It is estimated that 75% of all K-12 schools in the United States incorporate some form of e-learning within their instructional program offerings (Watson, Pape, Murin, Gemin, & Vashaw, 2014). However, current research relating to the success of virtual learners is providing mixed results at best, with virtual course completion rates hovering around 58% (Freidhoff, 2017) and attrition rates as high as 80% in some e-learning courses (Bawa, 2016; Bonk, 2001; Moshinskie, 2001).The purpose of... Show moreIt is estimated that 75% of all K-12 schools in the United States incorporate some form of e-learning within their instructional program offerings (Watson, Pape, Murin, Gemin, & Vashaw, 2014). However, current research relating to the success of virtual learners is providing mixed results at best, with virtual course completion rates hovering around 58% (Freidhoff, 2017) and attrition rates as high as 80% in some e-learning courses (Bawa, 2016; Bonk, 2001; Moshinskie, 2001).The purpose of this study was to understand the degree to which students who were new to a blended learning program were motivated toward tasks aimed at developing 1) a sense of community; 2) e-skills, 3) self-regulation, and 4) goal-setting; and to examine whether motivation in these domains is predictive of continued enrollment, progressing in school and academic engagement during their first semester in the program. This study provided an intimate window through which to view students’ sociodemographic characteristics, motivations and outcomes in this cyber school blended learning model, with key findings related to sociodemographic background and motivational characteristic variables statistically significant to important education outcomes. Show less
