“Online Learning in Illinois High Schools: The Voices of Principals!,” (original) (raw)

The purpose of this study was to examine the role that online learning was playing in addressing the thoughts, concerns and issues facing Illinois high school principals. Data were collected from a sample of high school principals who were members of the Illinois Principals Association with respect to the extent, nature, and reasons for participating in online learning programs. An important aspect of this study was to compare the findings in Illinois to those collected from a national sample of high school principals. It is our conclusion that online learning and blended learning are making inroads into the high schools in Illinois comparably to those in other parts of the country. The results of this study indicate that online and blended learning are becoming integral to a number of high school reform efforts, especially with regard to improving graduation rates, credit recovery, building connections for students to their future college careers, and differentiating instruction.