Exploring Virtual Student Perceptions of Flexible Online Learning

Most proponents of flexible online learning, and critics alike, have little more than anecdotal evidence to support their claims about the benefits or drawbacks of flexibility (Houlden & Veletsianos, 2019; Veletsianos & Houlden, 2019). This study departs from past literature that characterizes flexibility as a universal experience of online learners to explore flexibility as a relative, individual process (Houlden & Veletsianos, 2019). This exploratory, qualitative case study explores how virtual high school students at Alabama Connections Academy (ALCA) perceive and experience flexibility (of time, pace, place, and pedagogy) when learning online. Fifteen virtual students volunteered as participants and completed this study. Student participants were asked to answer open-ended journal questions about their online learning experience and then participate in 1:1 Zoom interviews about their perception of and experience with flexible online learning. By exploring individual students' perceptions and experiences, scholars and practitioners may better understand how virtual students experience flexibility in an online learning environment. This qualitative study showed that although most student participants had overtly positive perceptions of flexibility, and many reported positive experiences, there was a range in the virtual student experience and a possible tension between some students' perception of flexibility and their experienced reality. By learning more about the virtual student experience, including what students value and/or wish to change about ALCA's flexible learning policies, educators can craft policies to build more equitable online learning environments, with the potential to make flexibility more beneficial for, and accessible to, all virtual students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]