While spring of 2020 introduced virtual instruction to all public schools, virtual schooling had already been growing in most states. We focus on pre-COVID-19 changes to full-time virtual school enrollment in public schools, and provide evidence on the relationship between virtual school enrollment, internet speed, community demographics, and…

Public school classrooms in Texas and in the United States of America have for the past several years ushered in changes to the format and methods in which students are being served. Virtual schools and online classrooms are becoming more of the norm for students at all levels of education in our country. And with this shift in instructional…

Demand for charter schools is declining. In sixteen of the forty-one states that have published 2021-2022 enrollment numbers, charter school enrollment has dropped, in some cases, by substantial amounts. In an additional six states, charter enrollment has stalled with increases of fewer than 200 students in charter schools across the state. Using…

Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, high school students across the United States were enrolling in online courses at increasing rates. As a result of pandemic related school closures, even more schools enrolled students in supplementary online courses as a method for delivering instruction during emergency remote learning. Despite enrollment…

Despite increased interest in K-12 online education, student engagement deficits and the resulting student attrition remain widespread issues. The Academic Communities of Engagement (ACE) framework theorizes that two groups support online student engagement: the personal community of support and the course community of support. However, more…

There continues to be an abundance of research conducted and published about online learning in K-12 settings. In this systematic review, 386 articles on K-12 online teaching and learning published between 2000 and 2019 were reviewed for research themes, participants, school type, research methodologies, and data collection methods. The data was…

This dissertation research is an exploratory multiple-case study of special education transition program structures in three virtual public charter schools in a southern state in the United States. Virtual public charter schools are extensions of public school systems or districts that are required to comply with state and federal-mandated special…

The purpose of this study was to explore the role and application of project-based learning (PjBL) strategies as an alternative to the psychomotor field in virtual Islamic boarding schools. The research method used is bibliographic research. Data collection techniques are documented. Data were analyzed using critical text analysis. The results of…

Over the past few decades, online schools have witnessed exponential growth. Nevertheless, the body of research on their effectiveness and viability as educational options for students with disabilities, as well as their offerings for diverse learners, remains surprisingly sparse. This deficiency in evidence is noteworthy, especially as the demand…

Although the COVID pandemic dramatically expanded K-12 remote learning in its first years, little is known about the lasting effects on virtual schooling policies and practices. Drawing on evolutionary theories of change and qualitative data from 2019 to 2022, we explore this topic in Oregon, a state with a long history of virtual schools. We find…

With continued growth in online learning, motivation remains a key factor in persistence and achievement. Online mathematics students struggle with self-regulation and self-efficacy. As reported by Ryan and Deci (Self-determination theory: basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness, Guilford Press, 2017,…

Full-time K-12 online learners faced little impact when schools had to rapidly transition to remote learning in March 2020. Essentially, everyone found themselves in the same position that full-time K-12 online learners had been prior to the pandemic. It is the experiences of supplemental K-12 online learners, those students who normally have…

The research examined the perceptions of high school teachers on their relationships with students in a remote virtual school setting. Teacher-student relationships are at the heart of the education system. There is minimal research about the teacher-student relationship in the remote virtual environment. This case study provides perspectives and…

Virtual education has been steadily growing since the late 1990s. Early research was primarily focused on the comparative studies between brick-and-mortar schools and virtual or hybrid schools. While the research over the past two decades has grown substantially and now includes broader topics such as for whom virtual education seems to work well…

This mixed methods study investigated the financial impact of cyber charters in Pennsylvania, parents' decision-making about cyber enrollment, and rural school district and cyber leader responses to increasing cyber enrollments. The data suggest that cyber charter enrollments and costs to rural districts have dramatically increased over time and…