Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

First Advisor

Jeffrey Deckelbaum

Second Advisor

Lynda Leavitt

Third Advisor

Robyne Elder

Abstract

As internet access became more widespread, the use of internet resources became a requirement for participation in various educational experiences. Equitable access to internet resources, however, had not been established in all geographic areas (Skinner et al., 2024). Utilizing the design-based thinking process, the researcher identified barriers to participation in online distance learning opportunities in a small, rural school district. The district, located in southeast Missouri, comprised 201 students, three buildings for elementary, middle, and high school students. A Superintendent and Principal provided leadership to the school district. Through a community-wide survey and informal conversations, the researcher and stakeholder team discovered a lack of internet connectivity for homes in the community. At the time of the study, fiber internet connections were being laid throughout the community. The stakeholder team created a connectivity event to bring a representative from Spectrum into the community. Due to outside factors, only three individuals attended the connectivity event, and the stakeholder team returned to the ideate stage of the design-thinking process. For the remainder of the study, the researcher surveyed individuals/families from the studied county and immediately surrounding counties to determine if the accessibility of online distance learning changed when changes were made to home internet connections. A total of 35 individuals completed a survey asking about aspects of internet connectivity before and after making changes to internet services. Of the 35 participants, 16 identified as parents, 10 identified as teachers, eight identified as both parents and teachers, and one did not identify as a parent or teacher. Statistically significant differences were found in internet speeds, internet connection reliability, the accessibility of online distance learning as reported by parents, and the accessibility of online distance learning as reported by teachers. A statistically insignificant difference was found regarding the favorability of online distance learning between parents and educators. Qualitative analysis of open-ended survey responses indicated a more favorable view of online distance learning among both parents and teachers after internet changes were implemented, though teachers felt not enough homes were connected to the internet for online distance learning throughout the district.

Research Highlights

  • The Problem: Inequitable home broadband infrastructure and low connection reliability create severe technical barriers to online distance learning for K–12 students in rural communities.

  • The Method: The researcher applied an iterative five-stage design thinking framework and surveyed 35 participants (16 parents, 10 teachers, eight parent-teachers, and one non-parent/teacher) across a rural southeast Missouri county and four surrounding counties to evaluate pre- and post-upgrade connectivity conditions.

  • Quantitative Finding: Dependent samples t-tests demonstrated statistically significant improvements in internet speed (M = 1.54, SD = 1.36, t(34) = 6.72, p < 0.001, d = 1.13), internet reliability (M = 1.69, SD = 1.30, t(34) = 7.67, p < 0.001, d = 1.30), parent favorability toward online distance learning (M = 1.42, SD = 1.18, t(23) = 5.90, p < 0.001, d = 1.20), and teacher favorability (M = 0.78, SD = 0.65, t(17) = 5.10, p < 0.001, d = 1.20); mixed between-within ANOVA showed no significant difference in favorability ratings between parents and teachers (F(2, 23) = 0.72, p = 0.498 for parents; F(2, 23) = 1.63, p = 0.220 for educators).

  • Qualitative Finding: Upgraded home internet connections reduced student exclusion from coursework, improved access to supplementary digital instruction such as Khan Academy and YouTube, and fostered more positive parental perceptions of remote coursework, though educators cautioned that overall district coverage remained incomplete.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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