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Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

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Sacred Heart University

Cyber schools

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Full-Text Articles in Education

Innovative Public Education Or Glorified Homeschooling: Funding Full-Time K-12 Online Learning, Michael K. Barbour Mar 2015

Innovative Public Education Or Glorified Homeschooling: Funding Full-Time K-12 Online Learning, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

While there has been some improvement in what is known about supplemental K-12 online learning, there continues to be a lack of evidence to guide the practice of full-time K-12 online learning. This paper examines the literature and research into the funding of full-time K-12 online learning programs. As one of the few areas where a reasonable body of literature exists, and where both progress and neo-liberal groups have reach relative agreement. It concludes that full-time K-12 online learning costs less than traditional brick-and-mortar, and that policymakers should consider the nature of instruction when determining funding for full-time K-12 online …


Are Virtual Schools More Cost-Effective Compared To Traditional, Brick-And-Mortar Schools?, Michael Barbour Jan 2012

Are Virtual Schools More Cost-Effective Compared To Traditional, Brick-And-Mortar Schools?, Michael Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

Over the past two decades, the growth of virtual schooling has been extensive. Virtual schooling is often described in terms of being either a supplemental or full-time program. Supplemental programs, generally associated with virtual schools, are those where a student is enrolled in a brick-and-mortar or traditional school with a physical location and the school allows the student to enroll in one or more online courses as a way to supplement their curricular offerings. This is common in schools with smaller student populations or in schools where the student demand does not warrant a wide range of elective courses. In …


The Promise And The Reality: Exploring Virtual Schooling In Rural Jurisdictions, Michael Barbour Jan 2011

The Promise And The Reality: Exploring Virtual Schooling In Rural Jurisdictions, Michael Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

The history of online learning at the K-12 level is almost as long as its history at the post-secondary level, with the first virtual school programs beginning in the early 1990s. While these opportunities were designed as a way to provide rural students with access to more specialized courses, as opportunities have become organized into virtual or cyber schools the nature of students served by these institutions have broadened. Unlike online learning in general, much less is known about virtual schooling – even less of which is based on systematic research. Regardless, the growth and practice of virtual schooling has …