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ERIC Number: EJ1060594
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Feb
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1949-6427
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Evaluation of the High School Virtual Program in a North Texas School District
Cash, Paul E.; Jones, Don; Richardson, Martha
Journal of Case Studies in Education, v5 Feb 2014
In a North Texas school district, students taking online courses in a variety of subject areas were not successfully completing courses at the district's expected levels. The district pays for courses and student support while remaining financially responsible to the community and programmatically to students' online success. Students' unsuccessful completion of these online classes, both at the local district and at the state level, became the rationale for the current study's formal evaluation of the program. The qualitative project study evaluated the district's online program and allowed for opportunities for data collection and analysis for improvement recommendations. Guided by the constructivist theory, this study examined whether the current online instructional program was perceived as effective by students and faculty involved with online classes. Qualitative surveys and focus groups were employed to gather data on the overall design of the program. Students taking online classes and faculty working with these students participated in the survey and randomly selected participants were involved in the focus groups. The qualitative data were analyzed utilizing a software program with themes developed and interpreted for meaning. Data analysis determined both effective and ineffective practices of the program, including issues of local support related to technology and increased 1-on-1 support at the campus level as identified by students and the need for more resources and familiarity with the online course content as identified by mentor teachers. The findings from this research provided specific strategies for improving supports that promote success. This increased success for high school students will impact social change regarding how administrators, teachers, students, and parents view alternative educational opportunities for students in the future.
Academic and Business Research Institute. 147 Medjool Trail, Ponte Vedra, FL 32081. Tel: 904-435-4330; e-mail: editorial.staff@aabri.com; Web site: http://www.aabri.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Texas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A