Why they come and go: comparing special education and general education students in cyber schools

Citation

Beck, D., Tran, B., Maranto, R. & Clark, T. (2021). Why they come and go: comparing special education and general education students in cyber schools. Journal of Online Learning Research, 7(3), 233-248. https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/219618/

Abstract

Considerable published research explores drivers of parental choice of face to face schools, but few works address reasons for attending cyber schools, and how student characteristics affect those reasons; hence, this study’s unique contribution. Here we use a large national dataset (n= 95,259) to test whether students with designated special education (SPED) status differ in stated reasons for attending a multistate cyber charter school network. Using linear probability models, we find that that parents of special education students are relatively more likely than others to cite academic, bullying, and health concerns as driving their choice of schools. SPED students whose parents cited academic reasons for enrollment in the cyber school were less likely to persist in the school the next year.

Authors

  • Beck, Dennis
  • Clark, Tom
  • Maranto, Robert
  • Tran, Bich

Reference Type

Journal

Keywords

  • Special education
Select this as a favorite