involvement, and a relatively high commitment of institutional services. Finally, computers did not become part of an institution characterized by a high commitment to both mission and institutional services. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.);This analytic paper examines the implementation of a computer innovation in a small college. Through a case study of the computer development process at Wheaton College, a small liberal arts college in Illinois, it seeks to answer the following research question: Does a linkage exist between aspects of the implementation process for an innovation and its ultimate successful use?...