A Study Of The Characteristics Of Virtual Charter School Provision In Pennsylvania,USA

With the rapid development of technology,online education is becoming more and more popular around the world.The innovative concept of the US virtual charter school,a public and private charter school with a focus on online learning and teaching,has opened up new avenues of school choice for the nation.Pennsylvania is one of the states with the largest number of virtual charter schools in the US,and it is worthwhile to explore the historical background,characteristics and challenges of these schools.Therefore,this study takes Pennsylvania’s virtual charter schools as the object of study and analyses them in depth in order to provide some inspiration for the development of online education in China.By using the literature method,this study compares the historical evolution of virtual charter schools in the United States and Pennsylvania’s virtual charter schools.In particular,the first virtual charter school in Pennsylvania arose in 1998,initially with only a few dozen students,while today’s total enrolment has reached tens of thousands.The current status and characteristics of Pennsylvania’s virtual charter schools are explored through the use of comparative research and case studies.Pennsylvania’s virtual charter schools are diverse;have a wide range of students from across the state;are funded by a variety of sources;have a wide variety of programs;and have highquality faculty and a comprehensive evaluation system.Based on a study of the current state of Pennsylvania’s virtual charter schools,an analysis of the characteristics of Pennsylvania’s virtual charter schools concluded that Pennsylvania’s virtual charter schools are public schools that offer online instruction;that the state’s virtual charter schools have a strong focus on student mental health;that the all day online technical support team is available to address students’ technology issues;that individualised and flexible instructional models support for special education groups;career education programs to broaden students’ career paths;and parent and family involvement to further ensure the quality of students’ online learning.Virtual charter schools also face challenges in their development.The challenges are divided into four main areas:inapplicability to all students and families,challenges of technology in remote areas,high student turnover,and funding challenges for local school districts.Finally,based on the above discussion,several insights are summarised for the development of online education in China: firstly,strengthen top-level design and play a leading role in policy;secondly,improve the curriculum system and strengthen personalised education;thirdly,pay attention to teacher training and improve the quality of online teachers;fourthly,improve the evaluation system of online education and enhance the capacity of education governance;fifthly,strengthen support for education technology and shorten the digital divide;and sixthly attach importance to family education and build a new ecology of home-school cooperation.