Effectiveness of using learner‐centered principles on student retention in distance education courses in rural schools

Abstract

This article examines the effectiveness of training facilitators in secondary schools to follow APA learner‐centered principles to support learners in distance education. The study was a cluster‐randomized control trial with 36 match pairs of schools and 246 students in the rural USA. The schools were selected at random and assigned at random to treatment condition. Instructors were blind to the treatment condition as were the local facilitators and schools. Data on length of time spent in the course and whether students completed the semester were analyzed. The results indicated that students in the intervention condition completed the first semester at a statistically higher rate than control students where facilitators did not have this training. The number of weeks students remained in the course was likewise statistically different with students in the intervention condition staying in the course more weeks holding instructor constant.

Keywords:

• learner‐centered distance education
• facilitator training
• student retention
• rural education

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by a Research and Development Center grant (R305A04056) from the Institute of Education Sciences to the National Research Center on Rural Education Support.