Survey of Distance Education Use in Rural Schools

Wallace HannumAssociate Director for Technology

National Research Center on Rural Education Support

DE Project Overview

SurveyLit ReviewPlanning

StudyDesign

Preparation ConductStudies

EvaluateDisseminate

Project Years

ConductStudies

Year 1

Year 2Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Survey of Distance Education Use

• Who uses DE?

• What courses?

• What technology?

• How successful?

• Additional needs?

• Barriers?

Survey Timeline

QuestionnaireQuestionnaireDesignDesign

QuestionnaireQuestionnaireDesignDesign InterviewingInterviewingInterviewingInterviewing Data AnalysisData AnalysisData AnalysisData Analysis

January - MarchJanuary - March April - JuneApril - June July - SeptemberJuly - September

Questionnaire Design

Factors

DE Use& NeedsDE Use& Needs

TechnologyDE Type

TechnologyDE Type

ContentAreas

ContentAreas

BarriersBarriers

Sample

• REAP– Rural low income– Small rural

• Random sample 10% – 415 school districts– 394 participated

• 294 SRSA• 100 RLIS Interviewed 94.5%

Not Interviewed 5.5%

Participating Districts by State

AL-4

AR-14

AZ-8

CA-10CO-12

CT-2

MD

FL-3

GA-8

IA-13

ID-5

IL-20 IN-2

KS-16KY-7

LA-2

ME-4

MI-11

MN-9

MO-19

MS-11

MT-14

NC-4

ND-17

NE-19

NH-2

NJ

NM-6

NV-2

NY-9

OH-9

OK-31

OR-9

PA

SC-4

SD-11

TN-6

TX-45

UT-1

VA-1

WA-10

WI-4

WV-1

WY-2

HIAK-5

DE

RI

MA

VT-2

GA-8

FL-3

Key Findings

DE Use Content Areas

Technology Barriers

68% use DEForeign

LanguageWeb-based

SchedulingTwo-way video

Trained Instructional

Personnel

DE as Priority

Difficult toImplement

English

Science

Math

70% report need for DE

Types of Courses Offered

12%

21%

18%20%

11%

7%

11% ScienceMathEnglishForeign LanguageHistoryPsychology orSociologyOther

Types of Technology Used

14%

12%

4%

7%

11%2%

25%

21%

4%Correspondence by mail

Correspondence by email

Cable TV

Satellite TV

Self-instructional computer-based tutorials

One-way videoconferencing

Two-way video conferencing

Web-based or onlinecourses

Other

Districts Offering DE by Region

0%

10%20%

30%

40%50%

60%

70%80%

90%

100%

North East Midwest South West

Districts Offering DE by Majority Ethnicity

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

White Black Hispanic AmericanIndian

Mixed

Providers of DE

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25% Local District

RegionalConsortium

State

Private

Out of StatePublic VHS

Out of StatePrivate VHS

Prepared Academically for DE

0% 4%

45%

51%Not Well at AllNot Very WellSomewhat WellVery Well

Prepared in Study Skills for DE

1% 11%

60%

28% Not Well at All

Not Very Well

Somewhat Well

Very Well

Prepared in Computer Skills for DE

1%23%

76%

Not Very Well

Somewhat Well

Very Well

Satisfaction with DE Courses

2% 6%

45%

47%

Very Dissatisfied

Somewhat Dissatisfied

Somewhat Satisfied

Very Satisfied

Satisfied by Type

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Mai

l

Em

ail

Cab

le

Sat

elli

te

CB

T

1-W

ay V

C

2-W

ay V

C

Web

VeryDissatisfied

SomewhatDissatisfied

SomewhatSatisfied

Very Satisfied

Satisfaction by Region

ANOVA

Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups .349 3 .116 1.606 .188

Within Groups 23.603 326 .072

Total 23.952 329

0

0.10.2

0.30.4

0.50.6

0.7

0.80.9

1

Northeast

Midwest

South

West

Satisfaction by Ethnicity

ANOVA

Sum of

Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups .786 4 .196 2.757 .028

Within Groups 23.166 325 .071

Total 23.952 329

00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.80.9

1

White

African Amer

Latino

Am Indian

Other

Who Pays Tuition Costs

49%

38%

3%10%

District

Students

State

Other

Current DE Meets Needs of Students

2% 7%

53%

38%Not Well at All

Not Very Well

Somewhat Well

Very Well

Need Access to Additional DE Courses

65%

35%

Yes

No

Courses Needed

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%

Math Science History ForeignLanguage

English

Who Decides What Courses for DE

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70Superintendent/Assoc SupSchool Board

Principal

GuidanceCounselor

Teacher

Other

Selection of DE Providers

62%23%

15%

District Selects

District Selectsfrom Approved List

Externally Selected

Barriers

59%

53%47%

45%

34%31%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Scheduling DE Priority Trained InstPersonnel

DE DifficultImplem

Have InstPersonnel

CourseAvailability

Barriers

31%28%

17%15%

10% 7%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Funding Strategic Plan Tech Expertise TechClassrooms

Tech Maintain Connectivity