Educating the virtual way : NC K-12 virtual principals’ perceptions of successful implementation
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Mary Elizabeth Daniels (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Tiffanie Lewis-Durham
Abstract: Virtual education, once a niche educational option, has grown in popularity throughout the US (and the world) post-COVID-19. However, the lack of systems and structures in place to implement virtual learning environments during the pandemic left many questioning the validity of virtual education. Now on the other side of the pandemic, NC virtual academies are on the rise, and in response, the NC Legislature sought out recommendations for successful implementation from key virtual learning stakeholders published in “Study Group Results: Working Group on Virtual Academies” (NCDPI, 2022). Virtual school principals’ voices are missing from those recommendations, and their voices should be considered. This qualitative study explores virtual school principals’ perceptions of their roles and practices in their schools and how they compare to the NCDPI recommendations. Based on their responses, I ultimately hoped to identify structures NC virtual school principals believe are necessary for designing, operating, and implementing effective virtual learning environments. I gathered data from five current virtual school principals through two semi-structured interviews and utilized the E-Learning Systems Framework proposed by Aparicio et al. (2016) as a guide for successful implementation. I found that the e-learning ecosystem within current virtual schools is out of balance, favoring people over technology and services. This imbalance is also echoed in policy recommendations, indicating a need to rethink current practices as a whole. Ultimately, more support and structure are needed to aid principals in technology and services in order to bring the ecosystem in balance. The implications of this research identify the necessity to define virtual schools as separate but equal educational options with specific requirements for systems and structures needed within a virtual learning environment and create robust training programs for virtual principals who must shoulder the weight of successful implementation. Keywords: education, educational technology, e-learning systems, principal, virtual education, virtual learning
Educating the virtual way : NC K-12 virtual principals’ perceptions of successful implementation
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Created on 8/1/2024
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2024
- Keywords
- Education, Educational technology, E-learning systems, Principal, Virtual education, Virtual learning