UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE THE AT-RISK STUDENT’S JOURNEY TO ONLINE COURSE CREDIT: LOOKING AT PERCEPTIONS OF CARE AND THEIR LIVED EXPERIENCE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By KARIS K. BARNETT Norman, Oklahoma 2014 THE AT-RISK STUDENT’S JOURNEY TO ONLINE COURSE CREDIT; LOOKING AT PERCEPTIONS OF CARE AND THEIR LIVED EXPERIENCE A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND POLICY STUDIES BY ______________________________ Dr. Courtney Vaughn, Chair ______________________________ Dr. William Frick ______________________________ Dr.
Neil Houser ______________________________ Dr. Jeffrey Maiden ______________________________ Dr. Michelle Rosser ______________________________ Dr. Joan Smith © Copyright by KARIS K.
BARNETT 2014 All Rights Reserved. Dedication At any given moment you have the power to say this is not how the story will end.—Anonymous To Him who gives me the words and wisdom to write my story. To the girls in this study who let me hear their stories—may they remember they are strong women and survivors, achieving their dreams through writing their journey. To my grandmothers, Mary and Eloise— I know you are smiling at me from a better place.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to say thank you to the loves of my life—my family. Shane, your words, “I love you” and “I’m proud of you,” gave me the strength to persevere. I will never forget your patience during this endeavor. You are my best friend, partner, and my one true love.
Justin and Jake, thank you for being so understanding when the words, “I just need a minute,” often turned into an hour. The hugs you gave me each day gave me a reason to move forward. You are my life. Mom, in your own right, you have earned a doctorate of care and support by helping me throughout this journey.
Thank you for reading the countless drafts of my work and maintaining your unwavering attitude of “this will get done. To my dad, I am eternally gratefully for instilling in me the words of the Bible and the promise from the works of C. Lewis that Aslan can move the trees. Sue, you are such a wonderful, supportive mother-in-law.
Thank you for encouraging me over the phone and telling me you are proud of me. To Papaw, your faithful prayers give me peace and support every day. Erin and Kyla, you are my best friends/sisters in life. The encouragement you gave me, by words and phone calls, pushed me to finish.
I will forever keep my birthday “writing blanket” as a reminder of how your faith covered me with the security I needed in order to finish this project. Courtney Vaughn, thank you for directing me down the path to my research, and, once I discovered it, helping me find the words to communicate what I had found. Thank you for showing such patience with me, as I wandered in the graduate school forest. Your guidance has been priceless, and I will be forever grateful.
To others on my committee, Dr. Frick, and Dr. Maiden, thank you for supporting me through the many changes on my committee and in my research. I would also like to thank friends, colleagues at work, and peers in my graduate program, who have heard the words, “I’m almost done,” more than they can count.
Without your help and encouragement, I could not have finished this research. These include: Susan, Robye, Suzie, Brent, Goldie, Lucy, and Nancy, and all my “Westside” buddies. Thank you for caring. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements.iv Table of Contents.
vi List of Tables. viii List of Figures. x Chapter One: Introduction.1 Background of the Study.5 The At-Risk High School Student.7 Individual/Internal Characteristics.9 Family Support Characteristics.11 School and Community Characteristics.12 Effective Strategies for the At-Risk Learner. 15 Perceptions of Caring.17 The Disengagement of the At-Risk Learner.18 The Landscape of Online Learning.20 The Digital Divide.21 Predictors of Student Success with Online Learning.22 Online Learning and the At-Risk Learner.24 The Online Credit Recovery Program.25 Types of Online Credit Recovery Models.27 Blended/Hybrid Model.27 Fully Online Model.
28 Challenges of Supporting At-Risk Youth with Online Methods.30 Significance of the Study.33 Chapter Two: An Interpretive Framework Using Ethic of Care.36 The Conception of Ethic of Care. 38 Noddings Ethic of Care.41 The Ethic of Care Model.42 Concerns about Ethic of Care Theory.44 Other Contributors to Care Theory.46 Ethic of Care in Education.48 Contexts of Educational Care.50 Caring Teacher/Student Relationship.50 Caring School Community. 52 vi Caring in the Online Classroom. 54 Transactional Distance/Presence & Immediacy.55 Intersecting Conceptual Frames of Caring.56 Frames of Care from High School Students.57 Building Frames of Care of an At-Risk Students’ Virtual Experience.61 Chapter Three: Methodology.66 Gadamer’s Hermeneutic Phenomenology.67 Hermeneutic Strategies: The Hermeneutic Circle.68 Max van Manen’s Hermeneutic Phenomenology.69 Research Study Design.72 Context and Sample Selection.73 District Use of Apex Learning, Inc.75 Method of Data Collection.78 Personal Interpretation and Bias.79 Phenomenological Reflection and Thematic Analysis.82 Chapter Four: Phenomenological Narratives of the Lifeworlds.83 Phenomenological Narratives: Their Journey.84 Participant One: Jill.84 Participant Two: Diane.89 Participant Three: Kory.94 Participant Four: Michelle.101 Participant Five: Betty.108 Participant Six: Christy.
112 Participant Seven: Amy.120 Aggregate Analysis of Existential Lifeworlds.128 Chapter Five: Findings of Care.130 The Context of Care. 131 vii Unconditional Positive Regard.132 Traditional—Unconditional Positive Regard.133 Online—Unconditional Positive Regard.134 A Sense of Help.135 Traditional—Sense of Help.137 Online—Sense of Help.135 Noteworthy Significance of Care in Individuals.139 The Context of Non-Care.149 Lack of Help. 149 Traditional—Lack of Help.150 Online—Lack of Help.154 Chapter Six: Discussion of Findings and Implications.155 Overcoming Non-Care—Understanding Their Lifelines. 159 Self-Regulation—Finding Care.160 Assumptions and Challenges of At-Risk Students, Online Learning, And Care.163 The Assumption of the At-Risk Student.164 The Assumption of the Online Alternative.166 The Assumption of Care.167 My Own Reflection of the Study.169 Recommendations and Implications for Future Research.171 Recommendations from Participants.172 Implications for Future Research.
178 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Fully Online Communication Methods.29 Table 2: The Four Existentials in Human Experience.84 Table 3 Participants’ Lifeworld Themes.129 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Implication for Future Research.176 x Abstract To date, primary research studies have focused on examining the characteristics of successful online credit recovery programs and virtual high schools in the United States. Other research interests have investigated data regarding K-12 virtual schooling and explored effective instructional design curriculum. One manner of recognizing students in education is for “his or her story to be told” (Bingham, 2001, p. However, studies addressing at-risk students’ perceptions of valuable caring relationships within their unique online environment are rare.
The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study is to explore at-risk high school students’ insights regarding their experience with online education, which they undertook in order to meet high school graduation requirements. More specifically, it is the intent of this study to examine the presence of care through the voices of those who journey into the virtual high school classroom. xi CHAPTER ONE Introduction Vignette Julie turned on the computer to begin her online class. As she waited for the monitor to turn blue, she thought, “I have only two more sessions to go before the final.” Seeing her face shadowed through the mirror of her desktop monitor, she wondered if her life was just about schoolwork.
What about all the life “stuff” she was dealing with? How could she concentrate on schoolwork when she felt so lonely and so afraid of the future? How was she going to read everything tonight and not be late for work tomorrow? Her stomach was tied in knots as she typed in her user id. As Julie started looking for her graded midterm, she said to herself, “Looks like it hasn’t been graded yet.” She sighed deeply, not really looking forward to going to the online lab because no one ever talked to her there. Instead, everyone was in their own little world, reading assignments and taking notes. “My life is so stressful,” she thought.
“What’s the point, anyway?” Feeling anger, along with her frustrations, Julie said out loud, “Who cares if I graduate? No one understands what I’m going through.” However, despite her frustration, Julie wanted a high school diploma. Motivated by this, she picked up her keys and headed for the high school online lab. 1 Background of the Study In his book, Schools of Recognition: Identity, Politics and Classroom Practices, Bingham (2001) describes the importance of mirrors in an educational setting by suggesting, “…when I enter the public sphere, I need someone, or something that will mirror back to me who I am” (p. Additionally, Bingham suggests that “mirroring” in educational settings is not only vital to giving a sense of self, it is also important to giving “a sense of self that is new” (p.
Today, the “information superhighway” is profoundly influencing educational mirrors. As rising new technology interfaces with the demands of academic accountability, the Internet has become the virtual looking glass of solutions for educational leaders. Building on the foundation of web-based access, educators have positioned online education as an alternative to traditional schools (Abel, 2005; Ally, 2004; Dykam & Davis, 2008; Schrum, 2005; Velasquez, Graham & West, 2013). The innovation of the virtual learning environment is described as “e- learning,” “distance education,” and “online learning.” According to Ally (2004), “The use of the Internet is to access learning materials, to interact with the content, instructor and other learners; and to obtain support during the learning process, in order to acquire knowledge, to construct personal meaning and to grow from the learning experience” (p.
For the purpose of this research, Ally’s interpretation fits best with defining online learning. 2 Educators are modifying online education to combine face-to-face instruction and the virtual classroom. This type of “blended learning” model is often seen with districts serving their own students. In these cases, there is no need to bridge long distances, and districts can provide an online class within a local school, while allowing students to access resources such as a computer lab, facilitator, or other on-site resources, which may define the course as blended instead of fully online (Watson, Murin, Vashaw, Gemin, & Rapp, 2011).
The growing enrollment trend for both online and blended models of online pedagogy will continue to become an integral part of the nationwide educational system (e. Archambault et al., 2010; Peterson, 1997, Watson et al. As of 2009-2010, an estimated 1,816,400 enrollments filled online-education courses in K-12 school districts, and 74% of the enrollments were in high schools (Queen & Lewis, 2011). Christensen, Horn, and Johnson (2008) forecast that by 2019, online curriculum could conceivably reach 50 percent of high school enrollments.
Budget shortfalls and economic pressures create the need for a new image of the classroom within the landscape of educational reform (Christensen et al. The financial numbers of educational budgets reflect a true picture of school districts struggling to meet mandated requirements amidst constraints of the current economy situation. Seeking creative solutions, online learning gains momentum as an effective framework to meet educational standards while stretching the fiscal school-year dollar. 3 Currently, the cost of educating students under the brick and mortar classroom averages $10,000 per pupil (Battaglino, Haldeman, Laurans, & Fordham, 2012).
However, according to a report by the Thomas Ford Institute, a full online model costs $6,400 per student or a blended-learning model is $8,900 per pupil (Battaglino et al. These cost-cutting statistics potentially create a new design of educational learning and assessment that will meet state and federal academic requirements. In addition to reducing costs, educators and policymakers are pursuing virtual education curriculum as a means to adapt to problems, to increase course offerings, and to rethink traditional teaching methods (Battaglino et al. At the state level, educational leadership is evaluating and expanding within state online schools and virtual charter programs in an effort to tailor a new direction in learning for various student populations.
As of 2011, the significance of opening up web-based education to students has resulted in online and blended opportunities for at least some students in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia (Watson et al.
