The At-Risk Student's Journey To Online Course Credit: Looking At Perceptions Of Care And Their Lived Experience

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. 36). 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.