scholarly journals Growth and performance of fully online and blended K-12 public schools

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charisse Gulosino ◽  
Gary Miron

This study provides a census of full-time virtual schools and blended schools from 35 states. Specifically, it utilizes data visualization and exploratory data analysis to examine student demographics and school performance measures of virtual schools and blended schools operating in the 2014-15 school year. The school achievement measures for both virtual and blended schools indicate these schools are performing poorly. Nevertheless, the evidence suggests that their enrollment growth continues. Large virtual schools operated by for-profit education management organizations (EMOs) dominate this sector and are increasing their market share. While more districts are opening their own virtual and blended schools, the schools are typically small, and with limited enrollment. The proportion of Black and Hispanic students in virtual schools is lower than the national average, while students enrolled in blended schools more closely resemble the race and ethnic characteristics of students enrolled in brick-and-mortar public schools nationwide. Virtual and blended schools, while serving students in kindergarten through grade 12, have higher concentrations at the elementary and secondary levels. The empirical work in this area is in its infancy; hence, this study seeks to contribute to both the conceptual and empirical implications of virtual and blended schools by embracing a balance between their public and private benefits.

2021 ◽  
pp. 105984052110263
Author(s):  
Ashley A. Lowe ◽  
Joe K. Gerald ◽  
Conrad Clemens ◽  
Cherie Gaither ◽  
Lynn B. Gerald

Schools often provide medication management to children at school, yet, most U.S. schools lack a full-time, licensed nurse. Schools rely heavily on unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) to perform such tasks. This systematic review examined medication management among K-12 school nurses. Keyword searches in three databases were performed. We included studies that examined: (a) K-12 charter, private/parochial, or public schools, (b) UAPs and licensed nurses, (c) policies and practices for medication management, or (d) nurse delegation laws. Three concepts were synthesized: (a) level of training, (b) nurse delegation, and (c) emergency medications. One-hundred twelve articles were screened. Of these, 37.5% (42/112) were comprehensively reviewed. Eighty-one percent discussed level of training, 69% nurse delegation, and 57% emergency medications. Succinct and consistent policies within and across the United States aimed at increasing access to emergency medications in schools remain necessary.


Author(s):  
Richard J. Murnane

The previous chapter argues that comparisons of the performance of public and private schools can be misleading. This chapter examines in detail recent research providing such comparisons with the goal of clarifying what lessons can be drawn. The chapter also explains why the recent comparisons have puzzled, and in some cases infuriated, many public school educators. I begin by providing background on the best known of the recent studies. On April 7, 1981, at a conference attended by more than four hundred educators and the press, James Coleman announced the findings of research that he had conducted with Thomas Hoffer and Sally Kilgore on public and private high schools in the United States. Their principal finding was that Catholic schools and non-Catholic private schools are more effective in helping students to acquire cognitive skills than public schools are. Coming at a time of widespread criticism of public education and presidential support for tuition tax credits for families that use private schools, this finding was widely reported in the press and evoked a range of spirited reactions. Critics and supporters responded to Coleman, Hoffer, and Kilgore’s (henceforth CHK) work with articles and editorials with lively titles such as: “Coleman Goes Private (in Public),” “Lessons for the Public Schools,” “Coleman’s Bad Report,” and “Private Schools Win a Public Vote.” Over the succeeding months CHK’s work remained visible as critiques of their research and reanalyses of the data they used appeared in a variety of journals, in some cases accompanied by lengthy responses by CHK. Another wave of interest was sparked by the publication and subsequent reviews of CHK’s High School Achievement: Public, Catholic, and Private Schools Compared, in which they presented their final research findings. As a result of the wide range of responses to CHK’s work and the numerous symposia in which CHK have debated their critics in print, there is now ample material available to any reader interested in forming a judgment about the quality of the research that produced their main conclusion.


Author(s):  
Sarah M. Stitzlein

Chapter three illustrates the essential role of public schools in a vibrant democracy. I define what public schools are, identifying five key elements essential to their form and function. My discussion of the shifting nature of democracy, schools, and citizenship reveals that it is worthwhile to refocus our attention on these elements of public schools now as some are being compromised or eclipsed within the latest forms of school practice and governance. I detail the changing landscape of public schools in recent years by looking at particular recent transformations to the governance and practice of public education. These changes include aspects of schools choice, vouchers, for-profit education management, loss of local control, mayoral oversight of schools, recovery school districts, portfolio management models, and corporate influences. I also describe how citizens’ relationships with schools have changed and how citizens themselves have changed, especially under the influence of neoliberalism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-439
Author(s):  
Abdulla I. Mohammad

The primary aim of this paper was to determine the demographic profiles and the percieved-actual responses of the grade 7 history teachers on the implementation of the K-12 curriclum in the Province of Sulu. The descriptive research design was used in the study.  The study was conducted in Sulu both private and public schools. The study participants were composed of Grade 7 History teachers in public and private High Schools in some of the municipalities, province of Sulu for school year 2017-2018. The results concluded that The Grade 7 History teachers are not growing professionally in terms of their educational attainment both in perceived and actual implementation of the K-12 curriculum, they strongly agreed that the following problems exist: as Learning Resources, Teacher’s Competency, Method Approaches and Technique, Administrator’s Competency and Teaching, Supervisor’s Competency, Monitoring, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Assessment. It is recommended that Based on the findings of the study on the issues and challenges confronting Grade 7 History teachers in the implementation of K-12 curriculum in the Province of Sulu, the following recommendations are: Grade 7 History teachers must improve their education attainment;History teachers spontaneously read more about techniques, strategies about History on the implementation of K-12 curriculum;History teachers must earn at least Master’s degree in line with his or her major; The DepEd must improve the implementation of the K-12 History curriculum in areas of Learning Resources, Teacher’s Competency: Method Approaches and Technique, Administrator’s Competency and Teaching, Supervisor’s Competency, Monitoring, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Assessment; The DepEd must sponsor more seminars for the History Teachers to participate in the actual implementation of the K-12 History Curriculum; There must be similar study conducted to assist the findings of this study; and Administration must fully support the program; that is and for the progress of the teachers.


Author(s):  
Belinda M. Cambre

Publicly funded alternatives to traditional public schools have taken place in the form of charter schools and, most recently, cyber charter schools. Cyber charter schools are fully online K-12 public schools and they “look” like traditional schools since students learn traditional subjects and are still subject to the same public accountability measures as their traditional brick and mortar counterparts. This chapter examines cyber charter schools in practice and summarizes the most controversial issues surrounding this form of school choice. Issues such as the legality of cyber charters under state charter laws; the allocation of per pupil funding; the use of for-profit companies in school management; ensuring access to cyber charters; and fulfilling state mandates top the list of salient issues with respect to cyber charter schools.


2013 ◽  
pp. 1398-1415
Author(s):  
Michael K. Barbour

Online learning at the K-12 level is growing exponentially. Students learning in supplemental virtual schools and full-time cyber schools, using a variety of delivery models that include and sometimes combine independent, asynchronous, and synchronous instruction, in almost every state in the US. In some instances the knowledge, skills, and abilities required by teachers in this technology-mediated environment is consistent with what they learned about face-to-face teaching in their teacher education programs, while in many instances, the two are quite different. Presently the lack of empirical research into effective K-12 online teaching limits teacher education programs. However, teacher education programs still need to better prepare pre-service and in-service teachers to design, deliver, and support students engaged virtual schooling.


Author(s):  
Samaa Abdel Ghany ◽  
Khadeegha Alzouebi

This study explores e-portfolio practices among K-12 teachers and investigates their perceptions, attitudes and skills towards the potentials of e-portfolios to enhance the required 21st century competencies. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to investigate teachers’ perceptions of the use of e-portfolios in both public and private sectors in the seven Emirates of the UAE. In addition, 10 school leaders were interviewed to explore how willing and able they were in supporting a hypothetical change in the practice of documentation by using e-portfolios. A survey was conducted with over 400 teachers responding to 54 questions via an online questionnaire supported by the Survey Monkey web service tool. Data analysis results revealed that a substantial proportion of participants felt positively towards the possibility of using e-portfolios. However, the survey also revealed that the majority of teachers in the field need to acquire knowledge, associated skills, and competencies, through professional developmental training programs to cultivate and improve reflective, selective, organizational, constructive feedback skills, along with familiarity and proficiency in using online collaborative and professional networking tools. The study concludes with implications for policy-makers and stakeholders to consider before introducing requirements and regulations on e-portfolios.


The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Education brings together preeminent scholars to craft a comprehensive survey and assessment of the study of religion and education in the United States. Religion has been inextricably entwined with education in the United States since the days of colonial British America. Beginning with mothers schooling their children at home from the Bible, to the first establishment of Harvard College in 1636 with the principal mission to prepare clergy, the place of religion—and more to the point, whose religion and for what purpose—has been vigorously contested for nearly 400 years. This handbook aims to examine the current state of religion and American education from homeschooling to private religious schools to public schools to religious institutions and on through the range of public and private higher education. The book is organized into five sections: Frameworks; Lifespan Faith Development; Faith-Based K-12 education; Religion and Public Schools; and Religion and Higher Education. Within these sections forty leading scholars in the field of religion and education review these topics in thirty chapters. The contributors offer an in-depth synthesis of major issues within the field, while contributing to lively debates about the links between landmark research contributions and contemporary research agendas. Designed for an interdisciplinary audience, the Oxford handbook serves as a legacy project for leading scholars who are critically shaping the future direction of the field of religion and American education.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 951-991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine H. Roch ◽  
Na Sai

We examine whether working conditions in charter schools and traditional public schools lead to different levels of job satisfaction among teachers. We distinguish among charter schools managed by for-profit education management organizations (EMOs) and non-profit charter management organizations (CMOs) and stand-alone charter schools. We investigate our research question using data from the School and Staffing Survey. We find that teachers in charter schools are less satisfied with their jobs than teachers in traditional public schools. We also find that teachers in EMO-managed schools appear less satisfied than those in stand-alone charter schools. Our analyses suggest that lower salaries and limited union memberships help drive these lower levels of satisfaction, particularly among stand-alone charter schools and charter schools managed by EMOs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
June Ahn ◽  
Andrew McEachin

We utilize state data of nearly 1.7 million students in Ohio to study a specific sector of online education: K–12 schools that deliver most, if not all, education online, lack a brick-and-mortar presence, and enroll students full-time. First, we explore e-school enrollment patterns and how these patterns vary by student subgroups and geography. Second, we evaluate the impact of e-schools on students’ learning, comparing student outcomes in e-schools to outcomes in two other schooling types, traditional charter schools and traditional public schools. Our results show that students and families appear to self-segregate in stark ways where low-income, lower achieving White students are more likely to choose e-schools while low-income, lower achieving minority students are more likely to opt into the traditional charter school sector. Our results also show that students in e-schools are performing worse on standardized assessments than their peers in traditional charter and traditional public schools. We close with policy recommendations and areas for future research.


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